Who is the mystery donor who snubbed Columbia?
Who is the mystery donor who snubbed Columbia?An Ivy League graduate has affronted his alma mater, Columbia university, by donating an astounding $260 million of his fortune in secret to Bar-Ilan, one of Israel's largest universities. The public research university is best suited, according to the donor, as he sees Bar-Ilan as "best able to undertake the great task of expanding science-based technological resilience in Israel."Who is the donor and what were his motives?Bar-Ilan, the Israeli university receiving the gift described the philanthropist as a “North American Jew and graduate of Columbia university who was active in World war II.” The donor, while wishing to remain anonymous, wanted it to be known that he was a Columbia graduate. Rumours that the Columbia alum had been upset by the anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrations that have erupted at the uptown Ivy League campus in the midst of the Israel-Hamas conflict were fuelled by the alum's substantial donation to a major academic institution in the Jewish state.“It’s a smack in the data-face of Columbia. It’s just the beginning,” Hank Sheinkopf, a longtime political consultant, pro-Israel activist, and rabbi, told The Post. The website eJewishPhilanthropy.com reported the news. The donation has also started a game of guessing who the extraordinarily wealthy contributor is. Given that he participated in World war II, he would be about 100 years old. “The donor, a man of broad academic education, believed that the development of Israel’s technological resilience relies primarily on breakthrough science. During his visits to Israel, he recognized the significant impact Bar-Ilan university has made in key areas thanks to its science-based infrastructure and deep connections to all sectors of Israeli society,” Bar-Ilan president Arie Zaban said in a statement announcing the donation.