Antisemitic threats were made online against the Jewish community at Cornell University on Sunday, prompting an investigation by local and federal law enforcement.
The threats, which were discovered on a message board, targeted members of the New York-based college’s Jewish living center with calls for violence and antisemitic slurs.
In one message, the anonymous poster warned that “jihad” was coming for “pig jews.” Another message stated that Israel “deserved 10/7,” a reference to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas earlier this month that took the lives of roughly 1,400 Israelis.
The message board, known as Greekrank, is unaffiliated with Cornell but used by students to write reviews for fraternity and sororities.
The poster, who used the handle “kill jews,” also threatened to “shoot up 104 west,” the name for the Jewish living center. Threats to “slit their throats” and calls for “rats” to be “eliminated from Cornell” were also seen.
“allahu akbar! from the river to the sea, palestine will be free!” the user continued. “glory to hamas! liberation by any means necessary!”
A separate post from a user who referred to themselves as “jew jenocide” also called for the outright expulsion of Jews from Cornell University.
“the jewish house on cornell is yet another literal and sybolic form of apartheid and genocide on campus,” the user wrote. “it stands on land forcibly stolen from native people who had their identity erased. it enforces strict dietary and religious customs. in my opinion it should be torn down and the illegal settlers relocated. thank you.”
The remarks were met with a stern rebuke from Cornell President Martha E. Pollack, Gov. Kathy Hochul (D-N.Y.), and New York’s Attorney General Letitia James.
In a letter to students, Pollack condemned the threats and stated that law enforcement was on the scene to investigate the matter.
“Threats of violence are absolutely intolerable, and we will work to ensure that the person or people who posted them are punished to the full extent of the law,” she wrote. “Our immediate focus is on keeping the community safe; we will continue to prioritize that.”
Staff and students are currently being advised to avoid 104 West out of an abundance of caution.
