Approximately 120 students gathered on Ho Plaza to demand Cornell divest from Israel on Wednesday evening, as part of the “Students Not Bombs” campaign.
“Students Not Bombs” is a joint campaign by Students for Justice in Palestine, Jewish Voices for Peace and Young Democratic Socialists of America dedicated to “end[ing] Cornell’s complicity in the genocide in Palestine,” according to a a social media post made by SJP.
The campaign includes seven demands: divesting from weapons manufacturers, severing ties with Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, discontinuing Cornell Career Services events “with institutions underpinning genocide and mass deporations,” establishing an “independent ethical reserach review board,” “pay[ing] its fair share towards Ithaca,” redirecting internal investments to prioritise affordability and investing in academic opportunities, according to SJP’s post.
“Our demands are clear. Our movement is growing, and we are not going anywhere,” said Yasmeen Masoud ’28, SJP president and Student Assembly vice president of diversity, equity and inclusion, at the rally. “We eagerly await [the University’s] response.”
This rally follows a campaign launch on Aug. 24 that drew around 40 demonstrators.
Masoud opened Wednesday’s rally by reassuring demonstrators that their actions are allowed within Cornell’s Expressive Activity Policy.
“We are following the rules. There’s no need to be worried here,” she said.
The organizers also offered face masks for demonstrators to wear to protect their privacy if they felt more comfortable.
After Masound’s speech, Prof. Russell Rickford, history, spoke to the crowd in support of the Students Not Bombs campaign.
“If you all can find the temerity amid all the repression and amid all the conformity and amid all the indifference, to stand against imperialism and to resist genocide, then I suppose I can find the courage to stand with you,” Rickford said. “I don’t think our ruling elites, including the sycophants in Day Hall, liberal imperialists as I like to call them, understand how much we love the oppressed.”
Rickford took a leave of absence in 2023 after facing backlash for referring to Hamas’s Oct. 7 attack on Israel, in which 1,400 Israelis were killed, as “exhilarating.”
Rickford later issued a statement to The Sun apologizing “for the horrible choice of words” and stating that he “unequivocally oppose[s] and denounce[s] racism, anti-semitism …and all systems that dehumanize, divide and oppress people.”
During the Wednesday rally, Rickford invoked the words of Amílcar Cabral, an African thinker of the 20th century who helped Guinea-Bissau attain independence: “tell no lies and claim no easy victories.”
“The struggle will be long, and they will continue to demonize us, and they will continue to vilify us, and they will continue to criminalize us,” Rickford said. “Why will they not turn us around? Because we are new people. We are internationalists. We are anti-racists. We are anti-imperialists. If we stand as internationalists, then we may, in some small way, contribute to the liberation of Palestine.”
After the speeches, the demonstrators marched down Ho Plaza, around Sage Hall and concluded at Day Hall. The final speech was led by third-year graduate student Katie Rohrbaugh, the political action city chair of the Cornell Graduate Student Union.
“Do you think [Cornell is] going to invest [its endowment] in affordable housing, tuition and transportation?” Rohrbaugh said. “No. Instead they invested in land grabs, bombs and genocide.”
Rohrbaugh criticized the University’s treatment of graduate students, who “do not earn a livable wage” and “have to scramble to pay rent and afford their groceries," as well as the University’s refusal to “fund international students who have been targeted by this fascist administration.”
Rohrbaugh specifically mentioned Amandla Thomas-Johnson and Momodou Taal, two graduate students whose visas were canceled in 2024 following their participation in pro-Palestinian demonstrations. The University is threatening to cut funding for Taal and Johnson’s studies if they do not return to campus. However, Taal and Johnson believe it is possible they would be detained by immigration authorities if they returned to the U.S, according to an article by The Intercept.
“[The University] is now threatening to cut their funding if they don’t return to the U.S and voluntarily imprison themselves,” Rohrbaugh said.
Sam Poole ’28, vice chair and electoral co-chair of Cornell YDSA and a member of JVP, led demonstrators in chants during the rally. In an interview with The Sun, he emphasized that this issue affects everyone at Cornell.
“This isn’t a niche issue that only affects a couple of people. If you pay tuition here, if you go here, then this campaign affects you,” Poole said. “It’s people who share our religious beliefs who are using our name and our symbols to commit genocide. It’s important for us as Jews to stand against that, and to say we won’t let this be done in our name. We won’t let ourselves be a justification.”
Poole also highlighted that the University is tax exempt and “pay[s] a pittance of what they should to the city to fund its public services,” claiming that this contributes to widespread struggles in Ithaca, from bus services to students trying to “find an affordable place to live.”
Ultimately, “we just want the University to live up to its commitments, live up to the mission statement of doing the greatest good and divest from death and invest in us,” Poole concluded.
The University declined to comment on the rally.
Maya Johansen is a member of the Class of 2028 in the College of Arts and Sciences. She is a contributor for the news department and can be reached at mhj49@cornell.edu.
