Ivy League Professor Who Cheered Hamas Violence Called Police Group A ‘Terrorist Organization’

A Cornell professor who called Hamas’ violence in Israel “exhilarating” once called a police group a “terrorist organization.”

Cornell Professor Russell Rickford said at an Oct. 15 rally that the Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel was “energizing” and “exhilarating.” Rickford previously called the Fraternal Order of Police a “terrorist organization” at a 2016 protest about two black men who were shot by police, where he also called for a “grass-roots, anti-racist, multi-racial, democratic movement.”

Cornell University called Rickford’s comments sympathizing with Hamas terrorist attacks “reprehensible” and said “such statements do not speak for Cornell,” according to The College Fix. Rickford later published an apology in Cornell’s newspaper one day after doubling down on statements he made at the pro-Palestinian rally, in which he said he had been referring to the “first few hours” of the attack.

Student groups and professors on campus across the U.S. released pro-Palestinian statements following the terrorist attacks in Israel.

The University of Kansas Graduate Teaching Assistants’ Union, GTAC AFT local 6403, said “Palestinians must be free” and sympathized with violence against Israel in a statement published Wednesday.

Student groups at Columbia University, Yale University and George Washington put out pro-Palestinian statements following the terrorist attack, and multiple pro-Palestinian protests were held on numerous campuses that used slogans and imagery regarding violence against Israel.

Rickford and Cornell did not immediately respond to the Daily Caller News Foundation’s request for comment.