A Jewish Philanthropic foundation with deep ties to Israel has ended its relationship with Harvard over the university’s unwillingness to condemn Hamas Terrorism outright. The Wexner Foundation offers aid to Israeli public officials who sought to receive their master’s in public communications at the prestigious university but will be pulling that offer from now on.
The Wexner Foundation shared its story on its website, saying, “Since the early 1980’s, The Wexner Foundation has been a pioneer in the field of Jewish private philanthropy. For 35 years, The Wexner Foundation has never wavered from its focus upon Jewish leadership in the Jewish world and Israel. The Foundation’s professionalism, standards of excellence, and strong relationships with Jewish communities and organizations have created a model of practice for Jewish private philanthropy that has stood the test of time.”
The Foundation’s goal is to form leaders in the Jewish community by providing greater access to education and other leadership-growing means. Their mission states, “The Wexner Foundation develops and inspires leaders in the North American Jewish Community and the State of Israel. Through pluralistic, cohort-based educational programs, the Foundation invests in promising professionals and volunteers, giving them tools to exercise transformative leadership.”
In a letter shared by Breitbart News, The Wexner Foundation strongly condemned the violence that Hamas propagated and Harvard for its unwillingness to condemn the group. They wrote, “We are stunned and sickened at the dismal failure of Harvard’s leadership to take a clear and unequivocal stand against the barbaric murders of innocent Israeli civilians by terrorists last Saturday, the Sabbath and a festival day.”
With Harvard being unwilling to take a strong stance against the Hamas organization, which launched a surprise attack killing more than 1,000 Israelis on their Sabbath Day, Wexner saw no reason to continue the arrangement.
Wexner wrote, “Since then, many of our Israel Fellows no longer feel marginalized at HKS [Havard Kennedy School]. They feel abandoned. … Our core values and those of Harvard no longer align. HKS is no longer a place where Israeli leaders can go to develop the necessary skills to address the very real political and societal challenges they face.”
Throughout the time that Wexner sent students to Harvard, nearly 300 Jewish leaders had attended the school with the financial help of the organization. In all likelihood, those will be the only students ever to graduate from the prestigious university with the help of the Jewish organization Wexner.
Jewish Billionaire Idan Ofer came to a similar decision when he stepped down from the board of Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government. He said, “Unfortunately, our faith in the University’s leadership has been broken and we cannot in good faith continue to support Harvard and its committees.”
Ofer added, “We denounce those who seek to place blame on the people of Israel for the atrocities committed by the terrorist organization, Hamas.”
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