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Financial Bigwigs Pulling Funds From UPenn Professorship Over Instructor’s Anti-Israeli ‘Hatred’

Another financial bigwig is pulling funding from the embattled University of Pennsylvania, citing “hatred and violence” in social media posts by political science professor Anne Norton.

Investor Henry Jackson and his wife, Stacey, confirmed to The Post they are in talks with UPenn to cut ties with Norton following a string of controversial posts and retweets, including endorsing a post claiming Jewish people are best at “playing the victim.”

The Jacksons have sponsored Norton through their President’s Distinguished Professorship since 2018.

“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 said in a statement provided to by The Post.

“We are deeply concerned, however, to learn of the comments made by Professor Anne Norton on social media that appear to endorse hatred and violence.”

The controversial remarks in question — highlighted by the StopAntisemitism nonprofit group last week — included a post on X Norton had liked, which read: “Playing the victim is what Jews are best at.”

In another post, Norton had responded to a tweet that decried the conditions of Israelis taken hostage by Hamas terrorists.

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

She also re-shared a post on X that called the rape of a Jewish woman “alleged.”

“We accept that Professor Norton has made these remarks in a personal capacity,” the Jacksons said in their statement.

“Nevertheless, we strongly condemn any form of racism or antisemitism and we are currently in discussions with the university to terminate our association with this professorship. We hope the university can quickly and successfully address the numerous challenges that it currently faces.”

It wasn’t immediately clear if the Jacksons — who are listed as parent donors on UPenn’s website — planned to pull all future donations for the school, or just axe their namesake professorship.

New York-born Henry Jackson is a graduate of UPenn’s Wharton business school and the co-founder and CEO of OpCapita LLP — a British private equity firm. His wife, Stacey, is a singer and songwriter.

A UPenn spokesperson declined to comment on the couple’s decision to defund Norton’s professorship, saying they couldn’t talk about personnel matters.

Norton, meanwhile, didn’t immediately respond to The Post’s request for comment.

The couple are the latest in a string of deep-pocketed donors who have slammed their checkbooks shut — or at least vowed to — over UPenn’s response to the Israel war.

Most notable is the billionaire founder of AQR Capital Management, Clifford Asness; Apollo Management CEO Marc Rowan; former U.S. Ambassador Jon Huntsman; and hedge funder David Magerman.

Billionaire Ronald Lauder was among those threatening to pull donations if the school didn’t do more to fight antisemitism.

On Sunday UPenn President Liz Magill “voluntarily” resigned from her post in the wake of her recent, disastrous testimony before Congress over the school’s failure to protect Jewish students.

Magill had appeared before the House Education Committee last week where she and the presidents of Harvard and MIT were grilled by Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) – who asked each of them whether calling for the genocide of Jews is considered to be “bullying and harassment” under their colleges’ codes of conduct.

“It is a context-dependent decision, Congresswoman,” Magill had responded at the time.

After news of Magill’s resignation broke, Stefanik tweeted: “One down. Two to go.”

“This is only the very beginning of addressing the pervasive rot of antisemitism that has destroyed the most ‘prestigious’ higher education institutions in America,” the congresswoman added.

“These universities can anticipate a robust and comprehensive Congressional investigation of all facets of their institutions negligent perpetration of antisemitism including administrative, faculty, funding, and overall leadership and governance.”