Robert Kraft pulls support from Columbia, then academic gets brutally honest about his profession: 'On a suicide mission'

Billionaire Robert Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots, is putting his money where his mouth is.

Columbia University has become ground zero for anti-Semitism after students began occupying a spot on the campus now called the "Gaza Solidarity Encampment."

Last Thursday, university administrators allowed police officers to arrest more than 100 students, which only emboldened the anti-Israel protesters. Now, Columbia faculty members are walking out in solidarity with the protesters, and students at other schools, including Yale and New York University, are protesting. The protests are threatening the safety of Jewish students. One Jewish student at Yale was even stabbed in the eye.

On Monday, Kraft said he will stop supporting Columbia because of the protests.

"I am deeply saddened at the virulent hate that continues to grow on campus and throughout our country," said Kraft, a Columbia alumnus and longtime donor.

"I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its student and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until collective action is taken," he added. "It is my hope that Columbia and its leadership will stand up to this hate by ending these protests immediately and will work to earn back the respect and trust of the many of us who have lost faith in the institution."

Kraft is an observant Orthodox Jew and has donated tens of millions of dollars to Columbia University. The school even named the Jewish student center after him.

Ultimately, Kraft's decision to stop supporting Columbia University will not impact the school, whose endowment is more than $13 billion.

But the growing phenomenon of wealthy donors pulling their financial support from universities is an interesting development in higher education, especially considering academia has almost universally embraced progressivism and a leftist worldview.

"Our profession may be on a suicide mission," said University of Pennsylvania scholar-in-residence Brian Rosenwald on Monday.

"It's like a game of how can we alienate everyone but the far left despite having an exceptionally expensive product that needs broad buy in. I can only shake my head," he observed.

Essentially, American academia is biting the hand that feeds it, which, if gone unchecked, will threaten its livelihood and comfortable existence.

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