Latest news with #CornelliansforIsrael
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cornell student details gathering 5K signatures, raising $28K to drop anti-Israel singer ‘Kehlani'
The president of a pro-Israel group at Cornell University said his organization worked hard to drop anti-Israel singer Kehlani from an end-of-the-year concert at their school. "Everybody has the right to free speech," Netanel Shapira, president of Cornellians for Israel, told Fox News Digital Friday in an interview. "They can say what they want," he added. "The difference here with Kehlani is that her statements are not just anti-Israel, they're just vehemently against Israelis, Jewish people. She spews hate. It's not like a political stance. So that immediately triggered our response, and we immediately reached out to the administration from different fronts, not just from Cornellians for Israel's perspective, from all Jewish communities around the school, people reached out to the administration." Pro-israel Students At Cornell Rip University For Hosting Israel-hating Singer At Upcoming Concert Kehlani has shared numerous anti-Israel messages in her music and on social media in recent years, including a call for an "intifada." One post of hers read, "it's f--- Israel from the top of my lungs. Idc [I don't care] about the f----- threats. DISMANTLE ISRAEL. ERADICATE ZIONISM." Read On The Fox News App Shapira mobilized his organization, Cornellians for Israel, and other friendly organizations on campus, to circulate a petition to get Kehlani removed from headlining Cornell's annual "Slope Day" concert, an event that celebrates the end of the school year. "We kind of took things into our own hands and said, we have to, you know, institute a campaign to pressure the administration and show them that, hey, we Jews and we pro-Israel members of the community are very disappointed in the fact that the school could bring a performer who's this hateful towards us," Shapira said. As concerns about Kehlani were being shared, Shapira said a defining time of the effort came when Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff held a townhall with Jewish students to hear their concerns. "One of the most powerful moments of the story was, he asked, given how hateful her comments have been towards your community, how many of you would not be willing to come to Slope Day," Shapira said. "And the entire room of like close to a hundred people raised their hands. And sort of I could tell on his face, in that moment, that he realized, this administration messed up, something has to be done." Click Here For More Coverage Of Media And Culture In a statement released Wednesday, Kotlikoff said, "Unfortunately, although it was not the intention, the selection of Kehlani as this year's headliner has injected division and discord into Slope Day." "For that reason, I am rescinding Kehlani's invitation and expect a new lineup for a great 2025 Slope Day to be announced shortly." Shapira said that the efforts of the students to cancel Kehlani brought in about 5,000 signatures and raised over $28,000. "The administration kind of had to start paying attention once that started happening," Shapira said. The senior at Cornell University said that once the school announced that Kehlani was being canceled, and that the funds would not be needed for another performer, they gave the option to the donors to get their funds back. "We're super grateful to the whole community," Shapira said. "Almost everyone said, keep the money. You guys did an amazing job, that kind of thing. So we're very grateful as an organization for that." Instead, the funds will be used to host pro-Israel events and speakers. When reached for comment, Cornell University referred Fox News Digital to Kotlikoff's earlier statement announcing the rescinding of Kehlani's invitation. In a video posted on Instagram on Saturday, Kehlani said "I am not antisemitic." "I know you've seen Cornell University cancelled my show, and now there are attempts at other cancellations on top of the cancellations I've already experienced over the past year. If you want to cancel me from opportunity, stand on it being because of your zionism. Don't make it anti-jew. This a played out game. All this because we want people to stop dying. I hope this helps," she wrote in the post with her video. Fox News Digital also reached out to representatives for Kehlani for comment, but did not immediately receive a article source: Cornell student details gathering 5K signatures, raising $28K to drop anti-Israel singer 'Kehlani'
Fox News
28-04-2025
- Politics
- Fox News
Cornell student details gathering 5K signatures, raising $28K to drop anti-Israel singer ‘Kehlani'
