A Cornell University professor who lauded Hamas’ October 7 terror attack on Israel as “exhilarating” and “energizing” is back teaching at the upstate Ivy League school, The New York Post revealed.
History Professor Russell Rickford was out for the past year on “voluntary leave” after widespread public outcry when he was recorded at an off-campus anti-Israel rally cheering the Hamas attack.
“It was exhilarating, it was energizing ….I was exhilarated,” Rickford said at the time — before apologizing for applauding the mass murder of innocent civilians.
Rickford is teaching at least two courses at Cornell this semester — African Americans Vision of America and Socialism in America — and a seminar, according to The Post.
Cornell confirmed in a statement to the newspaper Sunday that the university did not discipline Rickford for his hateful remarks. It would not say whether Rickford was paid while on leave.
Rickford’s comments were condemned by the administration at the time as “reprehensible” for showing a “complete disregard for humanity” — but they are still protected by his free-speech rights, said Cornell VP of University Relations Joel Malina.
“Given that Professor Rickford’s comments were made as a private citizen in his free time, the university’s academic leadership has concluded that Professor Rickford’s conduct in relation to this incident did not meet that high bar” to warrant otherwise, Malina said.
Rep. Claudia Tenney said she is sending a letter to Cornell interim President Michael Kotlikoff to protest Rickford’s return.
“I am deeply disgusted by Cornell’s decision to continue employing Mr. Rickford after his horrific statements that celebrated the murder of innocent people and incited violence,” Tenney said in the letter provided to The Post.
“Regardless of one’s views on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, the loss of human life, especially the lives of women, children, and the elderly, including Holocaust survivors, should never be referred to as `energizing’ or `exhilarating,’” she added.
“Professor Rickford holds a position within the university that allows him to mold and influence young minds. This position demands a higher standard of behavior, one that is free from anti-Semitic rhetoric and vocal support of terrorism. By perpetuating these abhorrent views, Professor Rickford has not only violated his ethical responsibility as an educator, but has also jeopardized the safety of the Jewish community and tarnished Cornell,” said Tenney.
In Cornell’s statement to The Post, Malina noted that Rickford apologized for his comments and took a voluntary leave of absence for the remainder of the academic year.
But the university determined that Rickford’s hateful comments ultimately did not warrant disciplinary action, given, “Consistent with well-established principles of academic freedom, Cornell has a process for considering whether public statements such as those expressed off campus by Professor Rickford at a political rally fall under the category of protected speech, or rather demonstrate prohibited bias, discrimination, or harassment,” Malina wrote.
Rickford declined a Post email request for comment.
The incident involving Rickford was just one of several incidents of antisemitism on Cornell’s campus in the past year.
In the most egregious incident, a Cornell University student was arrested after threatening to kill Jews on campus.
The menacing messages, posted in October on a forum about fraternities and sororities, alarmed students at the school in upstate New York and led to students being advised to stay away from the school’s kosher dining hall.
The student, Patrick Dai, later pleaded guilty to posting the threatening messages. He was sentenced in August to 21 months in prison.
Cornell University President Martha Pollack resigned this past May, but insisted that her departure is unrelated to the anti-Israel protests and displays of antisemitism on campus.