Cornell University has announced that classes on Friday will be canceled due to the “extraordinary stress” that students have experienced after several violent threats were directed towards Jews on the university’s forum, according to CNN.
The day off will be treated as a community day, according to the source.
The impact of violent messages had a significant impact on Cornell’s Jewish student population, which makes up 22% of the total student body, according to the local Hillel.
The Jerusalem Post has yet to receive comment from the Hillel.
The source of the ‘extraordinary stress’
On October 29, threatening messages were posted on the university’s forum.
“if you see a jewish ‘person’ on campus, follow them home and slit their throats. rats need to be elimination from Cornell [sic]” one message on the forum read.
Another post said “the genocidal fascist zionist regime will be destroyed. rape and kill all the jew women, before they birth more Jewish Hitlers. jews are excrement on the face of the earth. no jew civilian is innocent of genocide [sic].”
In another concerning post to the forum, one user wrote they were “gonna shoot up 104 West”, which is where the kosher dining hall is located. The message also read “Allahu akbar! From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free! glory to Hamas! liberation by any means necessary! [sic]”
After a short investigation, police arrested Cornell student Patrick Dai.
Dai was a 21-year-old junior at the school, according to the US Justice Department, who was born and raised in New York. He was charged with posting threats to kill or injure another using interstate communications.
Breaking - Patrick Dai, a Cornell student, has been arrested for making online threats to Jewish students on campus. pic.twitter.com/QbiJc0rkr7
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) November 1, 2023
The charge filed against Dai carries a maximum term of 5 years in prison, a fine of up to $250,000, and a term of supervised release of up to 3 years.