Patriots owner Robert Kraft donates $1,000,000 to Yeshiva University in support of Jewish students
Patriots owner Robert Kraft has donated a million dollars to Yeshiva University in New York in support of Jewish students. Himself a former student of Columbia University, he has been critical of his alma mater for allowing student protests on behalf of Palestine after Hamas' attack on Israel and has cast those as antisemitic forms of intimidation.
It is in that context that he is donating to Yeshiva because he hopes that it will be a safe and welcoming space. Page Six reported him saying,
“I am honored to establish the Blue Square Scholars program at Yeshiva… in order to give students a welcoming place to further their education and grow into leaders who will serve as advocates for unity and respect and will push back on all hate.”
He mentioned that Jewish students need a safe haven to be who they are and continued,
"At a time where hate has been unleashed across our universities, Jewish students are feeling isolated and unsafe. Yeshiva is providing a safe haven for these students and I look forward to seeing them thrive in an academic environment where they could live and study free of fear for being who they are.”
Robert Kraft donates to Yeshiva while blasting Columbia
Robert Kraft has not hesitated to call out his differences with Columbia, the institution he went to and previously donated to. He said,
“The school I love so much – the one that welcomed me and provided me with so much opportunity – is no longer an institution I recognize."
He has further said,
“As a graduate of Columbia University, I am deeply saddened by the hate and polarization taking place today on a campus I love so much. I am appalled that this hate has only continued to rise and has spawned growing levels of physical intimidation and threats of violence that have taken over college and university campuses across our country.”
Robert Kraft's donation to Yeshiva shows that he is not only frustrated with what is going on in Columbia but he is willing to take his money elsewhere where he feels Jewish people are safe, something he does not feel is the case with his alma mater.
The New England Patriots owner is taking a stand on what he feels is right and is willing to put his money where his mouth is. Luckily for many students, it could end up changing their lives for the better.