Prestigious universities plagued by antisemitism receive billions in taxpayer-backed cash, analysis finds

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Pro-Palestinian protestors chant outside Columbia University

Pro-Palestinian protestors are heard changing, "Israel bombs, USA paid, How many kids did you kill today," outside Columbia University in New York City on Nov. 15, 2023.

Columbia and Stanford universities, which have been beset by antisemitic events on their campuses during Israel's war with Hamas, received billions in taxpayer dollars in recent years, according to an analysis.

Critics have assailed universities in recent weeks over what they say is an inadequate response to the antisemitic events, prompting questions and concerns over federal funding going to such institutions.

OpenTheBooks, a government watchdog group, examined 10 top-tier universities' federal funding and found that Columbia and Stanford sat atop the stack and acquired a staggering amount of cash supported by taxpayers.

"Regular people are asking why taxpayer money is flowing into any university where they've incubated discrimination, bigotry and antisemitism," OpenTheBooks founder Adam Andrzejewski told Fox News Digital. "Let alone advocacy of terrorism against our closest ally in the Middle East. Public funding and discrimination of any type cannot be reconciled."

ELITE AMERICAN UNIVERSITIES RECEIVING BILLIONS IN FEDERAL FUNDS SEE RISE IN ANTISEMITISM: 'GAMED THE TAX CODE'

Columbia University faculty members stand in front of a campus building with a list of demands from the university administration on Nov. 15, 2023. (Teny Sahakian / Fox News)

The group found that Stanford acquired federal funds at a higher clip than the other elite universities over a five-year span. According to their analysis, the school received roughly $7 billion in taxpayer-backed cash between 2018 and 2022, including federal grants and contracts.

Columbia, meanwhile, obtained roughly $5.8 million in federal grants and contracts during the same period, the group said.

"In fiscal year 2022, Stanford received $1.6 billion in federal grants and contracts, while they charged $598 million in undergraduate student tuition," Andrzejewski said. "It's a similar picture at Columbia. The feds sent them $1.26 billion while student tuition amounted to $769 million."

"These wealthy, elite universities get twice as much funding for acting as a federal contractor than an educator," he added.

Overall, the 10 universities studied received $33 billion in federal grants and contracts over the five years. The group also analyzed the University of Pennsylvania, Yale, Harvard, Northwestern, Cornell, Princeton, Brown and Dartmouth.

"It's time that Congress reconsiders the primary missions of these institutions," Andrzejewski said. "These universities enjoy special nonprofit tax status while they stuff their endowments with tens of billions in private-sector donations and off-load the costs of their research on the American taxpayer."

Not only do Columbia and Stanford sit atop the pile of federal cash in the analysis, but they also have been among those scrutinized over antisemitic occurrences on campuses.

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Columbia University students and faculty protest the removal of two pro-Palestinian groups. (Teny Sahakian / Fox News)

Since Hamas' brutal Oct. 7 attack on Israeli citizens that left over 1,200 dead, Columbia's campus has experienced walkouts and rallies along with verbal and written clashes between students and faculty. 

The events included nearly two dozen student groups signing a letter "holding the Israeli occupation accountable for its actions and putting an end to the untenable status quo of Israel's apartheid and colonial system." 

Additionally, two student organizations – Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace – were suspended from the university through the end of the fall term for violating university policies.

The school said the two student groups "repeatedly violated university policies related to holding campus events, culminating in an unauthorized event [last] Thursday afternoon that proceeded despite warnings and included threatening rhetoric and intimidation."

On Wednesday, students and staff at the school protested the removal of the groups, Fox News Digital reported.

Meanwhile, a Columbia professor went viral for decrying the response by the school regarding antisemitic incidents. A Jewish student was also attacked with a stick after objecting to a woman tearing down posters of Hamas hostages.

Columbia did not respond to a Fox News Digital request for comment.

Stanford, on the other hand, has also experienced antisemitic incidents on its campus while seeing its leaders come under the microscope.

NYC COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY FACULTY AND STUDENTS PROTEST SUSPENSION OF 2 FAR-LEFT GROUPS

Supporters of both Israel and Palestinians engage with each other at Columbia University on Oct. 12 in New York City. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

Stanford President Richard Saller and Provost Jenny Martinez came under fire for initially failing to condemn Hamas in a letter responding to their terrorist attack. Their actions led to over 1,800 Stanford affiliates slamming them in a letter, the Stanford Daily reported in late October. 

When contacted for comment, the university pointed Fox News Digital to statements the university released, including one from Martinez days after the student publication reported on the letter.

"I want to be unequivocally clear that Stanford stands against antisemitism and recognizes the deep historical roots of this form of hate and the ways in which Jewish students, faculty, and staff are affected by this historical legacy and its current manifestations," Martinez said in the statement.

Furthermore, a Stanford instructor was also dismissed from the classroom after downplaying the Holocaust and singling out students "based on their backgrounds and identities," CNN reported.

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The rising antisemitic events on campuses – and many times, a lackluster response – have led to lawmakers such as House GOP Conference Chair Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., calling for tightening the taxpayer valve on those institutions.

"It is abhorrent that Harvard and universities across America are enabling horrific antisemitism to run rampant on their campuses," Stefanik told Fox News Digital last week. "U.S. taxpayer dollars should be prohibited from funding any institution that promotes antisemitism or anti-Israel bigotry, and House Republicans will hold these extremist institutions accountable for failing their students."

Fox News Digital's Greg Wehner and Teny Sahakian contributed to this report.