Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) revealed on Monday he will seek $90 million in his December 20 budget to fund new research at three Virginia universities that have all suffered from antisemitic protests and demonstrations on their campuses, accusations of antisemitic posts from faculty, or claims of failing to accurately reflect Israel’s position in its defensive war against Hamas at university events.
Youngkin announced in a press release Monday that he is pursuing this “one-time funds” request at “the University of Virginia’s Manning Institute for Biotechnology, Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute at VTC, and the Virginia Commonwealth University’s Medicines for All Institute” that will require them to work with the Virginia Innovation Partnership Authority to increase “commercialization and startup support” for the institutions.
His plan comes as all three of the institutions have struggled with student and faculty responses to the war between Hamas and Israel.
The student-led Students for Justice in Palestine at the University of Virginia (UVA) called the October 7 terrorist attack in Israel an “unprecedented feat” by “resistance fighters” in response to “years of mass killings, ethnic cleansing, and oppression from Israel” in a letter released October 8. That letter prompted Virginia Attorney General Jason Miyares (R) to formally “denounce the hateful message” in a post on X, formerly Twitter. He acknowledged that universities should protect “free speech and substantive foreign policy discussions,” but called the “hateful” letter “exactly the wrong approach.”
Youngkin’s plan would see UVA’s Manning Institute for Biotechnology receive $50 million.
At Virginia Tech, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reported that a Jewish student organization claimed the university was contributing to the rise of antisemitism with a series of panel discussions they say do not feature any pro-Zionist or politically neutral speakers. The outlet also reported that one of the institution’s professors, Lisa Hajjar, posted a photo to social media, which she later deleted, depicting a bulldozer with a Palestinian flag crashing through a border fence.
The plan Youngkin announced Monday would see Virginia Tech’s Fralin Biomedical Research Institute receive $27 million.
Meanwhile, a student at Virginia Commonwealth University (VCU) told the same outlet she was called a “colonizer” by a classmate, and the Times-Dispatch reported a “Jewish man found flyers on cars linking the invention of abortion to Jewish leaders.” The report revealed that Rabbi Yossel Krans, the director of Chabad Virginia, reported a significant “anti-Israel bias” at the university, despite the “roughly 1,500 Jewish students” enrolled.
It was also reported in October that VCU has not offered a Jewish Studies course for the past three semesters. Though the university is now attempting to fill the position, associate professor Jessica Trisko told 8News, “what I understand – as someone within the institution – is that budgetary issues are just about priorities,” which means “the university is not prioritizing filling this position.”
Youngkin’s plan would include $13 million for VCU’s Medicines for All Institute.
Also on Monday, Youngkin proposed $375,000 in renewed funding for the Virginia Holocaust Museum and an additional $2 million for security grants for Jewish community institution, increasing the total amount of grant money available to $5 million.
– – –
Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Glenn Youngkin” by Governor of Virginia. Background Photo “University of Virginia Campus” by Bestbudbrian. CC BY-SA 3.0.
