Sylvan Adams speaks out after anti-Israel vandals smashed the McGill building with his name on it

On Oct. 7, 2024, more than a thousand anti-Zionist protesters marched through downtown Montreal toward McGill University as part of a “Week of Rage” to mark the one-year anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s subsequent war in Gaza. Despite a heavy security presence at McGill, some protesters managed to storm onto the campus, smashing through barricades and vandalizing the Sylvan Adams Sports Science Institute on Pine Ave. The site—still under construction—is named for Adams, the Canadian-Israeli billionaire who, in 2022, donated $29 million to the Montreal university, then called the largest-ever gift to a Canadian campus. His philanthropy focuses primarily on athletics, both in his home province of Quebec and in Israel; in response, pro-Palestinian groups have accused him of “sportswashing” Israel’s treatment of Palestinians. As a major donor, Adams has been paying close attention to how McGill has managed the year-long campus protests, including the first tent city encampment in Canada, set up in April. He has harsh words for Montreal’s mayor, who he blames for letting Jew-hatred run rampant in the city. And, although he can’t take his money back from McGill, Adams is trying to influence the university’s actions in his own way. He joins The CJN Daily to discuss all this and more—including his criticism of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and Adams' dreams of reuniting Pink Floyd (minus Roger Waters) to play in Israel one day.

What we talked about

• Read more about Sylvan Adams’ $29 million donation in 2022 to fund a sports sciences institute at McGill University, in The CJN. 
• Learn why McGill won a 10-day court injunction to block protesters from disrupting campus, beginning on Oct. 8, 2024, in The CJN.
• How Concordia's Jewish students won an injunction that ended Oct. 12 blocking violent protests, on The CJN Daily.

Credits

• Host and writer: Ellin Bessner (@ebessner)
• Production team: Zachary Kauffman (producer), Michael Fraiman (executive producer)
• Music: Dov Beck-Levine

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