The Trump Administration Should Cancel All Federal Grants to Yale
March 12, 2025
Under the Biden administration, many elite universities were convulsed with violence and antisemitism when Israel invaded the Gaza Strip. Israel retaliated to a terrorist attack by Hamas that resulted in over 1,200 deaths, multiple rapes and the taking of over two hundred hostages.
Thus far, the Trump administration has only punished Columbia University, cancelling the Biden administration’s $400,000,000 grant. Columbia has a $14.8 billion endowment.
And Columbia deserved it.
According to the ADL (Anti-Defamation League – an organization fighting antisemitism):
“During the fall of 2023, incidents of swastika vandalism, physical assaults, and the posting of stickers reading “Zionist Donors and Trustees Hands Off Our University,” and “Zionism is Terrorism” were reported on campus. Visibly Jewish students have reported being spat on and subjected to antisemitic rhetoric including “F*** the Jews.” In October 2023, an Israeli student was allegedly beaten on his hand with a stick outside of the University library after confronting a perpetrator for ripping down flyers of Israeli hostages held by Hamas.”
The response by Columbia’s administration could be charitably called tepid. Emboldened, anti-Israel protesters occupied that campus quad and then took over and vandalized a building. This was all on videotape but the Manhattan District Attorney – who found six weeks of time to convict Donald Trump for allegedly copulating with a porn star over twenty years ago and using creative bookkeeping to cover it up – looked the other way.
Which brings us to Yale. While Yale purports to allow free speech, this is selectively enforced. Sympathizers of the Palestinian cause can express their opinions, but Jewish professors and students are harassed for doing the same.
Consider the following:
Azmi Ahmad, a medical researcher blocked an Israeli postdoc student from commenting on a film about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. When another professor, Evan Morris, wrote an article exposing this, he was investigated by Yale’s committees for months.
Yale took no action against Professor Zareena Grewal after she honored October 7 [the day of the Hamas massacre of Israelis] as “an extraordinary day.”
The Yale Women’s Center hosted events highlighting supposed Israeli atrocities against the Palestinians but when a Jewish student wished to present a different viewpoint, she was denied.
Perhaps the Yale administrators believed such a biased approach would decrease the possibility of violence, as those who sympathize with Israel tend to be less violent than those who do not.
It didn’t work out.
Pro-Palestinian students and professors occupied the college quad overnight (a violation of campus policy), spewed antisemitic hatred, tore down the American flag and assualted a Jewish student who had the guts to confront them.
While some efforts were made to discipline the protestors, none suffered significant consequences for their action.
The Trump administration is now perusing the films of this occupation and may find cause to deport participating foreign students who are violating our laws. Already the Trump administration is trying to deport one of the ring leaders of the Columbia protests, Syrian national Mahmood Khalil.
A Yale Law School graduate and Obama-appointed judge, Jesse Furman, has temporarily blocked his deportation. But according to American law, Khalil – even though he is a permanent resident alien – can be deported if he promotes a government-declared terrorist organization, which he clearly did. Stay tuned.
But as an interesting aside: What would happen to an American student studying in Syria who led a pro-Israel protest?
President Trump should block all federal funding of Yale. After all, Yale’s endowment is over $40 billion. They won’t miss it.
Meanwhile, liberals appalled by antisemitism must speak out. Their strategy to remain silent during the Presidential election out of fear of upsetting the fragile coalition needed elect Kamala Harris failed.
Donald Trump is now President and liberals appalled by antisemitism should now have the courage to support his agenda on this issue, even if they are repulsed by him otherwise.
Contact Dr. Bentivegna: jfbentivegna@gmail.com
Follow Dr. Bentivegna on Twitter (X); @joebentivegnamd