Jewish students lock themselves in Cooper Union school library during anti-Israel rally
Jewish students at Cooper Union lock themselves in a school library as protesters moved through the hallways on Wednesday, banging on doors and windows.
Cornell University police and the FBI are investigating a series of threats made against the New York school’s Jewish community.
The threats were posted to a website not affiliated with the university and targeted "104 West," where the Center of Jewish Living is located on campus.
One of the threats called for people to follow a Jewish person home and "slit their throats," adding, "Rats need to be eliminated from Cornell."
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Students on the Cornell University campus in Ithaca, New York, on April 11, 2023. (Bing Guan/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
The Steven K. and Winifred A. Grinspoon Hillel Center at the university said it was aware of the threats, in a social media post, saying the Cornell University Police Department is monitoring the situation and on the scene at 104 West.
"At this time, we advise that students and staff avoid the building out of an abundance of caution," the post read.
"Evidence suggests the targeted locations were intentionally selected because of the perpetrator's bias," the Cornell University Police Department wrote in a community alert.
School President Martha E. Pollack also issued a statement about the threats, calling the messages "horrendous."
The threats come days after Cornell associated professor of history Russell Rickford said he was "exhilarated" and "energized" by the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel. (Yiming Chen/Getty Images)
Pollack said the police have notified the FBI of the threats, flagging them 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," Pollack said. "Our immediate focus is on keeping the community safe; we will continue to prioritize that. We will not tolerate antisemitism at Cornell."
"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," the Cornell Center for Jewish Living wrote in an email to its community.
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The threats come days after Cornell associated professor of history Russell Rickford said he was "exhilarated" and "energized" by the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks in Israel. Rickford is now on a leave of absence, the university confirmed to Fox News Digital.
"Hamas has shifted the balance of power," Rickford said at a rally in Ithaca, New York, on Oct. 17. "Hamas has punctured the illusion of its invincibility. That’s what they’ve done. You don’t have to be a Hamas supporter to recognize that. You don't have to be a Hamas supporter to recognize that. Hamas has changed the terms of debate."
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"It was exhilarating, it was energizing," Rickford continued. "And if it weren’t exhilarating by this challenge to the monopoly of violence – by this shifting to this balance of power – then they would not be human. I was exhilarated."
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