Singer barred from Cornell concert over calls to destroy Israel

Cornell University drops controversial singer Kehlani from its annual end-of-year concert following backlash over her calls to destroy Israel.

By World Israel News Staff

Cornell University cancelled a planned performance by an R&B singer at the school’s end-of-year concert following a backlash sparked by the singer’s scathing anti-Israel rhetoric, which critics say crossed the line into antisemitism.

On Wednesday, Cornell University President Michael I. Kotlikoff issued a statement announcing that the school has dropped Kehlani Ashley Parrish – known,professionally, simply by her first name – from the annual Slope day concert, slated for May 7.

Kotlikoff lamented that the decision to sign Kehlani for the show “injected division and discord into Slope Day. For that reason, I am rescinding Kehlani’s invitation.”

The university president acknowledged concerns over the singer, given her history of “antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments in performances, videos, and on social media. While any artist has the right in our country to express hateful views, Slope Day is about uniting our community, not dividing it.”

The move marked a sharp reversal by Kotlikoff, who just days earlier claimed the school was unaware of Kehlani’s controversial comments and argued that it was “too late” to drop her from the show.

The 30-year-old Grammy-nominated singer has openly aligned with the anti-Israel, pro-Palestinian movement since October 7, referencing the conflict and her hatred for the Jewish state repeatedly in her music and public comments. For example, the music video for her song “Next 2 U” prominently features a Palestine Liberation Organization flag throughout and opens with a poem by an anti-Israel Palestinian-American writer.

The video also features the slogan “Long Live the Intifada,” with dancers wearing outfits inspired by the keffiyeh scarf design.

In her social media posts, Kehlani has called to “dismantle Israel. Dismantle Zionism.” In other posts, she wrote, “No one should feel comfortable or safe until Zionism is extinguished,” and in another, she called Zionists “The scum of the earth. You’re the scum of the earth.”

Kehlani also released a video statement via her Instagram account in which she excoriated performing artists who fail to openly castigate the Jewish state. “It’s f**k Israel, it’s f**k Zionism, and it’s also f**k a lot of y’all too.”

After Cornell announced that Kehlani was selected to headline this year’s Slope Day concert, which is funded by mandatory fees imposed on all undergraduate students, Jewish students and supporters of Israel on campus launched a petition calling for the performer to be dropped from the event. The student group Cornellians for Israel led the push to drop Kehlani, arguing that her inclusion in the concert “effectively communicates that Israeli, Jewish and Zionist students are not a welcome part of that community.”

After a GoFundMe campaign by Cornellians for Israel raised nearly $30,000 for a new performer, and after Florida Senator Rick Scott criticized Kotlikoff’s initial refusal to remove Kehlani, the university president made an abrupt about face, vowing that a “new lineup for a great 2025 Slope Day” will be announced shortly.