As Dept. of Ed launches investigation into Cornell, still no word on consequences for prof 'exhilarated' by Hamas terrorism
Cornell Associate Professor Russell Rickford has been on a leave of absence since mid-October for anti-Semitic remarks he made during a pro-Palestine rally.
He said of Hamas' Oct. 7 strike on Israel: 'And if it weren’t exhilarating by this challenge to the monopoly of violence — by this shifting of the balance of power — then they would not be human.'
A Cornell associate history professor who publicly referred to Hamas’ slaughtering of Jews as “exhilarating” and “energizing” officially remains on the university faculty.
Russell Rickford, whose work explores the “Black Radical Tradition” and “transnational social movements,” has been on a leave of absence since October. At a pro-Palestine rally at the Ithaca Commons on Oct. 15, he told a crowd that, “And if it weren’t exhilarating by this challenge to the monopoly of violence — by this shifting of the balance of power — then they would not be human.”
“I was exhilarated!” Professor Russell Rickford of @Cornell calls Hamas terrorist attacks “exhilarating” and “energizing” pic.twitter.com/kv2CbZuHEY
— Libs of TikTok (@libsoftiktok) October 16, 2023
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In comments made to The Cornell Daily Sun the next day, Rickford defended his remarks, adding that, “We are acutely aware of the devastation, the daily destruction and degradation caused by Israeli policies, caused by Israeli apartheid, caused by the occupation.”
Although he clarified that he “[abhors] the killing of civilians,” Rickford denounced what he sees as “the injustice and the hypocrisy of Western support in celebration of Israeli war crimes, and the equation of any form of Palestinian resistance with terrorism.”
Just two days later, Rickford wrote a letter to the editor of the Sun, stating: “I apologize for the horrible choice of words that I used in a portion of a speech that was intended to stress grassroots African American, Jewish and Palestinian traditions of resistance to oppression. I recognize that some of the language I used was reprehensible and did not reflect my values.”
[REPORT: Alumni laud Columbia U for suspending anti-Semitic student groups]
On Oct. 21, The Cornell Review reported that Rickford’s request for a leave of absence had been approved for the remainder of the semester.
Rickford’s temporary leave comes following an online petition calling for his firing that garnered nearly 12,000 signatures. New York Senator Kirsten Gillibrand also advocated for his removal, stating, “As a person of authority at an educational institution, to celebrate murder, rape and abducting children and slaughtering children, I think he should be fired.”
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights formally launched an investigation into Cornell on Nov. 16 for reported incidents of anti-Semitism.
In accordance with federal and state law, Cornell’s official university policy bars discrimination on the basis of religion and national origin. The guideline also discourages bias activity, defined as, “Action of mistreatment or incivility (verbal, physical, in written or digital form) taken by an alleged offender(s) and motivated in whole or part by an actual or perceived aspect of diversity/identity of the harmed or impacted party.”
While university leadership decried the professor’s original statement as “a reprehensible comment that demonstrates no regard whatsoever for humanity,” Cornell has not responded to Campus Reform inquiries about the status of Rickford’s employment after the end of the semester, or his remarks seemingly violating its anti-discrimination standards.
