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Threats to kill Jewish students at Cornell prompt police to monitor kosher dining hall

(JTA) — Police at Cornell University were called to the school’s kosher dining hall, and the campus Hillel warned students to stay away from it, after anonymous antisemitic posts on a Greek life website that included threats to “shoot up” the building and kill and rape Jewish students.

The posts, whose text has circulated widely on social media, were published Saturday and Sunday under pseudonyms including “hamas,” “jew evil,” “jew jenocide,” “hamas warrior” and “kill jews.” The posts have titles such as “jewish people need to be killed,” “eliminate jewish living from cornell campus” and “gonna shoot up 104 west,” the name of the kosher dining hall.

The posts were made on Greekrank, a site that students at the Ivy League school and others use to rate fraternities and sororities. “If i see a pig male jew i will stab you and slit your throat,” read another post by a user called “hamas” that was viewed directly by the Jewish Telegraphic Agency. “If i see another pig female jew i will drag you away and ràpe you and throw you off a cliff. if i see another pig baby jew i will behead you in front of your parents.”

The university’s president denounced the posts, which come three weeks after Hamas’ Oct. 7 invasion of Israel killed and wounded thousands and during Israel’s ensuing war against the terror group in Gaza. Pro-Palestinian groups at a series of campuses have celebrated or endorsed Hamas’ attack, and Jewish students have been barricaded in buildings amid pro-Palestinian protests. Other Jewish students have been assaulted or taken part in violent altercations. On Thursday, the White House condemned “antisemitic messages being conveyed on college campuses.”

At Cornell, a professor called the Hamas attack “exhilarating” before later apologizing. (He is now on leave.) Last week, the campus was graffitied with the messages “Israel is fascist,” “Zionism = genocide” and “F— Israel,” according to the Cornell Daily Sun

On Sunday evening, Cornell Hillel posted a statement to Instagram advising people to keep away from the kosher dining hall, where police were on site to monitor the situation.

“Cornell Hillel is aware of a threatening statement that was directed toward the building at 104West, which houses the university’s kosher and multicultural dining hall, as well as more generally toward Jewish students, faculty, and staff,” the statement read. “At this time, we advise that students and staff avoid the building out of an abundance of caution.”

The dining hall also includes halal, Seventh-day Adventist, vegetarian, vegan and other meal options. It is situated next to Cornell’s Center for Jewish Living. Cornell Hillel and the Center for Jewish Living could not be reached for comment. 

In a statement emailed to the campus community, Cornell University President Martha Pollack called the threats “horrendous” and “absolutely intolerable.” 

“We will not tolerate antisemitism at Cornell,” she wrote. “The virulence and destructiveness of antisemitism is real and deeply impacting our Jewish students faculty and staff, as well as the entire Cornell community. This incident highlights the need to combat the forces that are dividing us and driving us toward hate.”

Pollack said campus police had also notified the FBI of a potential hate crime and that whoever posted the threats would be “punished to the full extent of the law.” Cornell Police referred JTA to Pollack’s statement. 

Pollack has issued several previous statements about the violence in Israel, including a message of concern and a second condemning Hamas on Oct 10 and two statements distancing Cornell from community members who might have expressed support for the terrorist attack.

Talia Dror, a junior who is a pro-Israel activist, told JTA that the dining hall threats “terrified” her and that she was not leaving her house as a result. 

“We’ve been told multiple times by the university that while they understood our concerns for personal safety, that they didn’t think actual physical safety would necessarily be an issue,” Dror said. “On a daily basis, I’m seeing what’s going on around the country and I think it’s absolutely absurd that university administrators are acting like such cowards and not making real statements or standing behind their Jewish students until there’s a physical threat to kill students.”


The post Threats to kill Jewish students at Cornell prompt police to monitor kosher dining hall appeared first on Jewish Telegraphic Agency.

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Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel’s Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian meet in Moscow, Russia, Jan. 17, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Evgenia Novozhenina

Russian President Vladimir Putin spoke to US President Donald Trump for 50 minutes on Saturday, condemning the Israeli military operation against Iran and expressing concern about the risks of escalation, the Kremlin said.

“Vladimir Putin condemned Israel’s military operation against Iran and expressed serious concern about a possible escalation of the conflict, which would have unpredictable consequences for the entire situation in the Middle East,” Kremlin aide Yuri Ushakov told reporters.

Trump, for his part, described events in the Middle East as “very alarming,” according to Ushakov. But the two leaders said they do not rule out a return to the negotiating track on Iran’s nuclear program, Ushakov said.

On Ukraine, Putin told the US leader that Russia was ready to continue negotiations with the Ukrainians after June 22, according to state news agency RIA.

Trump reiterated his interest in a speedy resolution to the conflict, the Kremlin aide said.

Putin also congratulated Trump on his 79th birthday.

The post Putin Speaks to Trump, Condemns Israel’s Strikes on Iran, Kremlin Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Sunday’s US-Iran Nuclear Talks Cancelled, Oman Says

FILE PHOTO: Oman’s Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi attends a meeting with Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Moscow, Russia July 11, 2023. Photo: Natalia Kolesnikova/Pool via REUTERS/File Photo

The latest round of US-Iran nuclear talks scheduled for Sunday in Muscat will not take place, Omani Foreign Minister Badr Albusaidi said on X on Saturday. Oman has been mediating the talks.

Albusaidi’s statement came a day after Israel launched a sweeping air offensive against Iran, killing commanders and scientists and bombing nuclear sites in a stated bid to stop it building an atomic weapon.

A senior official of US President Donald Trump’s administration, speaking on condition of anonymity, confirmed Sunday’s talks had been cancelled.

Washington, however, remained committed to the negotiations and hoped “the Iranians will come to the table soon,” the official said.

The post Sunday’s US-Iran Nuclear Talks Cancelled, Oman Says first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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Iran Says Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ After Israel Attack, But Yet to Decide on Attending

USA and Iranian flags are seen in this illustration taken, Sept. 8, 2022. Photo: REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration

Iran said the dialogue with the US over Tehran’s nuclear program is “meaningless” after Israel’s biggest-ever military strike against its longstanding enemy, but said it is yet to decide on whether to attend planned talks on Sunday.

“The other side (the US) acted in a way that makes dialogue meaningless. You cannot claim to negotiate and at the same time divide work by allowing the Zionist regime (Israel) to target Iran’s territory,” state media on Saturday quoted foreign ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei as saying.

“It is still unclear what decision we will make on Sunday in this regard,” Baghaei was quoted as saying.

He said Israel “succeeded in influencing” the diplomatic process and the Israeli attack would not have happened without Washington’s permission, accusing Washington of supporting the attack.

Iran earlier accused the US of being complicit in Israel’s attacks, but Washington denied the allegation and told Tehran at the United Nations Security Council that it would be “wise” to negotiate over its nuclear program.

The sixth round of US-Iran nuclear talks was set to be held on Sunday in Muscat, but it was unclear whether it would go ahead after the Israeli strikes.

Iran denies that its uranium enrichment program is for anything other than civilian purposes, rejecting Israeli allegations that it is secretly developing nuclear weapons.

US President Donald Trump told Reuters that he and his team had known the Israeli attacks were coming but they still saw room for an accord.

The post Iran Says Talks with US ‘Meaningless’ After Israel Attack, But Yet to Decide on Attending first appeared on Algemeiner.com.

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