Brown University key trustee resigns over anti-Israel stance

Joseph Edelman, a trustee of the Brown Corporation and hedge fund manager, has publicly resigned from his position at Brown University, according to reporting by the Brown Daily Herald. Edelman announced his departure in a letter published in The Wall Street Journal, citing concerns about the university's approach to rising antisemitism on campus and its upcoming vote on divestment from companies with ties to Israel.

"I find it morally reprehensible that holding a divestment vote was even considered, much less that it will be held – especially in the wake of the deadliest assault on the Jewish people since the Holocaust," Edelman wrote in his op-ed. "Israel, like all nations, has a moral duty to defend its citizens from terrorist attacks, and that is exactly what it has been doing."

Truly EXCELLENT letter that should SHAME Brown University, the Board of Trustees, & Pres. Christina Paxson (a convert to Judaism.)
It won't, of course.@the_herald

Why I Am Resigning as a Brown Trustee by Joseph Edelman https://t.co/utMG0cTuFv via @WSJopinion

— ConservativeDame (@Oliver_Murray15) September 8, 2024

Edelman, who is the chief executive officer of biotechnology investment firm Perceptive Advisors and a graduate of UC San Diego, joined the board in 2019 with a projected six-year term. His profile and information have been removed from the Brown Corporation's website, the Brown Daily Herald reported.

The public nature of Edelman's departure breaks with the governing body's typical practice of operating out of the public eye. He criticized the university's decision to hold an October vote on divestment from companies with ties to Israel in exchange for an agreement with pro-divestment demonstrators to dismantle an encampment on the campus green.

Edelman has been a significant donor to Brown University. In 2014, the Corporation accepted a $1.65 million gift from him for funding circuit therapy research and upgrading equipment in the Institute for Brain Science. He and his wife also endowed the faculty director of the Center for Human Rights.