What did Anne Norton post? Investors withdraw financial support in wake of UPenn professor's antisemitic tweets 

A political science professor named Anne Norton associated with the University of Pennsylvania (UPenn) recently came under fire after her alleged antisemitic posts went viral.

It was first highlighted by the non-profit group called @StopAntisemites on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, December 8, that Anne Norton liked a tweet claiming “Playing the victim is what Jews are best at.” Not only that, but the X handle also shared an image where Anne Norton replied to a netizen, saying Hamas captors were treated well.

An X handle demanding the termination of Professor Norton from UPenn. (Image via X/StopAntisemites)

As soon as the post surfaced online, netizens called for Anne Norton’s firing from UPenn. Meanwhile, this week, investors of Norton's, namely Henry Jackson and his wife Stacey, also expressed their wishes to withdraw funding due to the professor’s alleged antisemitism.

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Exploring Anne Norton’s alleged antisemitic activity on social media

Last week, the X handle @StopAntisemites pointed out that Anne Norton, a political science professor at the University of Pennsylvania, was involved in anti-Jewish acts on social media. For instance, she liked a tweet by @nowun_, which read as follows:

“Three Palestinian students were shot, but no Jewish student was ever shot, and yet they keep pushing the false premise that the Jewish students are the ones at risk…Playing the victim is what Jews are best at.”

A netizen claims the firing of Professor Norton. (Image via X/SachaRoytman)

Likewise, Anne Norton responded to an X post that denounced the conditions of Israelis held captive by the Hamas. It said that Israel, as a country, could not be “expected to drop hands” as “200 of its men, women, and children were being held in terrorist dungeons, being subjected to god knows what torture, r*pe, etc.” In contrast, Norton commented underneath it, writing:

“Released hostages have testified that they ate the same food as their captors, slept on mattresses, and had access to health care.”

The UPenn professor also reshared a tweet calling the r*pe of a Jewish woman "alleged."

In the wake of these controversial activities and remarks, investors are withdrawing financial support for Norton. For instance, Henry Jackson, an alumnus of UPenn and co-founder and CEO of OpCapita LLP, a British private equity firm, confirmed to the New York Post that he and his singer-songwriter wife Stacey were about to cut ties with the UPenn professor for reportedly inciting antisemitism.

The Jackson couple, who have been sponsoring Anne since 2018 via the President’s Distinguished Professorship, stated to the Post:

“We are deeply concerned to learn of the comments made by Professor Anne Norton on social media that appear to endorse hatred and violence. We accept that Professor Norton has made these remarks in a personal capacity. Nevertheless, we strongly condemn any form of racism or antisemitism.”

An X account reports about the Jacksons' defunding of Anne Norton. (Image via X/StopAntisemites)

Their joint statement also revealed that they were in talks with the university to end their contract with the professorship and hoped that UPenn was able to overcome all the challenges it was facing presently.

“We are proud to have supported the University of Pennsylvania over many years and remain passionate believers in the power of higher education to expand opportunity,” the Jacksons further mentioned.

So far, Norton has not commented on her defunding. A UPenn spokesperson also denied making a statement, saying the matter was personal. However, a petition demanding her termination has begun on change.org.

Interestingly, before the Jacksons, other investors also pulled their funds from UPenn in the wake of the Israel-Hamas conflict, including Clifford Asness, the billionaire founder of AQR Capital Management; Apollo Management CEO Marc Rowan; former U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman; and hedge funder David Magerman, among others.