Cops guard Jewish group at Cornell University after shooting threat

Cornell University’s campus Jewish life organization was under the watch of police officers late Sunday after vile, hate-filled threats of violence were made against the student group, the upstate New York university said.

The school’s president, Martha Pollack, said in a message to her community that the rattling antisemitic threats were “horrendous” and that they explicitly named the location of the university’s Center for Jewish Living. She said the university had notified the FBI.

“Cornell Police (CUPD) are on the scene and investigating,” Pollack wrote in her Sunday night message. “Police will continue to remain on site to ensure our students and community members are safe.”

Ominous threats were posted on Greekrank, a website for grading fraternities and sororities, reported The Cornell Daily Sun, the school’s newspaper. One post’s author said they intended to “shoot up” the Center for Jewish Life, according to a screenshot published by The Daily Sun.

Cornell Hillel advised students and staff to avoid the center.

Cornell is located in Ithaca, N.Y., about 180 miles northwest of New York City. A quarter of the school’s undergraduate student body is Jewish, according to Hillel International.

In a Sunday night social media post, Gov. Hochul said that it was “unclear if these are credible threats” but that the State Police were engaged in the investigation into the “disgusting” posts.

The governor said she had been in contact with public New York City and New York State universities about campus safety too.

“I also reiterated our strong belief in free speech and the right to peaceful assembly, but made clear that we will have zero tolerance for acts of violence or those who intimidate and harass others through words or actions,” added Hochul, a Buffalo Democrat.

State Attorney General Letitia James said on social media that the threatening posts were “absolutely horrific.”

“There is no space for antisemitism or violence of any kind,” wrote James, a Brooklyn Democrat. “Campuses must remain safe spaces for our students.”

Pollack said in her statement that her school “will not tolerate antisemitism.”

“The virulence and destructiveness of antisemitism is real and deeply impacting our Jewish students, faculty and staff, as well as the entire Cornell community,” she said in the message. “This incident highlights the need to combat the forces that are dividing us and driving us toward hate.”

The alarming threats came with New Yorkers on edge and universities roiled by the Israel-Hamas war. The bloody conflict erupted Oct. 7 with Hamas’ rampage through southern Israel that killed more than 1,400 people, and has since shifted to Gaza, where Israel has attacked by air and more than 8,000 people are said to have died.

“Regardless of your beliefs, backgrounds or perspectives, I urge all of you to come together with the empathy and support for each other that we so greatly need in this difficult time,” Pollack said in her message to her campus.