WASHINGTON (TNND) — The Trump administration has frozen more than $1 billion in federal funding for Cornell University and an additional $790 million for Northwestern University amid ongoing investigations by the Department of Education into allegations of antisemitism on their campuses. These actions follow Hamas’s October 7 attack on Israel, which sparked ongoing controversy and unrest at several elite universities.
At Cornell, a professor openly praised Hamas after the attack just days after it happened telling a crowd, “It was exhilarating. It was energizing!” The professor kept his job despite the remarks. Cornell also canceled classes due to violent threats against Jewish students by a fellow student.
Cornell and Northwestern are among several universities, including Brown, Harvard, Columbia, the University of Pennsylvania, and Princeton, facing financial penalties from the White House. At Princeton, Jewish student Danielle Shapiro reported being called an “inbred swine” by demonstrators during an event with former Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett this week. Shapiro said, “About 20 minutes in, 25 Princeton students got up and started screaming at Naftali Bennett, yelling the explicative.” Despite the disruption, no arrests were made.
Demonstrators also allegedly directed slurs at Bennett during the event.
Universities are now grappling with how to respond to the administration’s actions. Columbia University has complied with the administration’s demands, receiving backlash from the academic community. In contrast, Princeton’s president has indicated that the university will not make similar concessions.