Cornell University student arrested for making anti-Semitic threats

A Cornell University student has been arrested and charged in connection with a series of anti-Semitic online threats against the university's Jewish community, according to reports. Edition.

Patrick Dye, 21, was arrested on Tuesday, October 31, and charged with making threats to kill or cause bodily harm, according to a statement from the U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of New York.

Gov. Kathy Hochul said the suspect was in New York State Police custody for questioning. “Public safety is my top priority,” the governor said, “and I am committed to fighting hate and bias wherever it occurs.”

The criminal complaint alleges that Dye posted threatening messages on one of the university's discussion sites, including threats to “shoot up” the kosher dining hall on campus.

Cornell University will maintain enhanced security on campus, according to Vice President for University Relations Joel M. Malina. “Cornell University is grateful to the FBI for its swift work to identify and apprehend the suspect in this case,” Malina said. “We remain appalled and condemn these horrific anti-Semitic threats and believe they should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law.”

Increase in anti-Semitic incidents

“Evidence indicates that the locations chosen were deliberately chosen due to the attacker's bias,” university police said. University police have increased patrols and increased security for Jewish students and organizations.

The threats come amid a sharp increase in anti-Semitic incidents in connection with the war between Israel and the Palestinian militant group Hamas in the Middle East. The Anti-Defamation League said incidents of anti-Semitism in the US rose nearly 400% in the days following the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, and FBI Director Christopher Wray told a Senate hearing that anti-Semitism in the US had reached “historic levels.”

On the subject: To survive despite threats: how New Yorkers with Israeli and Palestinian roots feel now

Rising tensions were particularly evident on college campuses. Students at many universities are participating in the protests, and some, such as Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania, are trying to acknowledge widespread student concerns while facing pushback from powerful donors who are demanding that institutions take a clearer stance on the conflict.

According to the organization HillelCornell's roughly 3000 Jewish undergraduate and 500 graduate students, who make up about 22% of the student body, warned students and staff Sunday night to avoid 104 West “out of an abundance of caution.”

The threats have caused fear and anxiety among Cornell's Jewish community, said senior Zoe Bernstein, president of Cornellians for Israel, an organization that organizes social and educational events for students related to Israel.

“This is a completely unprecedented event in my life and in the lives of, I would say, almost all of my peers,” Bernstein says.