Billionaire Leon Cooperman Halts Columbia Donations Amid Israel-Hamas Protests

Billionaire hedge fund founder and Columbia University graduate, Leon Cooperman, announced that he will no longer donate to the university due to student protests critical of Israel during its war with Hamas. Cooperman criticized the protests and called for the firing of a professor who described Hamas' attack on Israel as "awesome" and "astounding." Hundreds of students participated in a walk-out to protest Israel, and a petition calling for the professor's firing has garnered over 59,000 signatures. Cooperman has donated approximately $50 million to Columbia since graduating in 1967. This follows similar controversies at other elite universities, where billionaires have vowed to withhold donations over perceived anti-Israel sentiment.