A Cornell University professor has taken a leave of absence after describing Hamas’s attacks on Israeli civilians as “exhilarating” and “energizing” at a pro-Palestinian student rally near Cornell’s campus last week.
“Hamas has challenged the monopoly of violence. … there are many Gazans of good will, many Palestinians of conscience, who abhor violence, as do you, as do I… who were able to breathe, they were able to breathe for the first time in years. It was exhilarating. It was energizing. And if they weren’t exhilarated by this challenge to the monopoly of violence, by this shifting of the balance of power, then they would not be human. I was exhilarated,” history professor Russell Rickford said while addressing a large crowd of students, according to a recording captured and posted online by a student.
His description of this “challenge to the monopoly of violence” is a reference to the slaughter of 1,400 innocent Israelis by Hamas terrorists. Rickford further asserted that Hamas “shifted the balance of politics and punctured the illusion of invincibility” of Israel. “That’s what they’ve done. You don’t have to be a Hamas supporter to recognize it.”
The crowd of attendees chanted, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” a common rallying cry used to call for the elimination of the state of Israel. An attendee held up a sign which read: “Stand with Palestine! End the occupation now!”
Rickford, an associate professor of history, specializes in “African-American political culture after World War II, the Black Radical Tradition, and transnational social movements.”
The Cornell Review confirmed that Rickford has taken a leave of absence upon his own request, and that his survey course on post-civil war African American history will be taught by another professor for the remainder of the semester.
Initially, Rickford defended his remarks at the rally. However, pushback from administration led to his apology and leave of absence.
In a joint statement released October 17, Cornell President Martha E. Pollack and Board of Trustees Chair Kraig Kayser condemned Rickford’s speech. “This is a reprehensible comment that demonstrates no regard whatsoever for humanity,” the statement read. “The University is taking this incident seriously and is currently reviewing it consistent with our procedures.
Following the release of these statements, Rickford penned a letter to the Opinion Department of The Cornell Daily Sun, published October 18:
“I apologize for the horrible choice of words that I used in a portion of a speech that was intended to stress grassroots African American, Jewish and Palestinian traditions of resistance to oppression. I recognize that some of the language I used was reprehensible and did not reflect my values… As a scholar, a teacher, an activist and a father, I strive to uphold the values of human dignity, peace and justice. I want to make it clear that I unequivocally oppose and denounce racism, anti-semitism, Islamophobia, militarism, fundamentalism and all systems that dehumanize, divide and oppress people.”
Rickford has been vocal about “Palestinian solidarity” before. According to The Cornell Daily Sun, in 2017, during a “kneel-in” event in support of students and professional athletes fighting against racism in America, he led a “Free Palestine” chant, which some students regarded as inappropriate as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict was not the topic of the demonstration.
In 2019, Rickford published an article titled “‘To Build a New World’: African American Internationalism and Palestine Solidarity,” in the Journal of Palestine Studies.
Cornell is the latest Ivy League to make headlines for pro-Hamas sentiments on campus.