UPDATED: 'Kill Jews': Cornell's kosher dining hall shuts down after death threats emerge

Cornell University sent Campus Reform the following statement after publication of this article: 

Cornell’s Student and Campus Life and the Dean of Students Office have been meeting regularly with individuals and student groups. Instructors are talking individually with students and offering flexibility; a zoom option may be temporarily available in some courses, depending on the constraints of the course. Mental health and other support resources are also available. Any member of the Cornell community who is being harassed or threatened should not hesitate to contact the Public Safety Communications Center at 607-255-1111 or through RAVE Guardian. Anyone with information about threats made against members of our community is asked to come forward. Anonymous reports can be made through the Silent Witness Program. 

In addition, below is a statement from the Cornell University Police Department (CUPD).

CUPD statement:

“The safety and security of the entire Cornell community continues to be our top priority. We are taking threats very seriously and working with the FBI, State Police and other agencies to investigate — we continue to have an enhanced law enforcement presence on campus to keep our community safe. We have increased patrols and arranged additional security for our Jewish students and organizations on and off campus, and the university is in constant communication with these groups.”

A reminder that President Pollack’s statement, sent to our community yesterday, can be found here.

A Jewish student group at Cornell cautioned students away from a kosher dining hall after students made violent anti-Semitic threats.

The Cornell chapter of the Jewish student organization Hillel told students to stay away from 104West!, home of the kosher and multicultural dining room on campus, after students posted violent threats to a discussion forum. 

”Cornell Hillel is aware of a threatening statement that was directed toward the building at 104West, which houses the university’s kosher and multicultural dining hall, as well as more generally toward Jewish students, faculty, and staff,” the organization wrote in an Instagram post.

”The Cornell University administration has been made aware of this concerning language, and the Cornell Police Department is monitoring the situation and is on site at 104West to provide additional security as a precaution,” the post noted. “At this time, we advise that students and staff avoid the building out of an abundance of caution. We will continue to provide updates as additional information becomes available.”

The post came in response to violent pro-Hamas, anti-Semitic threats against Jewish students posted on a message board. A Cornell alumna posted screenshots of the messages on X. 

BREAKING: Police on scene and FBI notified after posts on Cornell University forum call for Jewish students to be killed

h/t: @AnnieSun16 pic.twitter.com/4BQhYg0Cg6

— Breaking911 (@Breaking911) October 30, 2023

”[I]f you see a jewish “person” on campus follow them home and slit their throats,” read one post entitled “jewish people need to be killed” by a poster named “jew evil.” 

”[R]ats need to be eliminated from cornell [sic].”

Another post was entitled “’Israel’ deserved 10/7” and written by a user named “hamas warrior.”

”[T]he genôcidal fascist, zionist regime will be destroyed. râpe and kill all the jew women, before they birth more jewish hitlers. jews are excremènt on the face of the earth, no jew civilian is innocent of genocide,” the post read. 

Another user named “kill jews” directly threatened violence against the dining hall, titling his post “Gonna shoot up 104 west.”

”[A]llahu akbar! from the river to the sea, palestine will be free! glory to hamas! liberation by any means necessary!” the post read.

Another post was entitled “eliminate jewish living from cornell campus” by a user called “jew jenocide.” The post notably includes a land acknowledgment, claiming the dining hall is built on stolen land. 

Campus Reform has reported previously that land acknowledgments are tools of leftist activism on campus connected to left-wing decolonization and social justice agendas. 

”The jewish house on cornell is yet another literal and symbolic form of apartheid and genocide on campus. it stands on land forcibly stolen from native people who had their identity erased. It enforces strict dietary and religious customs. in my opinion it should be torn down and the illegal settlers relocated. thank you.”

Cornell President Martha Pollack said in a statement on Oct. 29 that campus police were investigating the threats, and officers were on site to keep patrons safe. The FBI was also notified of a potential hate crime, Pollack added. 

”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,” said Pollack. ”Our immediate focus is on keeping the community safe; we will continue to prioritize that.”

”We will not tolerate antisemitism at Cornell. During my time as president, I have repeatedly denounced bigotry and hatred, both on and off our campus,” she added. “The virulence and destructiveness of antisemitism is real and deeply impacting our Jewish students, faculty and staff, as well as the entire Cornell community. This incident highlights the need to combat the forces that are dividing us and driving us toward hate. This cannot be what defines us at Cornell.”

Campus Reform has reached out to Cornell for further comment. This article will be updated accordingly.