Russell Rickford
Overview
Russell Rickford has praised Hamas war crimes, glorified terrorists, demonized Israel, defended violent protesters and endorsed anti-Israel agitators. Rickford is also a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.As of October 25, 2023, Rickford had taken a leave of absence from his position as a professor at Cornell University (Cornell). He left following backlash to his public comments praising Hamas after the October 7, 2023 terror attacks where they murdered 1,200 Jews and committed other war crimes against civilians. Rickford faced bipartisan calls for his resignation by New York politicians, including U.S. Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, a Democrat, and U.S. Representative Claudia Tenney, a Republican.
In March 2016, Rickford co-hosted an anti-Israel event with the Cornell chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), known as Cornell SJP, and the Ithaca, New York chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), known as Ithaca JVP.
In 2018, Rickford taught a “Black Radical Tradition” course at Cornell, in which he promoted “African American-Palestinian solidarity.”
As of March 2022, Rickford was an Associate Professor of History in Cornell’s Department of History and was located in Ithaca, New York.
Rickford graduated from Columbia University (Columbia) with a Ph.D. in History in 2009 and a M.A. in African American Studies. Rickford also graduated from Howard University (Howard) with a bachelor’s degree in Journalism in 1997.
Praising Hamas War Crimes
On October 15, 2023, Rickford praised Hamas at an anti-Israel rally hosted by Ithaca JVP.During the rally, Rickford said [00:00:04]: “What has Hamas done? Hamas has shifted the balance of power. Hamas has punctured the illusion of [Israeli] invincibility. That's what they've done…Hamas has changed the terms of debate.”
Rickford continued [00:00:40]: “Hamas has challenged the monopoly of violence.” He also stated [00:01:32] that the Palestinians “were able to breathe for the first time in years” as a result [00:00:59] of the “horrific acts” carried out against Israelis.
Rickford exclaimed [00:01:39]: “It was exhilarating! It was exhilarating! It was energizing! And if they [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!”
Hamas intentionally targeted youth centers and elementary schools to execute and kidnap children. They also took stimulant drugs to give added energy to murder and maim. Nazis also took drugs during World War II to fuel their anti-Semitic massacres.
Glorifying Terrorists
On September 23, 2021, Rickford was a discussant at a lecture by anti-Israel agitator Noura Erakat, titled: “Palestine: Settler Colonialism, Sovereignty and Apartheid.”Cornell’s Institute of Comparative Modernities official website said the event was co-sponsored by Cornell Law School’s Clark Initiative for Law and Development in the Middle East and North Africa and the “Cornell Coalition for Justice in Palestine (CCJP)” [sic].
During the discussion, Rickford glorified the September 2021 escape from Gilboa prison of convicted terrorists, calling their jail-break [00:54:18]: “a marvelous example of tenacity and defiance that would live on in the imaginations of people around the world.”
On September 6, 2021, six Palestinian prisoners escaped from the maximum-security Gilboa Prison in Israel. The escaped prisoners were convicted members of the terror organizations Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) and the Al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade, who were jailed for their involvement in attacks carried out during the second intifada. All were recaptured by September 19, 2021, by Israeli authorities.
On May 26, 2021, during Israel’s “Operation Guardian of the Walls(OGW)” against Hamas in Gaza, Rickford published an article on Vox.com titled: “How Black Lives Matter reenergized Black-Palestinian solidarity.” In his article, Rickford stated that marching in a May 15, 2021 Cornell SJP rally held in support of then-ongoing Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorism against Israel was “one of the truly gratifying moments” of his life.
In May 2021, Hamas and Palestinian Islamic Jihad (PIJ) terrorists fired over 4,300 rockets from Gaza at major population centers in Israel. Israel responded by launching OGW, carrying out targeted military strikes in Gaza.
Demonizing Israel
On September 23, 2021, in his capacity as a discussant at a lecture by Erakat, Rickford celebrated [00:56:40] that the “recognition of Israel as an apartheid state” appeared to be expanding.On May 26, 2021, Rickford published an article on Vox.com titled: “How Black Lives Matter reenergized Black-Palestinian solidarity,” in which he denounced the “imperialist nature of the Zionist project” and promoted a 2015 video “When I See Them I See Us.”
The 2015 video featured BDS founder Omar Barghouti and terrorist Rasmea Odeh. The video also demonizes both American law enforcement and Israeli security agencies.
In his article, Rickford also praised the anti-Israel organization Dream Defenders (DD) for “circulating accounts — overwhelmingly absent from Western reportage — of the barbaric conditions of life under Israeli occupation.”
