The Jewish students of Cornell University “they are afraid to sleep» in the university residences, after the violent, anti-Semitic threats made online against the New York college in the midst of the Israel-Hamas war.
The threats, which were posted online over the weekend, they forced some university students to leave the campusbecause they were afraid to sleep in their rooms, the president of the college’s Center for Jewish Life told the Cornell Daily Sun, the school’s student newspaper, according to businessinsider.com.
“The first reaction of all the students who are in the area is o fearMolly Goldstein, the center’s president, told the newspaper in an op-ed published Sunday. Goldstein said, “We get calls from people who weren’t in the band asking if it is safe to go back to their room tonight” and added: “We’ve had people too scared to sleep here tonight. So they went to other places, for their safety.”
A Jewish senior at Cornell told the same outlet that many students on campus are “pretty scared and pretty worried” because of the threats. “My parents are really worried and I know I’m not alone in this feeling“, he said. “It’s stressful».
In the wake of recent attacks on Israel by the Palestinian organization Hamas and the Jewish state’s retaliation to the bombing of Gaza, there is “a lot of anger and tensions are very high” on the Cornell campus, the senior said. “But threatening Jewish students,” she said, “seems really unfair».
Cornell University President Martha Pollack said in a statement Sunday that “a series of horrific, antisemitic messages threatening violence against our Jewish community and specifically naming 104 West – the home of the Center for Jewish Life – was posted on a website not affiliated with Cornell.”
Pollack said Cornell University police are investigating and will remain stationed at 104 West “to ensure the safety of students and members of our community.” The police department has informed the F.B.I for threats as “possible hate crime“, according to Pollack.
“Threats of violence are completely unacceptable and we will work to ensure that the person or persons who posted them will be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Our immediate focus is to keep the community safe – we will continue to prioritize that.” Pollack said. “We will not tolerate him anti-Semitism at Cornell.”
What was he referring to the threats?
According to the Cornell Daily Sun, the online threats, which have now been removed, were posted Saturday and Sunday on Greekrank, a ranking and discussion site for college fraternity departments. Posts included shooting threats at 104 West and they called you violence against Jewish studentsaccording to the student newspaper.
Since the outbreak of the Israel-Hamas war earlier this month, Cornell’s campus has seen regular protests, mainly in favor of Palestineaccording to the student Insider spoke to.
A Cornell history professor recently made headlines for calling Hamas attack on Israel ‘exciting and refreshing’ at an off-campus rally.
Source: News Beast
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