Cornell University canceled its Friday classes because of the “extraordinary stress” caused by antisemitic threats a junior at the school allegedly made on Sunday, NBC News reported.
Officials arrested a person of interest, later revealed to be Patrick Dai, who allegedly made threats against Jewish students at Cornell on an online social media platform and who is accused of saying he would “bring a rifle to campus and shoot all of you [Jewish people],” according to NBC. Friday will serve as a “community day” and the school will shutter everything except “essential services,” a school administrator told the Daily Caller News Foundation. (RELATED: Suspect Yells ‘Free Palestine’ After Home Invasion Of Jewish Family)
“Let me say again clearly. We will not tolerate antisemitism at Cornell; indeed we will not tolerate hatred of any form, including racism or Islamophobia,” Cornell President Martha Pollack wrote in a statement. “What does this mean? It means, first and foremost, that when there are threats or incitement to violence, we will respond rapidly and forcefully, as we did in this case.”
This morning, @GovKathyHochul and President Martha E. Pollack met with students at Cornell’s Center for Jewish Living to offer their support. “No one should be afraid to walk from their dorm or their dining hall to a classroom,” Gov. Hochul said. “That is a basic right.” pic.twitter.com/aAYRziNbL4
— Cornell University (@Cornell) October 30, 2023
Federal prosecutors charged Dai on Tuesday with threats to kill or injure others using interstate communication, NBC reported. Dai did not enter a plea at his initial court appearance on Wednesday, and the federal judge set a second court date for Nov. 15.
Antisemitism has been on the rise since Hamas launched a horrific terrorist attack against Israel on Oct. 7. College students and professors across the nation have attended pro-Hamas protests, including one Cornell professor who called the terrorist attacks “exhilarating” at a rally in October.
“We cannot let ourselves be defined by the acts of one person, or even ten,” Pollack wrote in a statement. “While we denounce hatred loudly, we must also remember to cherish and celebrate all the good that so many members of our Cornell community do and live every day.”
Cornell declined to comment further on Dai’s alleged antisemitic threats.
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