The fight against anti-Semitism may soon have a powerful and well-funded ally in Blackstone chief Steve Schwartzman.
The private equity giant, worth about $40 billion, has been discussing with a variety of people its concerns about anti-Israel protests at his alma mater, Yale University, and widespread attacks on Jews across the United States, he said. A close source told the Post.
He is said to be considering using his influence (and deep pocketbook) to finance a counterattack, the people said.
“Steve is Jewish and has always been concerned about the rise of anti-Semitism, but he has seen enough and wants to fight back,” said a person familiar with the matter.
Schwartzman’s discussion of funding efforts to combat anti-Semitism has not yet been reported and is understood to be in the early conceptual stages.
But officials say he wants to be more inclusive, to set the stage for a national debate to show that anti-Semitism is a real problem in this country, and to set the stage for a national debate to show that anti-Semitism is a real problem in this country, and that some of the lunatic He says he is thinking about more than just being a established supporter.
A spokeswoman for Mr. Schwartzman declined to provide further details.
“Like many people, he is thinking about ways to help fight anti-Semitism,” she said.
Mr. Schwartzman’s participation in the fray is significant in the backlash against the bizarre sight of left-wing demonstrators taking to the streets and university campuses to praise the atrocities of Hamas and denounce Israel’s sovereignty to protect it from annihilation. This will be a major development.
And he’s no stranger to philanthropy, as evidenced by the many landmarks that bear his name, including here in New York.
please think about it. He donated his $150 million to Ivy schools in his league. Yale’s Schwarzman Center is the intersection of the university’s rich culture and scholarship.
That’s not all.
In 2008, he donated an additional $100 million to renovate the New York Public Library.
But as Yale University became a hotbed of anti-Semitic, pro-Hamas protests, the Schwarzman Center became the focal point.
On October 7, left-wing students and teachers set up camp there after a brutal attack by a terrorist group that killed around 1,200 Israelis on a kibbutz and music festival near Gaza.
Just a few weeks ago, a Jewish student was stabbed in the eye by a protester carrying a Palestinian flag during a separate brawl at Yale University.
At the library, its flagship Stephen A. Schwarzman building was defaced with pro-Hamas graffiti, including a blood-red handprint covering Schwarzman’s name on the front commemorating his donation. .
The Post reported that public libraries are currently spending $75 million to clean up the mess.
Aside from allowing these anti-Israel protests to flare up on Yale and other college campuses, another issue that worries many Israel supporters on Wall Street is that the demonstrations are bizarre. But it’s something that now appears to be influencing the Biden administration’s policies.
Israel’s military efforts to remove the last vestiges of Hamas from the Gaza city of Rafah have recently prompted the president, government officials and Democrats to worry about alienating left-leaning voters in the close 2024 presidential election. has been criticized by many people.
political appeasement policy
We’re hearing that this political appeasement at the expense of Israel could push Republican Schwartzman back into the Trump camp.
As reported in this column, Trump has denied the 2020 election and has not yet said whether he will support the former president in the 2024 race.
Unfortunately, with the exception of Bill Ackman of the Pershing Square Capital hedge fund and Mark Rowan, CEO of another major PE firm, Apollo Management, most of Wall Street and big business remain silent about the anti-Semitic fervor. are doing.
Rowan is a University of Pennsylvania alumnus who led the effort to oust Board of Trustees Chairman Scott Bok and Chancellor Liz McGill for their callous response to anti-Jewish hatred on campus.
Mr. Ackman is a Harvard University graduate who advocated for the removal of the university’s president, who was recently assaulted.
Claudine Gay has similar concerns.
Yes, Schwartzman is a leftist backed by his favorite billionaires, including former hedge trader George Soros, who, as the Post reported, never turns down an opportunity to fund radical initiatives. will be a formidable enemy.
But don’t joke. Any attempt by Schwartzman or anyone else to deprogram anti-Semitism from our cultural institutions will be an uphill battle.
What people like Schwartzman, Ackman, and Rowan don’t realize is their own responsibility, even if unintentional, in campus radicalism.
Over the years, they donated tens of millions of dollars to these elite universities and used that money to hire left-wing professors who denigrated Western civilization education and promoted anti-Americanism in their core curriculum.
As a result, not only universities but all cultural institutions were handed over to radicals.
As a result, students and the general public were brainwashed. Anti-Semitism has become a byproduct of this cultural corruption. Because Israel is a loyal ally of ours and is seen as an oppressor of the Arab people, even though it has been attacked for years by terrorists who are proxies of our neighbors and enemies such as Iran. be.
However, it’s never too late to fight.
I hope Schwartzman starts soon.
Charles Gasparino is the author of the forthcoming book Go Woke, Go Broke: The Inside Story on the Radicalization of Corporate America.