In 2019, Rickford published an article, “To Build a New World: Black American Internationalism and Palestine Solidarity,” in the Journal of Palestine Studies. In his article, Rickford accused Israel of “atrocities” and “colonial violence.” He also referred to Palestinians as “Zionism’s colonial subjects.”
In the article, Rickford claimed “Israel and the U.S. are leading propagators of racist belief systems.”
Rickford also alleged that “Israel is especially useful because it serves as a laboratory for the development, testing and dissemination of techniques of surveillance and control… that enable the targeting of Black and brown people within the U.S.”
On October 5, 2017, following the protest, in an interview with the Cornell Sun, Rickford said: “[the] colonial occupation of Palestine remains one of the world’s most visible campaigns of white supremacist violence.”
Rickford further claimed that “[all] the great structures of U.S. violence — mass incarceration, militarism, police terror, racism, etc. — converge in the occupation of Palestine” and accused Israel of “colonial occupation and apartheid.”
In 2016, Rickford published a book with Oxford University Press titled: “We are an African People,” in which he discussed the evolution of the Black Power movement. In his book, Rickford labeled Israel “a settler colony and an imperialist power.”
Defending Violent Protesters
In 2018, Rickford signed a change.org petition, started by fellow Cornell academic Julia Chang, denouncing “the Israeli military’s recent massacre of unarmed Palestinian protesters participating in the Great March of Return...” The petition accused Israel of “a 50-year occupation, and 70-year ethnic cleansing” of the Palestinian people.Endorsing Anti-Israel Agitators
In November 2018, Hill was fired from his contributor position at CNN (Cable News Network) after he gave an anti-Israel speech at the United Nations. He called [00:20:47] for a “free Palestine from the river to the sea,” a phrase associated with demands to dismantle the State of Israel. Hill also accused [00:16:19] Israel of “ethnic cleansing,” as well as [00:17:49] “white supremacy” and [00:17:56] “settler colonialism.”
On January 5, 2018, Rickford tweeted: “My latest for @NatCounterPunch. Tears & Struggle: From #EricaGarner to #AhedTamimi, our fighting spirit lives on.”
Rickford linked to an article he published in the online magazine Counterpunch, where he glorified Ahed Tamimi as “heroic,” writing: “Ahed [Tamimi], no one could be prouder than I am of you... Your actions and courage fill me with awe and bring tears to my eyes.”
On November 15, 2017, Rickford hosted an eventat Cornell titled: “Native and Palestinian Activism in the Age of U.S. Imperialism.”The event showcased anti-Israel activist Steven Salaita.
In his portion of the program, Salaita spread [00:32:23] the “Deadly Exchange” conspiracy and claimed [00:32:50] that Israel is to blame for violence that occurs against minority communities inside the U.S. and in the Western world. Salaita also repeatedly [01:03:27] referred to Israel as a “settler colonial society.”
In 2017, JVP launched the “Deadly Exchange (DX)” campaign, which accused American Jewish organizations of promoting human rights abuses. JVP also released a video that blamed [00:04:04] U.S.-based Jewish organizations for violence that occurs against Black and Brown communities, immigrants and activists in the U.S.
On March 1, 2016, Rickford hosted an event titled: “From Baltimore to Palestine: Connecting the Dots” featuring anti-Israel agitator Graylan Hagler. The event was co-hosted by Cornell SJP and Ithaca JVP.
At the talk, Rev. Hagler alleged [00:31:18] that US politicians “are listening to a lobby that has lined their pockets, so that they would do what the lobby wants them to do, the Zionist lobby in this country, the Zionist lobby around the world.”
In 2011, Rickford edited “Beyond Boundaries: The Manning Marable Reader” and wrote an introduction for it. In the book, Marable claimed that the United States relationship with Israel caused the September 11, 2001 terror attacks. Rickford characterized the articles in the book as “culled from the best of Marable’s popular and scholarly writing over the past thirty years.”
Supporting BDS
Rickford signed a Black for Palestine “2015 Black Solidarity Statement with Palestine”that endorsed the BDS movement and called on the U.S. government to “end economic and diplomatic aid to Israel.”Rickford signed a petition, sponsored by Cornell SJP, titled: “In Opposition to Cornell University’s Collaboration with Technion — Israel Institute of Technology.” The petition urged Cornell to withdraw all support for, and collaboration with, the Technion, and accused Israel of international war crimes.
On July 16, 2014, Rickford commented on the petition: “...End apartheid.”
Rickford signed a July 2013 petition published by the United States Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI). Rickford also endorsed the general USACBI petition.
