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Robert Kraft Donates $1 Million to Yeshiva University for New Program, to Help Support Transferring Jewish Students
Robert Kraft. Photo: New England Patriots/Wikimedia Commons
Robert Kraft, the Jewish owner of the NFL’s New England Patriots and founder of the Foundation to Combat Antisemitism (FCAS), has donated $1 million to Yeshiva University in New York City to establish a new program aimed at promoting inclusivity.
The Blue Square Scholars program will also help Yeshiva University accommodate and support Jewish college students who are transferring to the school after feeling unsafe at their previous campuses due to the recent rise in antisemitism on college campuses across the country. The program will “help provide the necessary infrastructure to accommodate the best and the brightest students who are rooted in the university’s values of compassion and respect for all,” the university announced on Tuesday. “These students will become the leaders and bridge-builders our society so desperately needs.”
The name of the Blue Square Scholars program is inspired by FCAS’s Blue Square initiative, a multimedia campaign that addresses rising antisemitism.
“I am honored to establish the Blue Square Scholars program at Yeshiva University in order to give students a welcoming place to further their education and grow into leaders who will serve as advocates for unity and respect and will push back on all hate,” Kraft said in a statement. “At a time where hate has been unleashed across our universities, Jewish students are feeling isolated and unsafe. Yeshiva is providing a safe haven for these students and I look forward to seeing them thrive in an academic environment where they could live and study free of fear for being who they are.”
Yeshiva University President Rabbi Dr. Ari Berman thanked Kraft and FCAS for establishing the Blue Square Scholars program, “and for all they have done to foster a more inclusive society throughout our country.”
“Robert sets the standard for impactful leadership in this country and this program will support top tier students who will follow his example to become the leaders of tomorrow,” he added.
Following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack in Israel, more than 100 university and college presidents across the US — including from public, private, faith-based, and historically Black colleges and universities — joined Berman in expressing solidarity with Israel and condemning Hamas terrorism. Berman also led a group of university presidents on the March of the Living at the former Auschwitz concentration camp in Poland on Holocaust Memorial Day last month.
Kraft pulled funding from his alma mater, Columbia University, in April “over the treatment of Jewish students and faculty during pro-Palestinian protests at the campus.” In an op-ed for the New York Post, he said he was profoundly disappointed seeing Jewish students being targeted by anti-Israel student protesters at Columbia. “The Columbia I loved is no longer a place I know,” he said.
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Biden hits Fundraising Trail in Show of Strength after Dismal Debate Performance
FILE PHOTO: U.S. President Joe Biden speaks during a campaign rally in Raleigh, North Carolina, U.S., June 28, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Elizabeth Frantz/File Photo
President Joe Biden embarks on a series of fundraising events across two states on Saturday as he works to stamp out a crisis of confidence in his re-election campaign following a feeble debate performance that dismayed his fellow Democrats.
Biden and First Lady Jill Biden will visit the upscale New York beach enclave known as the Hamptons for a campaign fundraiser hosted by hedge-fund billionaire Barry Rosentein. Later in the day, he will travel to New Jersey for a fundraiser hosted by wealthy New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat.
Fellow hedge-fund founder Eric Mindich and his Tony Award-winning producer wife Stacey, celebrity couple Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick, and actor Michael J. Fox are all listed as members of the host committee at the New York event, according to an invitation seen by Reuters.
Biden told a rally in North Carolina on Friday he intended to defeat Republican rival Donald Trump in the November presidential election, giving no sign he would heed calls from Democrats who want him to drop out of the race.
Biden‘s verbal stumbles and occasionally meandering responses during Thursday night’s debate heightened voter concerns that the 81-year-old might not be fit to serve another four-year term.
The Biden campaign on Saturday boasted it had raised more than $27 million between debate day through Friday evening, but questions remain about whether the debate performance will hurt fundraising, at least in the short term.
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Arab League Rescinds the Classification of Hezbollah as a Terrorist Group
Mourners carry a coffin during the funeral of Wissam Tawil, a commander of Hezbollah’s elite Radwan forces who according to Lebanese security sources was killed during an Israeli strike on south Lebanon, in Khirbet Selm, Lebanon, Jan. 9, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/Aziz Taher
i24 News – The Arab League no longer defines Hezbollah as a proscribed terrorist group, an official said on Saturday.
Hezbollah, a Lebanon-based Shiite militia and a proxy of the Islamic regime in Iran, boasts the world’s largest rocket arsenal of any non-state actor. It is animated by the antisemitic ideology of jihad and is committed to the destruction of Israel.
“In earlier Arab League decisions, Hezbollah was designated as a terrorist organization, and this designation was reflected in the resolutions,” Hossam Zaki, the assistant secretary-general of the Arab League, was quoted in Arab media as saying.
“The League’s member states concurred that the labeling of Hezbollah as a terrorist organization should no longer be employed,” Zaki said, adding that the regional body “does not maintain terrorist lists and does not actively seek to designate entities in such a manner.”
Hezbollah has unleashed numerous rockets, mortars and drones on northern Israel in the past eight months starting on October 8, a day after the Jewish state suffered the worst antisemitic massacre since the Holocaust at the hands of the Palestinian jihadists of Hamas.
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Poll: 66% of Israelis Do Not Want Benjamin Netanyahu in Next Elections
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu attends a cabinet meeting at the Bible Lands Museum in Jerusalem on June 5, 2024. Photo: Gil Cohen-Magen/Pool via REUTERS
i24 News – A recent poll conducted by Channel 12 has revealed significant sentiments among Israeli voters regarding the country’s political landscape, with a majority expressing opposition to Benjamin Netanyahu’s continued presence in future elections.
According to the survey, approximately 66% of respondents indicated they do not want Netanyahu to participate in upcoming political contests, reflecting a widespread desire for change within Israeli politics.
The sentiment against Netanyahu is particularly pronounced outside his traditional right-wing, religious bloc, where only 37% share a similar view.
Among supporters within this bloc, 53% are in favor of Netanyahu continuing his political career.
In terms of potential leadership for a right-wing electoral alliance, former Prime Minister Naftali Bennett emerged as the frontrunner, capturing 30% of voter support. Avigdor Liberman, leader of the Yisrael Beytenu party, and former Mossad chief Yossi Cohen followed with 10% each. However, Gideon Sa’ar, leader of the New Hope faction, garnered only 4% of favorable opinions in the poll.
The survey also highlighted a strong consensus among respondents, with 85% in favor of establishing a state commission of inquiry to investigate the events of October 7. This initiative seeks to address failures related to recent national issues, underscoring public demand for accountability and transparency in governance.
Regarding military service, a majority of 66% supported the drafting of ultra-Orthodox yeshiva students into the army, contrasting with 24% who disagreed and 10% who were undecided on the matter.
The poll, conducted by the Midgam polling institute in collaboration with iPanel, provides insights into Israeli public opinion as the nation navigates critical decisions about leadership, governance, and national policy.
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