Patriots Owner Robert Kraft Will Stop Donating to Columbia University Amid Protests: ‘No Longer an Institution I Recognize’

Andrew Harnik/AP

New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft has vowed to stop donating to Columbia University as heated protests continue on its campus.

Since last week, hundreds have occupied a lawn on the university’s campus — forming the “Gaza Solidarity Encampment.” The protest calls for an end to Columbia’s ties to corporations they claim are benefitting from Israel’s war in the territory.

Members of the Jewish community have called the demonstration anti-Semitic, claiming protestors have chanted calls for violence against them. Amplifying that volatility was the arrival of police who arrested more than 100 protestors.

The gathering has since been condemned by a number of political figures, including New York City Mayor Eric Adams and President Joe Biden .

According to Kraft, the university doesn’t resemble the one he attended when he was younger.

“It was through the full academic scholarship Columbia gave me that I was able to attend college and get my start in life and for that I have been tremendously grateful,” Kraft said in a statement. “However, the school I love so much — the one that welcomed me and provided me with so much opportunity — is longer the institution I recognize. I am deeply saddened at the virulent hate that continues to grow on campus and throughout our country. I am no longer confident that Columbia its student and staff and I am not comfortable supporting the university until collective action is taken.

“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.”

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