A Network Contagion Research Institute study recently found billions in unreported funding from foreign governments that poured into U.S. Universities during the last two-decades. The U.S. Department of Education requires institutions to report all funding they receive from whom and how much.
The study found over 200 American colleges and universities illegally withheld information on contributions from foreign governments, many of whom were authoritarian. The report revealed an increase of antisemitism, anti-Zionism, speech intolerance, censorship, demotion, termination of scholars and speakers manifesting as “investigations” at a much higher rate on campuses where the foreign funding was received. Between 2015 and 2020, institutions that received such funding had a 300% increase in antisemitic incidents.
Ivy League universities across America have quietly soaked up billions of dollars. Professor of Political Science at Suffolk Community College Nicholas Giordano expressed his concern to The National Desk’s Jan Jeffcoat recently.
“When you’re talking about tens of billions of dollars, transferring hands from foreign governments over to the United States, there’s little doubt that this money is designed to buy influence,” he said. “There has to be strings attached and that’s what we think is going on, particularly on campuses in some of these countries.”
Qatar, China, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates were responsible for a large portion of the over $13 billion in unreported donations, as reported by The New York Post and CTech News. The increase of hate on college campuses towards antisemitism, anti-Israel, anti-Zionism, and pro-Palestinian, pro-Hamas rallies and protests has raised a question: Is foreign funding contributing to this rise?
Concerns over universities becoming facilities for foreign propaganda is swirling, as Congress turns up the heat on higher education to fully disclose the monies they receive, as reported by the New York Post. The Post also noted a correlation between where the foreign donations were accepted and where antisemitic incidents occurred.
Reportedly, the Qatari government has sought to establish an aspect of “soft power” around the world, according to Columbia Political Review and others. In the U.S., the power grab originated in academia, according to the NCRI report. Since 9/11, Qatar has dumped more money into colleges and universities than any other government – $4.7 billion, as reported by CTech News. The how, who, what, where and when have been answered. However, the why remains unclear, if not to influence the American mind and create a deterioration of the fundamental principles of liberty, freedom and self-governance in the U.S.
The University of Pennsylvania, home to the Penn Biden Center, received billions in donations from China and faced issues of on-campus antisemitism. This is leading to calls for university president Elizabeth Magill to resign. The university has yet to disclose any of the Chinese donations even though required to do so by law.
Robyn Spradlin is a freelance journalist working as a contributor for Christian News Journal covering news and politics on the national and state levels. She has worked as a copywriter for Victory News on the Victory Channel since 2022. Robyn has an BA in Communication Studies and MA in Journalism from Regent University and is a member of the Evangelical Press Association. She is an author, evangelistic minister and a musician.