Uncovering Antisemitism at Cornell Through SJP and Faculty Actions
From professors to students, the Ivy League’s Cornell University has become a bastion of antisemitism. Cornell’s administration has proven itself feckless, failing to stand up to a disruptive and large section of the student body that shamelessly supports a terrorist organization whose goal is to annihilate the Jewish people.
Post-October 7, Cornell joined the ranks of historically prestigious universities where bigoted ideas against Jews, as well as the only Jewish state in the world, are expressed and left unchallenged, and where Jews exist in an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.
Along with Harvard, Penn and MIT, which have allowed a similar environment to fester on their campuses, the situation has become so critical at Cornell that the university now faces an investigation by the federal government for civil rights violations.
As a school that receives federal funds and is obligated to comply with Title VI, which bars such discrimination, Cornell, if found to be non-compliant, stands to lose its federal funding.
Cornell, along with these other Ivy League universities, is also facing an investigation by the House Ways and Means Committee, which is questioning the school’s tax-exempt status amid accusations that it is not fulfilling their educational mission.
As one Jewish Cornell student testified before the congressional committee, “... my community is terrified to walk around the school they paid to attend because they are afraid of getting threatened, assaulted or killed.”
The student, Talia Dror, the daughter of an Iranian immigrant, explained how she never imagined that the antisemitism her family faced in Iran would follow them to the country where they sought refuge.
“Jewish students on campus have been courageous and resilient,” Dror added. “But we shouldn’t need to be. American-Jewish students on campus deserve better.”
Key Findings:
- Cornell University has become a hub of antisemitism, with both professors and students contributing to a hostile environment for Jewish individuals.
- The administration's failure to address disruptive behaviors and support for terrorist organizations has led to an atmosphere of fear and intimidation.
- Post-October 7, the situation escalated with public support for antisemitic terror and unchallenged bigotry against Jews and Israel.
- The university faces a federal investigation for civil rights violations and scrutiny over its tax-exempt status due to its failure to fulfill its educational mission.
- Incidents of violence, intimidation, and threats against Jewish students have been reported, with many feeling unsafe on campus.
- Professors have played a significant role in stoking antisemitic hate, with some openly supporting terrorist organizations and promoting hostile narratives against Israel.
FIND OUT MORE BELOW ABOUT HOW CORNELL PROFESSORS STOKE AN ENVIRONMENT OF ANTISEMITIC HATE ON CAMPUS
FIND OUT MORE BELOW ABOUT HOW CORNELL PROFESSORS STOKE AN ENVIRONMENT OF ANTISEMITIC HATE ON CAMPUS
TIMELINE OF SUPPORT FOR ANTISEMITIC TERROR AT CORNELL UNIVERSITY
October 2023
Just three days after the horrific massacre of 1,200 Israelis – which included rape, mutilations and beheadings – and the kidnapping of 250 more by the terror organization Hamas, the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter at Cornell spearheaded a statement blaming Israel for the atrocities.
SJP has been a prolific driver of antisemitic and anti-Israel harassment of Jewish students at Cornell for over a decade.
The statement affirmed the right of Palestinian “resistance” and falsely accused Israel of “routinely” massacring Palestinians, creating apartheid and forcing Gazans to live in an “open-air prison.”
This tone had already been set on October 8 by Cornell professor Eric Cheyfitz, who tweeted, “Let’s be clear: Israel started this war…” and accused Israel of “apartheid, a crime against humanity.”
Derron Borders, a representative of Cornell’s administration and a “diversity, equity and inclusion” (DEI) official at Cornell, followed up on October 9 by posting:
“Let it be known the fight for Palestine against colonization...that genocide should not be accepted, and that people always have the...right to resist. Free the land.”
Watch Cornell Professor Russell Rickford Glorify Hamas
On October 15, Cornell SJP hosted a protest on campus which featured history professor Russell Rickford, who couldn't contain his joy about the massacre.
“It was exhilarating! It was exhilarating! It was energizing!” Rickford said about the October 7 attack, rejoicing in “this shifting of the balance of power…!”
Rickford was on record as having said, “All the great structures of U.S. violence — mass incarceration, militarism, police terror, racism, etc. — converge in the occupation of Palestine.”
Amid mounting calls for Rickford to be fired, a few days later, he took a “leave of absence” from Cornell.
Despite his horrific display, support for Rickford came fast – from students, staff and fellow professors, who signed a letter decrying any disciplinary actions that might be taken against Rickford by the university.
Cornell Coalition for Mutual Liberation
In October as well, a new group supporting Hamas called the Coalition for Mutual Liberation (CML) began to operate on campus. The campus coalition group primarily organizes anti-Israel events and protests alongside Cornell's SJP chapter.
