Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is demanding that the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and UPenn “resign in disgrace” following their comments during a congressional hearing on Tuesday.
“The presidents of @Harvard, @MIT, and @Penn were all asked the following question under oath at today’s congressional hearing on antisemitism: Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate [your university’s] code of conduct or rules regarding bullying or harassment?” Ackman wrote in a post on X/Twitter.
Bill Ackman, CEO and founder of Pershing Square Capital, visits the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, Tuesday, Nov. 10, 2015. (AP Photo/Richard Drew)
Watch Below:
The presidents of @Harvard, @MIT, and @Penn were all asked the following question under oath at today’s congressional hearing on antisemitism:
Does calling for the genocide of Jews violate [your university’s] code of conduct or rules regarding bullying or harassment?
The… pic.twitter.com/eVlPCHMcVZ
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) December 5, 2023
The hedge fund manager continued, “the answers they gave reflect the profound moral bankruptcy” of Harvard Presidents Gay, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) president Sally Kornbluth, and University of Pennsylvania Liz Magill.
“Representative @EliseStefanik was so shocked with the answers that she asked each of them the same question over and over again, and they gave the same answers over and over again,” he said. Breitbart News reported on Stefanik’s questioning of the university presidents on Tuesday.
“In short, they said: It ‘depends on the context’ and ‘whether the speech turns into conduct,’ that is, actually killing Jews,” Ackman wrote, adding that “this could be the most extraordinary testimony ever elicited in the Congress, certainly on the topic of genocide.”
The billionaire reminded his readers that genocide is “the deliberate killing of a large number of people from a particular nation or ethnic group with the aim of destroying that nation or group.”
“The presidents’ answers reflect the profound educational, moral and ethical failures that pervade certain of our elite educational institutions due in large part to their failed leadership,” Ackman continued.
“Don’t take my word for it. You must watch the following three minutes,” he added. “By the end, you will be where I am. They must all resign in disgrace. If a CEO of one of our companies gave a similar answer, he or she would be toast within the hour.”
Ackman added the following:
Why has antisemitism exploded on campus and around the world?
Because of leaders like Presidents Gay, Magill and Kornbluth who believe genocide depends on the context.
To think that these are the leaders of Ivy League institutions that are charged with the responsibility to educate our best and brightest.
On the bright side, our congressional leaders deserve accolades for showing tremendous leadership and moral clarity in their statements, by the questions they asked, and the respectfulness with which they conducted the hearing.
It was a masterclass of how our government and democracy should operate.
“If you have time, please watch the entire hearing,” Ackman implored. “Throughout the hearing, the three behaved like hostile witnesses, exhibiting a profound disdain for the Congress with their smiles and smirks, and their outright refusal to answer basic questions with a yes or no answer.”
In another post, Ackman wrote, “Hypocrisy” in response to an X/Twitter user who pointed out that “For some reason,” Harvard “has taken down Dean Gay’s statement on the death of George Floyd from its original source.”
Hypocrisy https://t.co/zSf7irjovx
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) December 6, 2023
“But I think it is worth reflecting on today, and juxtaposing her words then with what she said today when questioned about hate speech towards Jews on campus and questioning the stark difference,” the X/Twitter user added.
In a third post, Ackman revealed that he “just got a call from one of @Harvard’s most respected and generous alums” and that “his first words were: ‘Bill, promise me it was a deepfake.’”
I just got a call from one of @Harvard’s most respected and generous alums. His first words were:
“Bill, promise me it was a deepfake.”
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) December 6, 2023
As Breitbart News reported, Ackman as been very vocal about his distaste for Harvard leadership’s failure to address rampant antisemitism on campus.
In October, the hedge fund manager called on Harvard to release the names of students that are members of groups that signed a pro-terror statement in response to the October 7 Hamas attacks against Israel, so that employers do not “inadvertently” hire pro-terrorist graduates in the future.
You can follow Alana Mastrangelo on Facebook and X/Twitter at @ARmastrangelo, and on Instagram.