Cornell Professor Who Praised ‘Exhilarating’ Slaughter Of Israelis Returns To Teaching

The Cornell University professor who cheered the slaughter of innocent Israelis on October 7 as “exhilarating” has returned to teaching.

Professor Russell Rickford had taken an abrupt leave of absence just weeks after the massacre following blowback to his comments. Now, nearly 11 months later, Rickford is back teaching, the New York Post reported.

Rickford, a history professor, was shamed into taking “voluntary leave” after he cheered the deaths of more than 1,200 people on Israeli soil.

“It was exhilarating, it was energizing! … I was exhilarated!” Rickford said on October 15 of last year.

The next day, Rickford apologized in The Cornell Daily Sun for his remarks following intense backlash.

“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,” Rickford said in his apology. “I recognize that some of the language I used was reprehensible and did not reflect my values. As I said in the speech, I abhor violence and the violent targeting of civilians. I am sorry for the pain that my reckless remarks have caused my family, my students, my colleagues and many others in this time of suffering.”

“As a scholar, a teacher, an activist and a father, I strive to uphold the values of human dignity, peace and justice,” he added. “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.”

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The apology didn’t quell dissent, and a Change.org petition was launched demanding he resign. The petition gathered more than 11,000 signatures, and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) and Rep. Claudia Tenney (R-NY) also called for Rickford to resign.

“As a person of authority at an educational institution, to celebrate murder, rape and abducting children and slaughtering children, I think he should be fired,” Gillibrand said. “There’s certainly no space for pro-Hamas protestors. That is someone who is supporting death, destruction, rape, murder, and slaughtering of innocent children, and families and seniors and holding hostages, so that cannot be supported.”

“By perpetuating these abhorrent views, Professor Rickford has not only violated his ethical responsibility as an educator but has also jeopardized the safety of the Jewish community and tarnished Cornell University’s reputation,” Tenney said in a letter to Cornell University’s president.

Rickford then took a nearly year-long leave, announced by Cornell University’s media relations department.

“Professor Russell Rickford has requested and received approval to take a leave of absence from the university,” the statement said.

But now he is back to teaching without any punishment, though it is unclear whether he was paid while on leave.

Rickford is teaching at least two courses at Cornell this semester, the Post reported, including African Americans Vision of America and Socialism in America. He is also teaching a seminar.

Sen. John Fetterman (D-PA) blasted the professor’s return.

“He found the 10/7 massacre, rape and torture of 1,200 civilians as ‘exhilarating,’” Fetterman said in a post on X. “Unsurprisingly, he was welcomed back. This is the personification of elite educational rot and antisemitism at the core of so many anti-Israel campus protests.”

He found the 10/7 massacre, rape and torture of 1,200 civilians as “exhilarating.”

Unsurprisingly, he was welcomed back.

This is the personification of elite educational rot and antisemitism at the core of so many anti-Israel campus protests. pic.twitter.com/vqmRCjkbGc

— Senator John Fetterman (@SenFettermanPA) September 16, 2024