Cornell University Jewish students targeted with death threats: ‘jewish people need to be killed’

Threats calling for Jews to be followed home to "slit their throats" were posted to a website called Greekrank, a site to rank fraternities and sororities, targeting “104 West,” the location of the Center of Jewish Living on campus.

The threats posted on Saturday were made under pseudonyms including “hamas,” “jew evil,” “jew jenocide,” “hamas warrior” and “kill jews," stating that “Rats need to be eliminated from Cornell," “jewish people need to be killed,” “eliminate jewish living from cornell campus” and “gonna shoot up 104 west.”

Other threats included, “If i see a pig male jew i will stab you and slit your throat,” and “If i see another pig female jew i will drag you away and ràpe you and throw you off a cliff. if i see another pig baby jew i will behead you in front of your parents.”

Cornell’s President Martha E. Pollack called the threats "horrendous" in a statement and said the police notified the FBI of the threats as a potential hate crime.

"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. Our immediate focus is on keeping the community safe; we will continue to prioritize that. We will not tolerate antisemitism at Cornell."

The Cornell Center for Jewish Living sent an email to the community that the threats were being investigated by the police and the FBI. "Our students are always our top priority, and we are doing and will do everything we can to ensure their safety. We will continue to notify you with updates as we receive them.”

In a social media post, The Steven K. and Winifred A. Grinspoon Hillel Center at the university said it was aware of the threats and that the Cornell Police Department is monitoring the situation. "At this time, we advise that students and staff avoid the building out of an abundance of caution."

The threats come in the wake of spiking antisemitism on US college campuses following the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attacks in Israel that killed over 1,400 civilians and injured thousands more.

Over 200 hostages including Americans remain captives of Hamas.

The threats are just the latest antisemitic incident at the New York college. According to the Cornell Daily Sun, the campus was graffitied with the messages “Israel is fascist,” “Zionism = genocide” and “F— Israel,” and a professor called brutal Hamas attacks “exhilarating.” He has been placed on leave.