ITHACA, NEW YORK: Well-known journalist Megyn Kelly lashed out at Cornell University following a controversial statement made by Professor Russell Rickford during a pro-Palestine protest.
In a speech caught on camera, Professor Rickford expressed his view that Hamas' attack on Israel, which resulted in a significant number of casualties, was "exhilarating" and "energizing."
Russel Rickford's controversial comments
The statement has raised concerns and was deemed by many as inappropriate and insensitive.
The video of Professor Rickford's speech was shared online by a student who found the remarks "shameful."
Two other sources also shared the footage with the New York Post, though the exact location and date of the rally were not disclosed.
The speech itself focused on the October 7 attack, in which militants breached barriers and attacked Israel, leading to civilian casualties.
Professor Rickford claimed that this attack had a significant impact, "shifted the balance of politics and punctured the illusion of invincibility” held by Israel, which had imposed a blockade on Gaza since Hamas took control in 2007.
“That’s what they’ve done. You don’t have to be a Hamas supporter to recognize it,” he insisted.
The video showed him describing the attack as "exhilarating" and "energizing," and he suggested that this event allowed many Palestinians living under violence and oppression to "breathe for the first time in years."
“It was exhilarating. It was exhilarating, it was energizing. And if they weren’t exhilarated by this challenge to the monopoly of violence, the shifting of the violence of power, then they would not be human. I was exhilarated,” Rickford said in the video.
While some members of the audience appeared to support his views, it's essential to note that Professor Rickford's comments have sparked criticism and controversy.
Megyn Kelly leads the ire against Cornell University
Veteran news anchor Megyn Kelly voiced her concerns about Cornell University in response to these comments.
"Hey @Cornell- since I know you’re really worried about 'safe spaces' - I have friends who are Jewish students on your campus right now. How exactly are they supposed to sit in this man’s class & learn when he openly states that he finds the mass murder of Jews 'exhilarating?'" she posted on X (formerly Twitter).
This incident led to an outpouring of criticism against Cornell University on social media.
"Cornell—once the leading school in the world in information theory; helped along by the synergy downriver by IBM. Now look at it. It's a carcass of intellectualism now," one wrote.
"Just a few years ago I wished for my children to go to Cornell. How the world’s changed," another added.
"An associate professor in an Ivy League history department. Shocking," a comment read.
"Where are the @cornell Trustees and Donors? Is this what they stand for?" someone else asked.
"I was a student at Cornell during the 1973 Yom Kippur War. The contrast between then and today is just sad!" another offered.
It's worth noting that Harvard University faced a similar situation recently when student organizations co-signed a letter that held Israel "entirely responsible" for a recent terror attack.
Nonprofit news watchdog group Accuracy in Media took a controversial approach by driving a billboard truck around Harvard's campus to identify students who allegedly signed the letter and labeled them "Harvard's Leading Antisemites."