The Cornell Review, an independent student newspaper on campus, reported,
“According to pro-Israel critics, the CML’s leadership seems to be almost identical to the Students for Justice in Palestine’s (SJP) leadership…Unlike SJP, CML is not a registered student organization, so officer and membership information is not publicly accessible.“The national SJP organization has been accused of allegedly supporting Hamas. This, together with violating rules on other campuses, has led to a number of universities banning their local SJP chapters. Cornell demonstration leaders have not adequately explained the shift from SJP to CML.”
Death Threats Against Jewish Students
Toward the end of the month, threats to kill Jewish students appeared on an online forum, causing many Jewish students to leave campus. Many reported they were “scared to sleep (on campus).”
Days later, Cornell student Patrick Dai, who wrote he would "bring an assault rifle to campus and shoot all you pig jews," was arrested, charged and confessed. Dai had specifically mentioned he was "gonna shoot up 104 west," which houses the dining hall that serves kosher food and is next to the Center for Jewish Living, a student-run organization on campus.
Dai had also threatened to “stab” and “slit the throat” of Jewish males on campus, to rape and throw Jewish females off a cliff and to behead Jewish babies.
November 2023
Pro-Hamas groups on campus, including SJP at Cornell and CML, held numerous protests at the university in November. Particularly egregious was a “die-in” held on November 9 in which 200 students lay down in front of the entrance to Cornell’s Klarman Hall.
The event coincided with a solidarity visit for Jewish students by Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff on the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht, a pogrom in which the Nazis unleashed unspeakable acts of violence against Jewish communities.
After the die-in, CML released a statement claiming the Zionists displayed “relentless intimidation tactics” at the event, claiming they were “displaying images of hostages” as one of their tactics.
Watch Harassing Protests By Pro-Hamas Supporters at Cornell
December 2023
December began with pro-Hamas students taking over and shutting down Cornell’s Duffield Atrium for days, marching and yelling, “Free, Free Palestine!” and hosting another die-in. The screaming students also went into some of the university’s rooms and disrupted students who were studying for finals.
Watch Video: Anti-Israel Activists take over Duffield Atrium
CML delivered a list of “Demands to Cornell Adminstration During The Occupation of Day Hall,” some of which they later reported were met. The demands included divestment of Cornell from Israeli military tech firms, preventing the revoking of foreign student visas and countering “Islamophobia” and “anti-Arab/Palestinian racism” on campus.
At the same time, students held a mock trial of Cornell President Martha Pollack, convicting her for “complicity in genocide” due to the university’s ties to Israel.
February 2024
On February 8, 2024, more than 150 students and staff participated in protests and more die-ins calling for Cornell’s divestment from Israel. The protest started in the university’s main library, where megaphones were used until police stepped in. The protesters then dispersed to four different prominent locations on campus.
Watch Video: Anti-Israel Activists Protest in University's Main Library
Cornell Faculty & Staff Contribute to Campus Antisemitism
Professors at Cornell have played a significant part in stoking antisemitic hate on campus and creating a hostile environment for Cornell’s Jewish students.
Cornell professor Eric Cheyfitz – an activist with SJP and another anti-Israel group, Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), as well as the faculty adviser for SJP at Cornell – held a “Teach-In on Cornell Tech.” The teach-in was part of CML’s “Protest in Palestine and Around the World” week of activities in late November-early December.
Alyiah Gonzales, an instructor teaching a freshman writing seminar, canceled the first day of the seminar “in solidarity with collective calls for a Global Strike for Palestine.”
The Global Strike for Palestine, a multi-day event from January 21 to January 28, 2024, was called in order “to make an economic impact [on Israel] by having activists skip school or work, boycott Israeli goods and companies, and hold protests.”
Some of Cornell’s most egregious anti-Israel faculty members include:
- “It was exhilarating! It was exhilarating! It was energizing! And if [the Palestinians] weren’t exhilarated by this challenge to the monopoly of violence, by this shifting of the balance of power, then they would not be human. I was exhilarated!”
October 15, 2023
October 15, 2023
- “Unlike Al Qaeda or ISIS, Hamas does not advocate universal jihad. It is an Islamic fundamentalist organization, governing Gaza, focused solely on the liberation of Palestine from Zionist fundamentalism (apartheid) and the end of the state of Israel.”
November 4, 2023
- “Hamas and the Israeli govt. are mirror images of each other. Hamas represents Islamic fundamentalism; Israel, Zionist fundamentalism. And both target non-combatants: Israel in its continual aggression against the Palestinian people and Hamas in its resistance to that aggression.”
October 10, 2023
November 4, 2023
October 10, 2023
- “Apartheid is a regime for constraining the full deployment of genocide by keeping people alive in a subjugated & dehumanized state (often so they can be exploited). But every apartheid regime has that genocidal kernel.”
October 9 2023
October 9 2023