The president of a pro-Israel group at Cornell University said his organization worked hard to drop anti-Israel singer Kehlani from an end-of-the-year concert at their school. "Everybody has the right to free speech," Netanel Shapira, president of Cornellians for Israel, told Fox News Digital Friday in an interview. "They can say what they want," he added. "The difference here with Kalani is that her statements are not just anti-Israel, they're just vehemently against Israelis, Jewish people. She spews hate. It's not like a political stance. So that immediately triggered our response, and we immediately reached out to the administration from different fronts, not just from Cornellians for Israel's perspective, from all Jewish communities around the school, people reached out to the administration." Kehlani has shared numerous anti-Israel messages in her music and on social media in recent years, including a call for an "intifada." One post of hers read, "it's f--- Israel from the top of my lungs. Idc [I don't care] about the f----- threats. DISMANTLE ISRAEL. ERADICATE ZIONISM." Shapira mobilized his organization, Cornellians for Israel, and other friendly organizations on campus, to circulate a petition to get Kehlani removed from headlining Cornell's annual "Slope Day" concert, an event that celebrates the end of the school year. "We kind of took things into our own hands and said, we have to, you know, institute a campaign to pressure the administration and show them that, hey, we Jews and we pro-Israel members of the community are very disappointed in the fact that the school could bring a performer who's this hateful towards us," Shapira said. As concerns about Kehlani were being shared, Shapira said a defining time of the effort came when Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff held a townhall with Jewish students to hear their concerns. "One of the most powerful moments of the story was, he asked, given how hateful her comments have been towards your community, how many of you would not be willing to come to Slope Day," Shapira said. "And the entire room of like close to a hundred people raised their hands. And sort of I could tell on his face, in that moment, that he realized, this administration messed up, something has to be done." In a statement released Wednesday, Kotlikoff said, "Unfortunately, although it was not the intention, the selection of Kehlani as this year's headliner has injected division and discord into Slope Day." "For that reason, I am rescinding Kehlani's invitation and expect a new lineup for a great 2025 Slope Day to be announced shortly." Shapira said that the efforts of the students to cancel Kehlani brought in about 5,000 signatures and raised over $28,000. "The administration kind of had to start paying attention once that started happening," Shapira said. The senior at Cornell University said that once the school announced that Kehlani was being canceled, and that the funds would not be needed for another performer, they gave the option to the donors to get their funds back. "We're super grateful to the whole community," Shapira said. "Almost everyone said, keep the money. You guys did an amazing job, that kind of thing. So we're very grateful as an organization for that." Instead, the funds will be used to host pro-Israel events and speakers. When reached for comment, Cornell University referred Fox News Digital to Kotlikoff's earlier statement announcing the rescinding of Kehlani's invitation. In a video posted on Instagram on Saturday, Kehlani said "I am not antisemitic." "I know you've seen Cornell University cancelled my show, and now there are attempts at other cancellations on top of the cancellations I've already experienced over the past year. If you want to cancel me from opportunity, stand on it being because of your zionism. Don't make it anti-jew. This a played out game. All this because we want people to stop dying. I hope this helps," she wrote in the post with her video. Fox News Digital also reached out to representatives for Kehlani for comment, but did not immediately receive a response.
Express Tribune
24-04-2025
- Entertainment
- Express Tribune
Cornell cancels Kehlani performance over her stance on Gaza
Cornell University has dropped singer Kehlani from its annual Slope Day concert, citing concerns over her views on the Israel-Gaza conflict. The university's decision followed campus-wide backlash surrounding Kehlani's outspoken support for Palestinians, which some students and administrators viewed as divisive and antisemitic. In an April 23 email to the Cornell community, President Michael I. Kotlikoff said the singer's inclusion had 'injected division and discord' into what is intended to be a unifying campus event. Critics pointed to a 2024 music video in which Kehlani wore a kaffiyeh-adorned jacket and dancers waved Palestinian flags, with the phrase 'Long Live the Intifada' appearing on screen. Kotlikoff noted that the university had received 'grave concerns' from students and faculty regarding the singer's past public statements and social media posts. Criticism intensified following the announcement of the Slope Day lineup, particularly from Cornellians for Israel, a student group that claimed Kehlani's presence would marginalize Jewish and Zionist students. The group launched a petition and a GoFundMe campaign, raising over $28,500 to fund a replacement act. The decision also comes amid broader federal scrutiny of university responses to antisemitism. Earlier this month, the White House froze $1 billion in federal funding for Cornell as part of an investigation into alleged campus discrimination. Not all students agreed with the university's choice. Muna Mohamed, a senior and co-chair of Black Students United, said she was disappointed, describing the cancellation as a dismissal of inclusive representation for queer students and students of color. Kehlani has not publicly commented on the decision. In past interviews, she acknowledged the backlash she received over her stance on Gaza. No replacement has been named for the May 7 event, which now faces renewed scrutiny over inclusion and campus free speech.
