Israel-Hamas war: Jewish students at Cornell University receive death threats, police deployed for safety

Jewish students at Cornell University received anti-Semitic death threats online over the weekend, prompting the staff to send police to guard them.

According to the president of the university, Martha E Pollack, several hate messages were posted on a website not affiliated with the university on Sunday, encouraging many to harm Jews in the school.

“A series of horrendous, antisemitic messages threatening violence to our Jewish community and specifically naming 104 West— the home of the Center for Jewish Living — was posted on a website unaffiliated with Cornell,” Pollack said in a statement.

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The messages, which have now been deleted, included threats to shoot Jewish students at the 104 West building, which houses their kosher dining hall, the school’s student newspaper, The Cornell Daily Sun, reported.

Though the campus authorities didn’t initiate any lockdown procedures or close down the dining hall, Cornell Hillel, a Jewish campus organisation, called on the students and staff to avoid the building “in an abundance of caution.”

Online posts called for killing Jews

The threats come in the wake of the Israel-Hamas war which has fuelled tensions on college campuses across the US.

Many institutions such as Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania saw students protesting and calling for a ceasefire even as staff grappled to tame the fervent agitation.

According to CNN, some instructions are also facing backlash from influential donors demanding colleges take a clearer stance on the conflict.

On Monday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul visited Cornell’s Center for Jewish Living where he vowed to ensure the safety of the Jewish community and hold the perpetrators accountable.

Police force deployed

“No one should be afraid to walk from their dorm or their dining hall to a classroom,” she said.

“When speech crosses over into hate speech and into hate crimes, that’s when we have to make sure that students know that we’ll step up and protect them.”

The Cornell University Police Department is also investigating and has notified the FBI.

AP news reported that a state police cruiser was parked in the street in front of the Center for Jewish Living and an SUV with campus security was in the driveway.

(With inputs from agencies)

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