ITHACA, N.Y. — Cornell University is facing a wave of criticism after its student newspaper published an opinion essay accompanied by artwork that many described as antisemitic, then removed the image following backlash.
The drawing originally ran with an op-ed by Professor Karim-Aly Kassam and showed a bloodied Star of David with an SS symbol placed on the back of a Palestinian figure, according to reporting and images circulated online. Critics said the image suggested Jews or the Jewish state were the new Nazis, a form of Holocaust inversion that offends the memory of Nazi crimes.
Hours after publication, The Cornell Daily Sun retracted the article’s graphic and republished the piece without the contentious image. The student newspaper added an editorial note saying the image failed to meet the publication’s standards.
Jewish students and community groups condemned the image. Cornell Hillel and other campus Jewish organizations described the artwork as deeply hurtful. Regional and national advocacy groups likewise raised alarms, accusing the image of equating Jewish identity with Nazi perpetrators and warning that such depictions fuel a hostile environment for Jewish students.
“Embedding a Nazi SS symbol within a bloodied Jewish star is a form of Holocaust inversion that is unacceptable on any campus,” one Jewish communal leader told reporters. Advocacy groups called on Cornell to act swiftly to reaffirm protections for Jewish students and to clarify community standards on hate imagery.
Professor Kassam’s op-ed criticized Israeli policies in Gaza and said Israeli official rhetoric at times dehumanized Palestinians, a claim he tied to historical analogies in the essay. Some defenders of the professor argued the piece was intended as a political critique rather than an attack on Jewish people. An associate editor at The Sun published a column defending the professor’s right to voice criticism while apologizing for the decision to run the original image.
But opponents rejected that defense. Critics said the image crossed a line by appropriating Holocaust symbols in a way that reverses victim and perpetrator roles. Legal and campus observers warned that such imagery risks normalizing antisemitic tropes and could contribute to an unsafe climate for Jewish students and staff.
Cornell administrators have not published a detailed public statement about disciplinary measures tied to the publication, though university leaders have in past months moved to address antisemitism on campus amid a broader national debate over free expression and hate. The Daily Sun’s editors said the image’s removal followed internal review and discussion.
The episode arrives against the backdrop of persistent tensions on college campuses over expressions of political protest, historical memory, and the boundary between criticism of Israel and antisemitism. Jewish student groups and alumni called for clearer institutional policies and swift action to prevent future instances that many say amount to Holocaust inversion.
Campus conversation has been intense and immediate. Letters and social posts from students and alumni urged the university to reaffirm its commitment to protecting Jewish students from harassment. Some campus commentators urged restraint, arguing that debate over policy and context must avoid hasty censorship while still addressing harms.
The incident is likely to prompt continued scrutiny from Jewish organizations and alumni who monitor campus climate. Advocates for Jewish students said they will press Cornell to adopt stronger safeguards and clearer guidelines about imagery and rhetoric that traffics in Holocaust comparisons.
This article is based on verified information from The Cornell Daily Sun, Fox News, The New York Post, Algemeiner, and Jewish communal reporting.