MBABANE:UnitedStates(US) President Donald Trump is reportedly planning to withdraw an additional $1billion in federal funding from Harvard University amid his public battle with the institution, Fox News reported quoting a report published Sunday.
The Wall Street Journal reported that the $1billion is related to the elite Massachusetts Ivy League school's health research funding, according to sources familiar with the matter.
But the latest report comes just days after the White House asked the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to revoke Harvard’s tax-exempt status over its alleged failure to address antisemitism on campus.
Reached for comments by this Swaziland News on the subject matter, Harvard University Scholar and eSwatini highly regarded human rights defender Velaphi Mamba said, President Donald Trump’s attacks on the Harvard University should be understood within his broader agenda against not just academic freedom but, also the American democracy.
“Importantly, his actions, disguised under antisemitism, are a naked and continuation of the gross genocidal agenda against the Palestinian people and a deliberate attempt at completely erasing them as part of the nefarious program of cementing Israeli hegemony over Palestinian lands. I am proud of Harvard University for standing up to President Trump to preserve and protect the independence of the university and its right to academic freedom as well as intellectual dissent, both cornerstones of a robust institution of higher learning,” he said.
US President Donald Trump planning to withdraw $1billion funding for Harvard University amid his public battle with the institution, Harvard graduate Velaphi Mamba applauds for defending academic freedom(pic: Harvard).