Cornell University in Ithaca, New York sent campus police to its Jewish center after antisemitic “threats of violence” appeared online over the weekend. The threats come at a time of heightened tensions on college campuses across the U.S. over the Israel-Hamas war.
Cornell President Martha E. Pollack said in a statement: “Earlier today, 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 CornellWe will not tolerate antisemitism at Cornell,” Pollack said, warning those who commit such threats will be “punished to the full extent of the law.”
University police did not provide details of the nature of the threats, however, they issued a community crime alert Sunday night saying the department is “investigating posts located on a website that contain threats of violence directed at religious groups across the campus … Evidence suggests the targeted locations were intentionally selected because of the perpetrator’s bias.”
New York Gov. K athy Hochul said in a series of posts on X that she condemned the “disgusting & hateful posts on a message board about Jewish @Cornell students” and said the New York State Police is involved. Hochul added that she spoke to leaders from public and private universities across the state Sunday night to stress that state police and government will “support their efforts to keep their students and campus communities safe,” and met with students at Cornell on Monday in which she said students “are showing incredible strength and unity in response to vile antisemitic threats.”
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