Cornell University president held hostage in car by radical student activists after Israel-Gaza debate

Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff was mobbed by student activists after a debate on Israel and Gaza at the school last week. Kotlikoff was leaving the event when students shouted insults at him, then actually held him prisoner in his own car. The students were with Students for a Democratic Cornell.

The students surrounded his car, banged on the windows, and prevented him from leaving. Kotlikoff tried to drive off and was accused of hitting a student with his car and driving over his foot. That student was standing behind his car, stopping him from leaving.

"Good night," Kitlokoff said to student agitators as he walked to his car. They asked him about a student suspension from 1969 and laughed as they surrounded the car and tried to stop him from leaving. Of this incident, Kitlikoff said, "These individuals followed me from the event space and across campus, while loudly shouting questions and recording on their phones. After answering a few questions, I let them know that I was not planning to engage further, and asked them to stop recording.

"They continued to follow me to my car and then surrounded the car, banging on the windows, blocking the car, and shouting. I waited until I saw space behind the car then, using my car's rear pedestrian alert and automatic braking system, was able to slowly maneuver my car from the parking space and exit the parking lot," he said.

Cornellians Only posted video of the incident, saying, "Video footage has surfaced showing President Michael Kotlikoff backing his car into a student and running over the foot of another following a debate on Thursday evening. The incident occurred as members of Students for a Democratic Cornell followed the President to ask questions regarding campus free expression and recent suspensions.

"In an email sent to the Cornell community, Kotlikoff characterized the event as a harassment incident, claiming individuals surrounded and banged on his vehicle. However, the obtained video shows no physical contact with the car until it began to move. Students involved report that the President was dismissive of their attempts at dialogue before the collision occurred.

"The University spokesperson stated that the administration stands by the President’s initial email despite the new footage. The student whose foot was run over received on-site medical attention from Cornell EMS and expressed fear regarding potential retaliation for pressing charges against the University leadership."

Students for a Democratic Cornell put out a statement, saying, "President Kotlikoff hit us with his car to avoid answering for his crackdown on students’ rights. It’s time for real change to Cornell’s disciplinary system."

They demanded the restoration of an "independent judicial system" on campus, an end to the suspensions of student protesters, for Kitlikoff to "commission an independent investigation" of the incident in which a student protester stood behind his car and the car backed into him, and to "hold a public meeting between administrators and students addressing these demands."





The event preceding the incident was a debate over the Israel-Gaza situation, hosted by Cornell Political Union, Cornell Progressives, Cornellians for Israel, and Students for Justice in Palestine, a group that is on many US campuses and one to which Mayor Zohran Mamdani belonged during his college years at Bowdoin.

Kitlokoff said the behavior he experienced from the students was "not a protest. It is harassment and intimidation, with the direct motive of silencing speech. It has no place in an academic community, no place in democracy, and no place at Cornell."

Tuition at Cornell is over $65,000 for out-of-state students and over $45,000 for New York residents. The school was the site of Gaza camp protests following the Palestinian terror group Hamas' massacre of Israelis on Oct. 7, 2023. Like many American students, Cornell radicals sided with Hamas over the nation of Israel, and decried both that nation's right to exist and to defend itself.