The philanthropist behind the University of Manitoba’s largest-ever personal donation — $30 million — has denounced a speech made by a valedictorian for medicine grads and admonished the university for letting it happen.
In a letter dated Monday, Ernest Rady says he was hurt and appalled by the remarks by valedictorian Gem Newman at the May 16 convocation for students from the Max Rady College of Medicine. The school was renamed in honour of Rady’s father after the 2016 donation.
“Newman’s speech not only dishonoured the memory of my father, but also disrespected and disparaged Jewish people as a whole,” said Rady’s letter, sent to U of M president Michael Benarroch and college of medicine dean Dr. Peter Nickerson.
Approximately two minutes of Newman’s nine-minute address focused on the war in Gaza and called for a ceasefire in the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, which began after an Oct. 7 cross-border attack on Israel led by Hamas that killed roughly 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and took 250 others hostage.
In a statement emailed to CBC News on Wednesday, college dean Nickerson confirmed the video that included the speech had been taken down.
That’s why philanthropy needs to be reigned in. It’s just such people using money (that would’ve gone to taxes otherwise) dictating how society should be run, whether in academia, the arts, leisure or even policing.
If they paid this money in taxes, we’d all get a say what happens to the money (I know, that’s mostly in theory, in reality the rich get to say what happens with that money too).