Cornell University professor Russell Rickford – who doubled down on saying he was ‘exhilarated’ by Hamas terrorist attack – now APOLOGIZES and says ‘the language I used was reprehensible’
A Cornell University professor who called Hamas terror attacks “exciting and stimulating” has apologized for his “reprehensible” choice of words.
Russell Rickford told an Oct. 15 rally in the downtown New York shopping district of Ithaca Commons that he was excited about Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel that killed 1,400 Israelis.
His words were met with anger, and Rickford, a history professor, tried to explain – and doubled down.
He said he condemned the killing of civilians, but said he was angry about “the injustice and hypocrisy of Western support in celebrating Israeli war crimes, and the equating of any form of Palestinian resistance with terrorism.”
On Wednesday, Rickford sent a letter to The Cornell Daily Sun and said he deeply regretted his words.
A Cornell professor with a history of radical left views called Hamas’ terrorist attacks in Israel “exciting” and “energizing” during a pro-Palestine rally on October 15.
“I apologize for the terrible choice of words I used in part of a speech intended to emphasize the African American, Jewish and Palestinian traditions of resistance to oppression,” Rickford said.
“I recognize that some of the language I used was objectionable and did not reflect my values.”
He apologized for “the pain my reckless comments have caused my family, my students, my colleagues and many others during this time of suffering.”
Rickford concluded that he “unequivocally opposes racism, anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, militarism, fundamentalism and all systems that dehumanize, divide and oppress people.”
Rickford is known for his pro-Palestinian activism and has been described by the local newspaper as ‘no stranger to controversial comments’.
He told the Ithaca Commons meeting: “Hamas has challenged the monopoly on violence.
“And in those first few hours, even as heinous acts were committed, many of which we would only learn about later, there are many Gazans of good will, many conscientious Palestinians, who abhor violence, just like you, just like me too . Who abhor targeting civilians, just like you, just like me.
‘Those who could breathe could breathe again for the first time in years.
‘It was exciting. It gave energy. And if they weren’t excited by this challenge to the monopoly on violence, by this shift in the balance of power, they wouldn’t be human. I was excited.’
Rickford is an associate professor of history and, according to his Twitter bio, a “historian of the black radical tradition”
An aerial photo shows the bodies of victims of the Hamas attack on the Kfar Aza kibbutz
The death toll from the October 7 attack has risen to 1,400 in Israel as the country plots bloody revenge against Hamas
Hamas has left a trail of destruction at a series of kibbutzim near the Gaza border, including children’s beds soaked in blood
An Israeli soldier breaks down in tears at the sight of a family dining table still covered in Challah bread from Friday’s Kiddush at Kibbutz Kfar Aza
Palestinians wave their national flag and celebrate near a destroyed Israeli tank at the Gaza Strip fence on October 7
He added: “What has Hamas done? Hamas has shifted the balance of power. Hamas has shattered the illusion of invincibility. That’s what they did. You don’t have to be a Hamas supporter to recognize that.
“Hamas has changed the terms of the debate. Israeli officials are right: nothing will be the same again.”
When university president Martha Pollack was asked about his comments the next day, she said she was “sick of statements glorifying the evil of Hamas terrorism.”
She added, “Any members of our community who have made such statements do not speak for Cornell; In fact, they contradict everything we stand for at Cornell.
“There is no justification or moral equivalent for these violent and abhorrent acts.”
The next day, October 17, a second statement was sent, condemning Rickford by name.
“Yesterday we learned of comments Professor Russell Rickford made this weekend at an off-campus meeting where he described Hamas terrorist attacks as ‘exciting,'” Pollack and board chairman Kraig H. Kayser wrote .
“This is a reprehensible comment that shows no respect for humanity whatsoever.”
Pollack and Kayser added, “The university is taking this incident seriously and is currently reviewing it in accordance with our procedures.”
Universities and campuses across the country have become hotbeds of anger after the October 7 attack.
Supporters of Palestine gather at Harvard University on October 14 to express their support for the Palestinians in Gaza during a rally in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Supporters of Palestine gather at Harvard Yard to show their support on October 14
The letter caused a huge backlash after 34 student associations supported the PSC’s statement “holding the Israeli regime fully responsible for all the unfolding violence.”
Academics have swept in: a geneticist at Washington University in Missouri sparked outrage by claiming Israel was carrying out a “much-needed purge” in Gaza, while a law professor at Berkeley called on law firms not to hire “my anti-Semitic students.”
On Wednesday, a climate scientist who teaches at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago issued a groveling apology after calling Israelis “pigs,” “savages” and “irredeemable excrement.”
Dr. Mika Tosca, who describes herself on social media as “Chicago’s radically optimistic transsexual climate scientist,” published a screed on her Instagram Story on Tuesday.
‘Israelis are pigs. Wanted,” she wrote. ‘Very bad people. Irrecoverable feces.”
She apologized Wednesday, saying she rejected her own words and wanted to retract them.
“Yesterday I wrote some things on my Instagram Story that I unequivocally reject and do not support,” she wrote.
“I am deeply sorry that I wrote what I wrote, and that I hurt many people with my words, and I am especially sorry to the Israeli people that I am largely responsible for the war.
“You didn’t deserve that, and you didn’t deserve that, and it was wrong to post what I posted: I know my words perpetuated harmful stereotypes.”
At Harvard University, the Palestine Solidarity Committee has been condemned for releasing a letter on October 7, co-signed by 33 other Harvard student organizations, stating: ‘We, the undersigned student organizations, hold the Israeli regime fully responsible for all the unfolding violence . ‘
Some of the signatories have been named and shamed, and billionaire financier Bill Ackman is demanding that companies refuse to hire them.
Harvard’s president has apologized for the statement, saying it does not represent the university’s views.
Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania are doing their utmost to limit the fallout: The schools could lose $487 million in funding, based on current and past donations from those now speaking out against the students for defending Hamas attacks .