Billionaire Bill Ackman calls out Harvard campus antisemitism in forceful open letter
'The situation at Harvard is dire and getting worse,' Bill Ackman, Pershing Square Capital Management founder, wrote to university president Claudine Gay
UC Berkeley students Danielle Sobkin and Hannah Schlacter discuss growing antisemitism on college campuses across the U.S.
Billionaire Bill Ackman sent a lengthy letter to the president of his alma mater regarding antisemitism on campus, and shared it publicly on social media.
"I am writing this letter to you regretfully," Ackman posted to X, formerly known as Twitter, on Nov. 4. The hedge fund manager calls out Harvard President Claudine Gay for sending "a clear message that the eliminationist and antisemitic statements of the protesters are permissible on campus."
Ackman, whose post says he received a bachelor of arts from the Ivy League school in 1988 and a master of business administration in 1992, is worth $3.6 billion, according to Forbes.
He said he met with Jewish, Israeli and non-Jewish students on campus last week.
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Founder of Pershing Square Capital Management Bill Ackman is seen in La Quinta, California, on March 7, 2023. (Michael Bezjian/Getty Images for Brand Innovators / Getty Images)
"Over the course of the day, it became clear that the situation at Harvard is dire and getting worse, much worse than I had realized," Ackman wrote.
The CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management claims "Jewish students are being bullied, physically intimidated, spat on, and in several widely-disseminated videos of one such incident, physically assaulted."
He alleged that Gay's video address Oct. 12 stating that the university "embraces a commitment to free expression," paved the way for many of the actions.
Gay's video, which was titled "Our Choices," began with her describing the Israel-Hamas war as a "moment of intense pain and grief for a great many people in our community and around the world," to which she added that she is experiencing the same feelings.
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President Claudine Gay said Harvard embraces free expression, which "extends even to views that many of us find objectionable, even outrageous," during a video message on Oct. 12, 2023. (Harvard University/Screenshot)
She continued by saying members of the Harvard community have a choice to either "fan the flames of division and hatred" or to "try to be a force for something different and better."
"People have asked me where we stand. So let me be clear. Our university rejects terrorism. That includes the barbaric atrocities perpetrated by Hamas. Our university rejects hate. Hate of Jews. Hate of Muslims. Hate of any group of people based on their faith, their national origin, or any aspect of their identity. Our University rejects the harassment or intimidation of individuals based on their beliefs," Gay said.
Ackman's letter from Saturday continues, "On-campus protesters on the Widener Library steps and elsewhere shout ‘Intifada! Intifada! Intifada! From the River to the Sea, Palestine Shall Be Free!’ as they knowingly call for violent insurrection and use eliminationist language seeking the destruction of the State of Israel and the Jewish people."
He directly calls out President Gay by stating, "In summary, your failure to condemn the barbaric acts of October 7th opened the door for a wave of anti-Israel attacks on campus that have led to a growing number of antisemitic protests and actions."
Not long after Hamas terrorists attacked Israel on Saturday, 34 student organizations signed a statement issued by the Harvard Palestine Solidarity Groups that began by blaming the "Israeli regime" for "all unfolding violence." Five groups have since … (Scott Eisen/Getty Images / Getty Images)
Ackman then makes seven suggestions to Harvard's president about how to "solve the problem."
Last month Ackman called on Harvard to release the membership lists of more than 30 student groups that signed a letter blaming Hamas’ terror attacks solely on Israel. The request was reportedly done so he and other executives could avoid inadvertently hiring them in the future.
Bill Ackman gestures during a Bloomberg Television interview in London on Jan. 14, 2015. (Chris Ratcliffe/Bloomberg via Getty Images / Getty Images)
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"If you were managing a business, would you hire someone who blamed the despicable violent acts of a terrorist group on the victims? I don’t think so. Would you hire someone who was a member of a school club who issued a statement blaming lynchings by the KKK on their victims? I don’t think so," Ackman wrote.
FOX Business has reached out to President Gay and the Harvard media relations team for comment regarding the letter.
FOX Business' Eric Revell and Elizabeth Pritchett contributed to this report.