Watchdog points to unreported millions in Qatari donations to Yale amid campus anti-Semitism
'Our research reveals that Yale University has only declared one grant from Qatar since 2012, in the amount of just $284,668, yet we estimate that it has received approximately $15,925,711 during this time,' the report revealed.
A new report has concluded that Yale University failed to disclose almost $16 million of financial contributions from Qatar, potentially violating federal law.
The document, entitled “The Ongoing Failure to Report: Yale University, Qatar, and Undisclosed Foreign Funding,” was published by the watchdog group, Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy. The organization is “dedicated to scholarly research into the origins, processes, and manifestations of global antisemitism and of other forms of prejudice, including various forms of racism, as they relate to policy in an age of globalization.”
“Our research reveals that Yale University has only declared one grant from Qatar since 2012, in the amount of just $284,668, yet we estimate that it has received approximately $15,925,711 during this time,” the report states.
“It is difficult to ascertain the exact amount, as Yale does not disclose all its foreign funding,” it continues. “This despite that fact that, by law and according to the ethics guides of most major universities, all agreements, contracts, MOUs, and service-in-kind arrangements should be made public.”
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The study also finds that “some” universities have engaged in “defrauding the US Department of Education (DOE) by not fully disclosing the financial support they receive from Qatar” and are thereby “in breach of federal law, particularly after receiving prior warnings and compliance orders.”
“While it is not illegal for Yale University employees and donors to have connections with Qatari institutions, there is a problematic lack of transparency around the financial relationships between these institutions and the university,” the report asserts
The document continues to note some of the anti-Semitism that persisted at Yale’s campus, including chants of “Globalize the Intifada,” 48 people being charged with trespassing during an anti-Israel protest, and witnesses reporting “brazen antisemitism and violations of university policy” and “unauthorized protests blocking common areas” at the anti-Israel encampment at the university.
“In one incident, a Jewish student leader was ‘surrounded and struck by a sharp object,’ which led to their hospitalization,” the report says.
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The report concludes by recommending specific policy actions, including the opening of a “federal government investigation into non-reporting of foreign donations to U.S. universities.”
“The investigation should explore the impact of Qatari and other foreign funding on the increase of antisemitism in higher education,” it also recommends.
Yale disagreed with the institute’s conclusions, telling Campus Reform: “Yale disputes the conclusion of this report, which contains factual errors and misleading statements. The university is not aware of any funding from Qatar that has not been reported as required under federal law.”
