The Zionist Organization of America (ZOA) condemned Cornell University today for imposing no consequences on history professor Russell Rickford and for deciding to permit him to resume teaching at the university, after Rickford praised the Hamas massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023.  Just days after the terrorist group’s brutal slaughter of 1,200 men, women and children, Rickford spoke at an anti-Israel rally and said that he was “exhilarated” and “energized” by Hamas’ actions. 

Plainly worried about his job, Rickford later “apologized” for his “choice of words.”  But in his “apology,” he still failed to condemn Hamas or its savagery.  Instead, he justified his comments, claiming that he had intended to “stress grassroots African American, Jewish and Palestinian traditions of resistance to oppression” – again wrongly blaming Israel for allegedly oppressing a people who were in fact under the iron-fist rule of Hamas, not Israel.  Rickford’s “apology” was also an affront to African Americans and Jews everywhere.  Their “grassroots resistance to oppression” and persecution never included breaking into innocent people’s communities and homes, slaughtering them, raping them, and mutilating them.  Rickford took a voluntary leave from teaching for the rest of the 2023-24 academic year; Cornell reportedly would not say whether he was paid while on leave.

Despite the many calls on Cornell from the ZOA and others to fire Rickford, Cornell did not even discipline Rickford and instead reinstated him because his pro-Hamas statements were made “as a private citizen in his free time.”  Leaders such as U.S. Rep. Claudia Tenney condemned Cornell’s decision, saying that she was “deeply disgusted” that the university was allowing Rickford to continue to “mold and influence young minds.”  New York Governor  Kathy Hochul – who, by virtue of her position, is on Cornell’s Board of Trustees – did not condemn the university’s decision to reinstate Rickford but called his past comments “outrageous and unacceptable.” 

ZOA National President Morton A. Klein strongly condemned Cornell’s response to Rickford, stating:  “Cornell’s decision to permit Rickford to return to teaching, when he shamefully celebrated the worst pogrom that the Jewish people have endured since the Holocaust, is reprehensible.  It’s irrelevant that his comments were made as a private citizen in his free time.  Rockford has shown himself to be unfit to teach at Cornell or anywhere else.  The fact that he will be back shaping the thinking of our young people and future leaders is frightening and even dangerous.  As a history professor, we can only imagine how he will portray Jews and Israelis to his students.

“High school students who care about Israel should think twice about applying to Cornell.  And Cornell’s supporters should think carefully about whether this is an institution they can support.”

Susan B. Tuchman, Esq., the director of the ZOA’s Center for Law and Justice, added:  “Cornell has had serious problems with antisemitism.  The university’s decision to reinstate a professor who openly celebrated the murder of Jews does not give us confidence that the university is truly  committed to a campus environment that is safe and welcoming for Jewish students.”