Israeli Historian Donates $1 Million to WHO After US Cuts Funding

Best-selling Israeli author and historian Yuval Noah Harari has pledged $1 million to the World Health Organization, or WHO, to mitigate the suspension of US funding.

“Unfortunately, the US president has chosen this moment to halt funding to the WHO,” Harari and Itzik Yahav, his husband, wrote in a statement bearing the letterhead of Sapienship, the nonprofit they established in 2019. “Luckily, there are more than 7 billion other humans on this earth, and we can do better.

“Our biggest enemy is not coronavirus, but the inner demons of humankind: hatred and greed,” said Harari, author of the best-selling “Sapiens” and  “Homo Deus.”

On Tuesday, US President Donald Trump suspended funding to WHO, reportedly for at least 60 days, saying the organization “failed in its basic duty and it must be held accountable.” The United States has an outstanding balance of $99 million in fees and contributions to WHO.