Ross Stevens
Most of you have watched the disgusting display of antisemitism that took place on Capitol Hill this week: the Presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania, playing pathetic word games to avoid condemning Jewish Genocide. If you haven’t watched it, you must:
As we prepared to light the first candle of Chanukah last night, it was shared that a modern-day Maccabee boldly stood up to Penn’s President, Liz Magill. Ross Stevens, the founder and CEO of Stone Ridge Asset Management and the founder and Advisory Board Chairman of the Stevens Center for Innovation in Finance at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School of Business, announced that he and Stone Ridge were pulling their donation to Penn, valued at approximately $100 million, which funds the Stevens Center. “Mr. Stevens and Stone Ridge are appalled by the University’s stance on antisemitism on campus,” wrote Stevens’ attorney. “Absent a change in leadership and values at Penn in the very near future,” Stevens wrote, “I plan to rescind Penn’s Stone Ridge shares to prevent any further reputational and other damage to Stone Ridge as a result of our relationship with Penn and Liz Magill.”
Stevens’ actions are a reminder that as we live our own Chanukah story, fighting for the survival of the Jewish people, our battle is not just waged in Gaza. While we are all indebted to, respect and appreciate beyond words our IDF heroes, our warriors are not just soldiers. They include business leaders like Stevens who are stripping vital resources from academic institutions that have become platforms of a deranged ideology that promotes hatred towards Jews and Israel.
As Chanukah begins, let’s make sure we join Stevens and others and be 21st-century Maccabees. While perhaps not at the same level as folks like Stevens, many of us give to our alma maters and/or our children’s colleges/universities. Before we send our next donation, we must ensure that the campuses we support are doing everything possible to support us – the Jewish community. If they are not, you must be a warrior: stand up to antisemitism, do your part to undermine the hate directed at the Jewish community and Israel, stop backing those who refuse to have our backs. Direct your financial support to campuses and organizations that support who we are and what we stand for. In doing so, we will live the lesson of Chanukah and make certain that we Jews triumph over those who seek our demise.
Just as I was about to press send on this message, I learned that the renowned rabbi, David Wolpe, who is serving as a visiting scholar at Harvard, resigned yesterday from Harvard’s Antisemitism Advisory Committee. He wrote on X:
“…the system at Harvard along with the ideology that grips far too many of the students and faculty, the ideology that works only along axes of oppression and places Jews as oppressors and therefore intrinsically evil, is itself evil. Ignoring Jewish suffering is evil. Belittling or denying the Jewish experience, including unspeakable atrocities, is a vast and continuing catastrophe. Denying Israel the self-determination as a Jewish nation accorded unthinkingly to others is endemic, and evil… In this generation…we are called to be Maccabees of a different order.”
Rabbi Wolpe is another example of a 21st-century Maccabee, taking a stand by walking away from a situation that undermined his purpose. We must learn from his resignation, examine our own positions and commitments, and make sure that we are partnering with groups and institutions that reflect our fundamental values.
During these extremely dark times, as you light your Chanukiah, let Rabbi Wolpe and Ross Stevens be bright reminders that we each have the power to bring light into the darkness. So, let’s do it – together. We can. We will.
Wishing us all a bright Chanukah and a Shabbat Shalom. I look forward to seeing you all Sunday at Chanukah Palooza.