Pro-Israel students at Cornell rip university for hosting Israel-hating singer at upcoming concert
As reported by The Washington Free Beacon, outraged students signed a petition calling on Cornell to un-invite musician Kehlani from performing at the school's annual "Slope Day" concert on May 7. Kehlani has shared multiple anti-Israel messages in her music and on her social media pages in recent years, including a call for an "intifada."
"The fact that the university would allow for students to bring in a performer with views that actively call for violence to an event where she is supposed to represent all students makes me feel like I am not a respected member of this community," the petition stated.
Cornell University announced earlier this month that the Grammy-nominated artist would be headlining the concert, an annual, end-of-the-year show put on by a student-run board and funded through a Student Activities Fee that all undergraduate students must pay.
The fee for the 2024-2025 school year is $384 per student and is expected to rise to $424 for the next academic year, the Free Beacon reported.
However, pro-Israel and Jewish students pushed back against the board's decision to hire Kehlani, pointing to a variety of her social media posts shared after the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attack in Israel.
In one, she wrote, "it's f--- Israel from the top of my lungs. Idc [I don't care] about the f----- threats. DISMANTLE ISRAEL. ERADICATE ZIONISM."
In another, she called out any "Zionists" following her social media accounts, stating, "the scum of the earth. You're the scum of the earth. Although I can't imagine a Zionist would still be following me at this point. Go to hell."
She also shared posts expressing a wish for Palestinians to take over the entire state of Israel and even called for an intifada in the music video for her song, "Next 2 U." During the video, words flashed on screen stating, "LONG LIVE THE INTIFADA," a message seen by Jewish people as a call to violently overthrow Israel.
Kehlani and her dancers could be seen in the video wearing outfits incorporating the black-and-white keffiyeh scarf design, often worn by Palestinians signaling their opposition to the Jewish state.
In the petition calling on Cornell to hire a different singer, pro-Israel Cornell students argued that Kehlani's anti-Israel messages "go far beyond political critique" and go after the "vast majority of Jews" at the school who consider themselves Zionist.
Cornell University president Michael Kotlikoff responded to the concerned pro-Israel students, stating last Thursday that school staff didn't find "out about the social media of this performer roughly three weeks ago," and adding that it is "too late to secure another performer that will be acceptable or appropriate for Slope Day."
He tried to placate those complaining by stating that the school has "altered that contract to make it clear that if there are any political events at the performance, there is full forfeit of the whole compensation."
Cornell's choice to host Kehlani comes as the Trump administration has frozen $1 billion in federal grants to the university while it is being investigated for civil rights violations concerning antisemitism and other issues on campus. President Donald Trump has also frozen grants to Harvard University and other Ivy League schools for the same reasons.
Cornell did not immediately reply to Fox News Digital's request for comment.
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