Yahoo
22-04-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Cornell claims it somehow didn't know about Jew-bashing Kehlani's anti-Israel stance — and says it's too late to cancel performance
Cornell University gets an F in research. School president Michael Kotlikoff claimed the upstate Ivy League school wasn't aware of Jew-bashing musician Kehlani's anti-Israel stance — despite the information being available with a simple online search. Kotlikoff told the Cornell Student Assembly it was now 'too late' to dump the singer-songwriter and switch to another performer for Slope Day, the university's end-of-year celebration to be held on May 7. 'We found out about the social media of this performer roughly three weeks ago,' Kotlikoff said, according to the The Cornell Daily Sun. 'It's too late to secure another performer that will be acceptable or appropriate for Slope Day,' he told students. Kotlikoff claimed that university brass and organizers were unaware of Kehlani's political views when beginning negotiations for her to perform last October. But even basic research would have turned up her views on social media supporting violence against Israel, outraged students and faculty said Monday. In a sign of mounting backlash, members of the student group Cornellians for Israel have launched a petition and GoFundMe drive demanding that the school replace Kehlani with another performer — or they will boycott the event and select their own entertainer to headline a unifying counter-concert on the Ithaca campus. The furor comes after President Trump's administration froze $1 billion in federal funding to the elite school amid a civil-rights probe over whether it failed to prevent antisemitic discrimination and harassment on campus. 'It's honestly laughable that they claim they were unaware of her glorification of violence, endorsement of an intifada, or demonization of Jews,' said Amanda Silberstein, a 21-year-old junior who is president of the school's Chabad Center and vice president of Cornellians for Israel. 'It doesn't take a private investigator to uncover that—just a quick look at her social media.' As the Post reported Sunday, the watchdog group StopAntisemitism exposed Kehlani anti-Israel and antisemitic views in a July 12, 2024 post. A single google search with the words 'Kehlani' and 'Israel' provides scores of Instagram hits about her hostility toward the Jewish state. The multi-Grammy Award-nominated R&B artist herself posted a music video last spring that starts with 'Long live the Intifada' — an inflammatory phrase that critics say promotes violence against Israelis and Jews. She also shared a map online that eliminates the state of Israel and refused to condemn Hamas for the Oct. 7, 2023, massacre. 'What's most frustrating is the hypocrisy at play. If she had a track record of attacking any other marginalized group, there's no doubt Cornell would have moved quickly to find a replacement,' Silberstein pointed out. 'But when it comes to antisemitism, the bar is somehow lower. All we're asking for is to be afforded the same level of care and protection as every other student on this campus.' Silberstein said Slope Day is a festival that is supposed to unite the student body. 'Instead,' she said, 'this decision has fractured it — leaving many Jewish students like myself feeling abandoned by the very school that claims to prioritize inclusion and safety for all.' If Cornell doesn't cancel Kehlani's performance, Silberstein said the pro-Israel group will find a 'non-political, unifying' voice to be featured at a counter-event somewhere on campus. Faculty members were also disgusted by the divisive controversy. 'Selection of a performer who openly supports an Intifada and war against Israel reflects a toxic campus culture that the administration has ignored,' said Cornell law professor William Jacobson, founder of the civil rights group StopAntisemitism, a Jewish advocacy group, urged Cornell brass to do the right thing by not promoting or condoning a hate-mongering entertainer. 'President Kotlikoff's excuse that it's `too late to cancel' is a cowardly abdication of leadership. There is never a deadline on doing what is right,' said StopAntisemitism founder Liora Rez. 'If the performer held views targeting any other minority group, the university would act swiftly. Jewish students deserve the same protection and respect.' Kolitkoff said the administration inserted a clause in Kehlani's contract prohibiting her from discussing her her political views during the performance. He also said Kehlani didn't voice her opinions during performances on her recent 'Crash World Tour,' which included a finale at Northeastern University. 'That was a sold-out concert that had no political events,' Kotlikoff said, according to the Cornell Sun. 'And by all accounts, a very successful performance.' Cornell has been roiled by numerous anti-Israel protests over the past year and Jewish students' lives have been threatened. Student Patrick Da pleaded guilty last year to threatening to kill Jews in posts on the university's website.
