‘Eliminate Jewish living’: Jewish students face death threats at Ivy League university

University President Martha Pollack denounces antisemitic threats and expresses support for Israel, as campus police mobilize to protect Jewish students and faculty.

By Mindy Rubenstein, World Israel News

Antisemitic posts targeted Jewish students at the Ithaca, New York-based Ivy League Cornell University this week, mentioning the local kosher dining hall, known as “104 West.”

Published under profile names such as “hamas,” “jew evil,” and “kill jews,” the posts included phrases like “shoot up the building” and “eliminate Jewish living from Cornell campus.”

President Martha Pollack condemned these threats, labeling them as “horrendous” and “absolutely intolerable.”

In a statement emailed to the Cornell community, she said, “We will not tolerate antisemitism at Cornell. The virulence and destructiveness of antisemitism is real and deeply impacting our Jewish students, faculty, and staff, as well as the entire Cornell community. This incident highlights the need to combat the forces that are dividing us and driving us toward hate.”

Pollack has also expressed solidarity with Israel, including a message condemning Hamas, as well as two public statements distancing Cornell from community members who express support for the terrorist attack.

Additionally, the campus police, recognizing the potential for a hate crime, alerted the FBI.

In her statement, Pollack emphasized that those behind the threats would face the full extent of the law.

Pollack also publicly rejected calls from the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement for Cornell to boycott investments in Israeli businesses.

As tensions escalated this week, Cornell’s Hillel, a Jewish student organization, released a statement advising students and staff to avoid the targeted building “out of an abundance of caution,” while the Cornell police increased its presence.