BACKLASH

Billionaire Cuts Columbia University Donations Over Israel War Response

Leon Cooperman announced an end to his philanthropy the same day hundreds of university affiliates walked out in protest of the campus’ ties to Israel.

In a Fox Business interview Wednesday, Leon Cooperman, a hedge fund billionaire who has given tens of millions to Columbia University over the years, pledged to cut his funding to the school over its response to the Israel-Hamas war. That same day, hundreds of Columbia affiliates had walked out in protest of the campus’ ties to Israel, the Columbia Spectator reported. “We only have one democracy in the Middle East—that’s Israel, okay? And we have one economy tolerant of different people—gays, lesbians, etc. And that’s Israel,” Cooperman said on Fox, adding that “I think these kids at the colleges have shit for brains.” Cooperman said he would need to see changes from campus leadership to restart his donations.