A prominent Jewish philanthropist has withdrawn a £315,000 donation to Cambridge University, citing what he describes as an “infestation” of anti-Israel sentiment since October 7.
Ivan Berkowitz, an American corporate executive and Trinity College alumnus, had pledged the funds to support a book project but accused the university of failing to address incidents of anti-Israel bias, including the vandalism of a 1914 portrait of Lord Balfour.
Speaking to the Jewish Chronicle, Berkowitz condemned Cambridge’s “fixation on elevating wokeness at the expense of the Jewish community” and criticized the law faculty for allegedly stifling debate on the Gaza conflict.
Referring to the vandalism, Berkowitz expressed frustration at the lack of resolution. “There’s a video of the occurrence, and the claim is still that there’s not sufficient evidence,” he said, questioning how a university with “Nobel laureates sitting at high table” could fail to identify the perpetrator. The painting was attacked in March by a Palestine Action activist, who posted footage of the act online, yet no arrests have been made.
Berkowitz, the son of Holocaust survivors, was also alarmed by reports suggesting Trinity College’s leadership, under Dame Sally Davies, is considering divesting from arms companies linked to Israel after pressure from pro-Palestine student activists.
“This is not the Cambridge I remember,” Berkowitz said, lamenting what he perceives as a growing hostility toward Israel and the Jewish community within one of the world’s leading universities.
Explaining his unwavering commitment to defending Israel and combating antisemitism, Ivan Berkowitz reflected on his family's harrowing history as Holocaust survivors.
“In each case, they didn’t escape the war—they survived it,” he said. “My wife’s parents endured Auschwitz and somehow survived, an experience that left deep, lasting scars. My mother survived underground in Budapest by purchasing the identity of a deceased Christian woman from a funeral director, and my father was forced into a labor camp.”
Berkowitz emphasized that this personal history fuels his determination to confront antisemitism and support the Jewish community, wherever challenges arise.
