Cornell Students Targeted With Antisemitic Threats From Spoofed College Email Account

Cornell University students have been receiving threatening antisemitic emails that were sent from a spoofed account designed to look like the school president’s address, university officials said Monday.

The emails began circulating last Thursday and specifically targeted Jewish students.

Cornell University Police and the school’s IT department said they were “investigating this ugly and threatening email,” according to a joint statement from Public Safety associate vice president Dave Honan, Chief Information Officer Ben Maddox, and Chief Information Security Officer Bobby Edamala. The FBI has also been notified.

By Monday, officials said that more messages had been sent from the fake president account, this time with “menacing content about individuals and groups at Cornell and in the local community.”

Reports indicated that the threatening emails were also sent to people outside the Cornell community and may have originated from an overseas account.

The Grinspoon Hillel Center for Jewish Community at Cornell issued a statement Thursday saying it was deeply disturbed by the “hateful message” that tried to “sow fear” among students.

“There is no place for antisemitism…hate, or discrimination of any kind on our campus,” Hillel said. “We know our community is stronger than any hate we may receive and that Cornell is a place where all are welcome.”

The Anti-Defamation League of New York/New Jersey praised Cornell’s swift response, writing on X that it was grateful for the university’s investigation and for the support being offered to students.