Cornell SJP - Overview
Cornell SJP has dismissed anti-Semitism, supported anti-Israel violence and whitewashed terrorists. The student group has also disrupted Israel Day campus events multiple times, demonized Israel and campaigned for the BDS movement.Cornell SJP activists wrote an anti-Israel statement and presented it at Cornell’s Student Assembly (SA) in May 2021.
BDS
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by Omar Barghouti in 2005 to challenge “international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.” BDS is an allegedly “Palestinian-led movement,” although leading BDS activists have admitted [00:01:01] this is not true.
One of the demands of BDS includes [point 3] what is generally known as the “right of return,” a demand discredited as a way to eliminate Israel. Barghouti said the “right of return” is a means to “end Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.”
Barghouti has said that BDS “aims to turn Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.”
In his activism, Barghouti has also said [00:05:55] regarding Israel: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No…rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”
The movement has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations and received a public endorsement from Hamas in 2017.
BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.
The movement’s most notable achievement has been the infiltration of university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments and student groups, backed by their own anti-Israel members and affiliates, have proposed resolutions on some form of boycott of, or divestment from, Israel and Israeli-affiliated entities.
Boycott resolutions, although non-binding, have been passed by student governments on numerous North American campuses.
BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus. On one campus, when the student government debated a BDS resolution, reports emerged of violent threats against those opposing it.
JVP
JVP was founded in Berkeley, California in 1996, as an activist group with an emphasis on the “Jewish tradition” of peace, social justice and human rights. The organization is currently led by Rebecca Vilkomerson and its board members include Israel critics Naomi Klein, Judith Butler, Noam Chomsky and Tony Kushner.
JVP, which generally employs civil disobedience tactics to disrupt pro-Israel speakers and events, consists of American Jews and non-Jewish “allies” highly critical of Israeli policies. A staunch supporter of the BDS movement, JVP claims to aim its campaigns at companies that either support the Israeli military (Hewlett-Packard) or are active in the West Bank (SodaStream).
Although several Jewish groups critical of Israeli policies, like J Street and Partners for a Progressive Israel, make efforts to operate within the mainstream American Jewish community, JVP functions outside. The group is often criticized for serving as a tokenized Jewish voice for the pro-Palestinian camp and is widely regarded as the BDS movement’s “Jewish wing.”
JVP denies the notion of “Jewish peoplehood” and has even gone so far as to refer to its own Ashkenazi (Jews who spent the Diaspora in European countries) leadership as “white supremacy inside of JVP.”
The Anti-Defamation League (ADL) has accused JVP of being “the largest and most influential Jewish anti-Zionist group in the United States,” and said the group “exploits Jewish culture and rituals to reassure its own supporters that opposition to Israel not only does not contradict, but is actually consistent with, Jewish values.”
The ADL also claimed that “JVP consistently co-sponsors rallies to oppose Israeli military policy that are marked by signs and slogans comparing Israel to Nazi Germany, demonizing Jews and voicing support for groups like Hamas and Hezbollah.”
According to the ADL website, JVP “uses its Jewish identity to shield the anti-Israel movement from allegations of anti-Semitism and provide it with a greater degree of legitimacy and credibility.”
SJP
SJP is a student organization engaged in anti-Israel activity on North American college and university campuses.
The first chapter of SJP was founded in 2001 at the University of California at Berkeley by Professor Hatem Bazian. Bazian has spread classic anti-Semitism, reportedly promoted religious anti-Semitism and defended the Hamas terror group. In 2004, Bazian called for “intifada” in America.
SJP organizes anti-Israel campaigns, including running annual Israel Apartheid Weeks, often in collaboration with Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) and Muslim Students Association (MSA) campus chapters.
SJP has been a major force in pushing the anti-Semitic Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement on campuses. Chapters have initiated dozens of BDS resolutions in student governments, which have been proposed on or around Jewish holidays, a time when many Jewish students are off-campus.
SJP activists have reportedly physically assaulted, intimidated and harassed Jewish students, disrupted pro-Israel campus events and demonized pro-Israel campus organizations.
Chapters have often endorsed and campaigned for numerous terrorists and whitewashed terrorism.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/russell.rickford.12Twitter: https://twitter.com/rickfordrussell
- Status:
- Professor
- University:
- Cornell,
- more...
- Columbia
- Organizations:
- BDS,
- JVP,
- more...
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- N. Bruce Duthu,
- Alec Desbordes,
- Kat-Yang Stevens,
- Lisa Kahaleole Hall,
- Eric Cheyfitz,
- Last Modified:
- 06/23/2025
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