On Friday’s broadcast of MSNBC’s “Morning Joe,” Anti-Defamation League CEO Jonathan Greenblatt argued that donations to colleges and universities from Qatar does lead to college administrators and presidents thinking twice “before doing something that might upset their patrons” and called for an investigation into money from Qatar flowing into schools.
Co-host Joe Scarborough asked, “I am curious…your thoughts about the fact that Qatar — who, by the way, the Netanyahu government asked to fund Hamas billions of dollars — Qatar also has contributed to American universities. It’s one of the largest donors to American universities, up to $5 billion in contributions. And they set up Middle East Studies programs…there is a decidedly anti-Israel tilt to these studies programs. I’m curious, do we need to start taking a closer look at the billions and billions of dollars that these elite universities are getting from countries like Qatar and Saudi Arabia and see how much it is impacting the debate on campus?”
Greenblatt answered, “I’m less certain about Saudi Arabia, but Qatar for sure. It’s scandalous that they pumped billions and billions and billions of dollars into our education system, and of course, there are consequences of that. Of course, it leads a college president or administrator to think twice before doing something that might upset their patrons. It is really a problem.”
Follow Ian Hanchett on Twitter @IanHanchett
COMMENTS
Please let us know if you're having issues with commenting.