Trump Admin Freezes Funding to Cornell and Northwestern: A Signal to Qatar?
As federal scrutiny intensifies over campus antisemitism, long-standing university ties to Doha quietly move into the spotlight.
In a significant step reflecting increased federal scrutiny, the U.S. Department of Education has frozen over $1 billion in funding to Cornell University and nearly $790 million to Northwestern University. The move stems from ongoing civil rights investigations related to their handling of campus antisemitism, as well as policies relating to “diversity, equity and inclusion” programs.
Yet while the immediate catalyst is domestic, the ripple effects of this decision are already casting a harsh light on both institutions’ international entanglements—particularly their extensive ties to the State of Qatar.
Qatari Funding Linked to Antisemitism at Cornell?
Cornell and Northwestern each operate a branch campus in Doha, Qatar—Weill Cornell Medicine-Qatar (WCM-Q) and Northwestern University in Qatar (NU-Q)—as part of the country’s flagship Education City initiative. These campuses have received billions in funding from the Qatari regime through the Qatar Foundation, a state-backed company led by the ruling Al Thani family. According to the National Association of Scholars, Cornell has accepted at least $1.79 billion, and Northwestern more than $600 million, since launching their campuses.
But the scale and opacity of these financial arrangements have raised serious questions. A 2024 report by the Institute for the Study of Global Antisemitism and Policy (ISGAP) found that Cornell had received nearly $2 billion in Qatari funding, much of it not fully disclosed as required under federal law. The report also revealed that contracts with Qatari entities may have given the foreign government access to student data and research outputs, and potentially even control over intellectual property—raising alarms about academic independence and data security.
The ISGAP report links Qatari financial influence to rising antisemitism and extremism on campus. Since October 7, 2023—when Hamas, a group heavily funded by Qatar, launched a massacre in Israel—Cornell has been at the center of multiple antisemitic incidents. These include violent threats against Jewish students, antisemitic graffiti, and faculty statements praising the attacks.
One Cornell professor, Russell Rickford, called the Hamas attacks “exhilarating.” A graduate of WCM-Q, Dr. Dana Diab, justified the massacre as “Zionist settlers getting a taste of their own medicine.” She was later terminated from her position at a New York City hospital. Jewish students have reported widespread fear and intimidation, with investigations and congressional inquiries now underway.
Disturbing Trends at Northwestern
Northwestern has faced similar criticism. A report by the watchdog group Canary Mission documents antisemitic statements and pro-terror rhetoric from NU-Q faculty and speakers. The campus maintains close collaboration with Al Jazeera, the Qatari state-run media network, known for promoting narratives sympathetic to Hamas and hostile to Israel. According to the report, NU-Q graduates have gone on to work in major media outlets, including BBC News, TIME Magazine, Forbes, The Washington Post, National Geographic TV and Magazine, The Guardian, NPR, The Boston Globe, USA Today, Vox, Financial Times, Vogue, Sports Illustrated, The Huffington Post, VICE media, ESPN, Vogue, and more.
Some of these graduates maintain social media profiles featuring calls for Israel’s destruction and even praise for Hitler. Canary Mission contends that NU-Q serves as a vehicle to “influence American public opinion by training a new generation of journalists who will legitimize antisemitic, anti-Israel and anti-American positions.”
Moreover, late last night, the Education Department announced funding freezes for Cornell and Northwestern, Jessica Costescu of the Washington Free Beacon reported that Northwestern University’s Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter held a training session titled “Organizing Safety 101,” which featured radical materials, including propaganda from the U.S.-designated terrorist group Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP). One pamphlet cited a PFLP leader calling on students to “build an Intifada” and “destroy amerika.”
A Failure of Oversight
The legal and ethical breaches go beyond rhetoric. Cornell was found to have failed to disclose hundreds of millions in Qatari funding in its financial statements—despite being required to do so under Section 117 of the Higher Education Act. While Cornell eventually admitted the lapse in a 2020 statement, its disclosures lacked specifics about deliverables, contracts, and ownership of intellectual property.
In addition to financial omissions, the Sidra Medicine center—a $7.9 billion Qatari-funded hospital used by WCM-Q—was not mentioned in Cornell’s official reporting. ISGAP argues that Cornell’s failure to fully disclose certain Qatari funding—particularly regarding facilities like the Sidra Medical Center—raises serious concerns about compliance with both federal reporting laws and the university’s own transparency policies.
Some researchers and members of Congress have raised concerns that foreign partnerships—particularly with governments like Qatar—may be influencing U.S. universities in ways that challenge core academic values, including free expression and institutional neutrality, especially given Qatar’s documented support for groups such as the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.
The End of Willful Blindness?
While the Department of Education’s action is officially focused on civil rights concerns—particularly how universities are handling antisemitism on campus—it also invites broader reflection on the global entanglements of American higher education.
The cases of Cornell and Northwestern raise important questions about how institutions navigate foreign partnerships, ensure transparency, and uphold core academic values in increasingly complex international contexts. For years, Qatar has invested heavily in U.S. universities as part of a broader effort to position itself as a hub for global education.
These partnerships have offered substantial opportunities, but they’ve also prompted growing scrutiny. Whether this moment leads to meaningful institutional self-examination—or to further calls for oversight—remains to be seen.
Long overdue