American educational institution sponsors are pressuring universities to condemn any criticism of Israel, according to the American newspaper "The New York Times."

The newspaper wrote: "Influential donors are pressuring universities regarding Hamas, and Wall Street funders are pushing universities to condemn criticisms directed at Israel."

Specifically, American billionaire Kenneth Griffin, who donated over half a billion dollars to Harvard University, urged officials at the educational institution in a private conversation to "strongly defend Israel," after a group of Harvard students pointed to Israel's responsibility for the current escalation of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

It is noted that such demands (to condemn criticism of Israel) contradict the university's own policy, which is "to promote freedom of expression."

According to the newspaper, sponsors of major American universities such as Stanford, New York University, Pennsylvania University, and other institutions have made similar requests to support Israel.

American universities have recently begun to explicitly indicate that the prolonged siege of Gaza by Israel was one of the reasons that led Palestinians to "despair."

Earlier, the American newspaper "The Washington Post" published a lengthy article affirming that sharp criticisms have targeted Americans who condemned the violence of the Israeli army.

The newspaper's post stated: "In the United States, companies, politicians, and universities that condemned the violence of the Israeli army faced sharp criticism from Jewish groups and others in the country."

Additionally, according to the newspaper, many individuals and organizations in the United States condemned "violence from both sides of the conflict in Israel and expressed their support for equality between Israelis and Palestinians."

The newspaper noted that "Stanford University faculty members protested the publication of books on the Israeli-Palestinian crisis at the university, without labeling Hamas as an aggressor."