1. Back in July, Donna Shalala, president of the University of Miami, was subject to humiliating treatment at the Tel Aviv airport because her last name is an Arab one. As MJ Rosenberg wrote at the time, in a piece on how the Israel lobby works:
You might think that former Secretary of Health & Human Services (HHS) Donna Shalala would be furious after being detained at Tel Aviv airport for the sole infraction of being an Arab-American..
On the contrary, back in Miami she defended the Israeli policy of ethnic profiling…
“While I was inconvenienced, Israel’s security and the security of travelers is far more important,” said Shalala, who is of Lebanese descent. “I have been going in and out of Israel for many years and expect to visit again.”
What!
So I checked with my friend who knows the scene at the University of Florida. “Are you crazy? If Shalala hinted at criticizing Israel, millions of dollars the university is counting on would dry up instantly. She can’t say a word or the university will have to put all its expansion plans on a shelf forever, not to mention the scholarships that will disappear.”
And that is how it works.
2. Press release from the University of Miami, November 19:
CORAL GABLES, Fla.–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The University of Miami today announced a donation of $5 million from the Ted & Todd Schwartz Family Foundation as the lead gift in the campaign for the Center for Athletic Excellence. The gift will create the Theodore G. Schwartz and Todd G. Schwartz Center for Athletic Excellence, which will provide state-of-the-art resources for the over 400 enrolled student-athletes to achieve their personal, educational and athletic goals….
“The generosity of the Schwartz Family will sustain the University of Miami in its spot among the top premier athletics programs in the nation by expanding and renovating the resources and facilities we offer to current and future student-athletes,” said UM President Donna E. Shalala.
“Ted” Schwartz, a resident of Aventura, Fla., is founder and chairman of the board of directors of APAC Customer Services, Inc. (Nasdaq: APAC) based in Bannockburn, IL, which provides customer call center and business process services and solutions to the healthcare, communications, business, financial, travel and entertainment industries. His son, Todd Schwartz, is a director of the family foundation and founder and president of Beach Coast Properties and Opportunity Financial. The Schwartz family is already part of the University of Miami family. In 1999, the family donated a transformational gift….
P.S. I have no idea how the Schwartzes feel about Israel.
