Elizabeth Magill:  UPenn’s $100m donation is withdrawn following House antisemitism testimony

Following the president of the University of Pennsylvania’s contentious appearance before Congress, a significant contributor withdrew a $100 million (£79.3 million) donation.

Ross Stevens expressed his “appalled” in an email obtained by the BBC, but Elizabeth Magill sidestepped questions about the consequences for students who called for the extermination of the Jewish people.

Politicians questioned her on Tuesday on antisemitism on campus.

Although Ms. Magill has now apologised, her comments have prompted calls for her resignation.

Following the outbreak of the war between Israel and Hamas two months ago, US college campuses have witnessed irate demonstrations and an increase in antisemitic occurrences.

Alongside Claudine Gay and Sally Kornbluth, the presidents of MIT and Harvard, Ms. Magill made an appearance in the House of Representatives.

Republican Elise Stefanik, a congresswoman from New York, questioned them, saying, “Does advocating for the extermination of Jews go against [your university’s] code of conduct or policies regarding bullying and harassment? “Yes or no?”

Rather than providing a yes or no response, Ms. Magill and her colleagues from MIT and Harvard stated that it depended on the “context” in different ways.

Since then, there has been a great deal of backlash, and the White House has denounced the comments.

“I have clear grounds to rescind Penn’s $100 million of Stone Ridge shares due to the conduct of President Magill,” Mr. Stevens stated in his communication regarding the donation’s cancellation.

He informed the university that the “permissive approach” taken by individuals advocating violence against Jews “would violate any policies or rules that prohibit harassment and discrimination based on religion, including those of Stone Ridge.” He is the founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management.

One of the nation’s oldest colleges, Penn is a member of the prestigious Ivy League, which also includes Yale, Harvard, and Columbia.

The university in Philadelphia is also home to one of the most prominent business schools in the world, Wharton, whose alumni include billionaire Elon Musk of Tesla and SpaceX, former US President Donald Trump, and numerous other well-known figures in business and finance.