One of Brown University’s leading donors, real estate entrepreneur Barry Sternlicht, said he was withdrawing financial support from the university because of the administration’s willingness to discuss joining the boycott of Israel.
The University of Rhode Island has become the first higher education institution in the United States to agree to consider an academic boycott of Israel. The decision will have to be made by the board of governors, which will meet in June.
“As part of the agreement, students will dismantle the encampment and agree to refrain from engaging in activities that violate university code for the remainder of the academic year,” said Christina Paxson, president of the Ivy League institution.
The businessman, whose fortune exceeds three billion dollars, called the decision unconscionable. “If people ignore the facts, there should be no discussion. This is not education, this is propaganda,” said the 63-year-old businessman.