The Columbia University protests made national headlines, prompted congressional hearings, and led to the arrest of more than 100 students. This week, Robert K. Kraft, owner of the New England Patriots and one of the school’s most famous and wealthy alumni, entered the fray.
Mr. Kraft, who graduated from Columbia University in 1963 and has donated millions of dollars to the university, has proposed suspending donations to the school until steps are taken to reduce hate speech targeting some students and faculty.
“I am no longer confident that Columbia can protect its students and faculty, and I do not feel comfortable supporting the university until corrective action is taken,” said Mr. Kraft, who is Jewish. name On Monday.
Protests rocked the campus in Upper Manhattan this month, with students arrested after refusing to leave a pro-Palestinian encampment and demonstrators sometimes harassing Jewish students or shouting anti-Semitic remarks outside the school’s main gates.
Mr. Kraft’s attempts to combat anti-Semitism have become increasingly popular in recent years, well before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel and the outbreak of the Gaza war. In 2019, alarmed by attacks on Jews and synagogues in Pittsburgh, Poway, California and elsewhere, Mr. Kraft founded the Foundation to Combat Anti-Semitism, a nonprofit that works to combat the surge of violent language on social media.
The foundation is running a $25 million television campaign, including advertising during this year’s Academy Awards broadcast on ABC. Similar ads were played during the NFL season and during the Super Bowl.
“This is not a problem that will be solved in two or three years. This is a problem that has persisted for thousands of years,” Mr. Kraft said in a December interview at the foundation’s offices down the hall from his office at the Patriots complex.
Many ads contain messages that replicate anti-Semitic attacks and help Jews and non-Jews fight against each other.
The one-minute ad, which ran during the Academy Awards, was based on an incident that occurred in Massachusetts. It started with a 13-year-old boy trying to read Torah at his bar mitzvah. The following statistics will flash on the screen: “Last year, 895 Jewish temples received bomb threats. “This is one of those stories.”
A group of Christians gathered across the street see a police signal and invite believers to end the event at the church. As the boy resumes reading the Torah, another message appears. “Hate is defeated when we stand together.”
The foundation’s mission is to systematically track hate speech and use the results to motivate people of all backgrounds to fight anti-Semitic behavior, especially online misinformation. That work has grown exponentially in recent months as criticism of Israel’s military actions in Gaza has led to fierce debates that, in some cases, have led to anti-Semitic rhetoric.
Computers at the foundation’s headquarters monitor real-time keywords, phrases, and hashtags from up to 300 million publicly available sources, including blogs, online forums, and websites, as well as social media sites such as X, Instagram, and TikTok. do.
He hosted a “convocation” of sports leaders, including Jewish athletes such as former Patriots receiver Julian Edelman. In late January, Mr. Kraft helped bring together the commissioners of America’s major sports leagues at NFL headquarters in Manhattan.
University presidents, politicians and executives have sought his advice, and the CEO of Adidas has reached out to Kanye West last year after he was criticized for condoning inflammatory comments targeting Jews and Black Lives Matter. I broke off the relationship. Mr. Kraft worked with Adidas on a plan to sell the remaining clothing and sneakers designed by Mr. West and donate a portion of the proceeds to groups including the Anti-Defamation League.
One friend with whom Mr. Kraft has not spoken recently is former President Donald J. Trump. Although the two have been close for decades, President Trump’s language on the campaign trail appears to be at odds with the Kraft Foundation’s mission.
In recent months, Mr. Kraft has worked to strengthen bridges between Jewish and black communities. An ad the foundation ran during the Super Bowl featured Clarence Jones, a speechwriter for Martin Luther King Jr. and president of the Spill the Honey Foundation, a nonprofit that highlights the longstanding alliance between African Americans and Jews.
Last March, Mr. Kraft and Dr. Jones shared the stage at 92NY in New York to discuss ways the two foundations could work together.
“The fierceness and devotion of the Jewish people can be translated into simple, practical terms,” Dr. Jones said. “There would have been no Civil Rights Act of 1964 or Voting Rights Act of 1965. None of this would have happened without the allies and support of the Jewish community. So I won’t sit on the sidelines.”
