On December 19, the Legal Insurrection Foundation (LIF) and the Cornell Free Speech Alliance will be hosting an online event, “Campus Antisemitism Crisis: Cornell, The Ivies, and Other U.S. Universities” at 7:30pm ET.
The panel discussion will feature Cornell Law School professor William A. Jacobson who started the conservative Legal Insurrection blog in 2008. It will also include Cornell student Amanda Silberstein, alumna Susan Price, and LIF Operations and Editorial Director Kemberlee Kaye.
Silberstein recently testified to the House of Representatives’ Judiciary committee on rise in antisemitism and violence towards pro-Israel students on college campuses. In 2021, Price was actively involved in efforts to make the town of Sharon adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, making the town the first Massachusetts municipality to do so.
The virtual event comes in the wake of rising tensions on-campus due to the Israel-Hamas war. Cornell history professor Russell Rickford drew national criticism for saying he was “exhilarated” by Hamas’s initial attack. Rickford has since requested and was granted a leave of absence. In late October, activists spray-painted anti-Israel graffiti on the sidewalks near Campus Road. A Cornell junior was also arrested in late October for making online terroristic threats against the campus Jewish community. A group of 70 students gathered outside Klarman Hall to conduct a “die-in” protest in early November.
The event also comes as higher education institutions are coming under pressure for their responses to these developments. The Department of Education announced that it would be investigating Cornell and other schools for “shared ancestry” discrimination. Following her testimony to the House of Representatives’ Committee on Education and the Workforce, University of Pennsylvania president Liz Magill and Board of Trustees chair Scott L. Bok both resigned.
The event is open to the public and free of charge, but registration is required. Tickets are available here.
