Background
On October 10, 2023, Cornell President Martha Pollack issued an official statement in the immediate aftermath of surprise and murderous Hamas attacks on unsuspecting civilians which resulted in the killing of more than 1300 Israelis. The entire Pollack statement appears to have been very carefully written to express remorse and sadness for human suffering around the world in general -- but without ever mentioning the specific suffering and loss of life experienced by the Israeli victims of the Hamas attacks which occurred on Oct 7, 2023 (exactly 50 years after the Yom Kippur War invasion of Israel on the Jewish high holy day in October 1973) -- nor does this statement recognize the particular impacts of Oct. 7 on Jewish and Israeli students at Cornell. Although a great number of Israelis were brutally murdered, raped, and kidnapped during these Hamas attacks, the Pollack statement assigns no responsibility for the carnage, nor does it offer any specific empathy, condolences, or encouragement for the large number of Israeli civilians (or their surviving families) who were killed "execution style" (including decapitation of babies) during otherwise normal weekend activities. Indeed, the Pollack statement makes no specific mention whatsoever that even a single Israeli citizen (let alone 1300+) was killed in the Hamas attack. The fact that these obvious specifics are not mentioned in the Pollack statement is, of course, neither a mistake nor an oversight. It is intentional. The Cornell President clearly had reasons for making sure that any such facts were omitted from the message sent to the Cornell Community and the world beyond. Compare this to the near hysterical response Ms. Pollack issued in the aftermath of the Gorge Floyd tragedy in 2020 (see Reference A and Reference B ). The difference in response is stunning even though just a single "criminal" ex-con was accidentally killed in the 2020 tragedy --- while 1300+ "innocent" Iraelis were purposefully executed and brutally raped and tortured on Oct. 7, 2023. QUESTION : Why the huge difference in Pollack's responses ? ANSWER : Being a drug-laced African-American who was resisting arrest, George Floyd advanced the "Woke DEI Political Narrative" preferred by Ms. Pollack --- while the 1300+ dead Israelis (seen as "white oppressors") did not. THE RESULT : See Ms. Pollack's completely incongruous "woke response" to Oct.7, 2023 below...
>> See Further Notes At Bottom....
Pres. Martha Pollack Statement To The Cornell Community - Oct 10, 2023
CORNELL UNIVERSITY
October 10, 2023
Dear Cornell Community,
Today I write with the heaviest of hearts in response to last weekend’s attacks by Hamas militants in Israel and the brutal fighting that continues in its aftermath. Many in our community are deeply affected by this devastating and violent situation, and I wish to express my horror, sadness and concern.
As a university, our first priority, as always in these situations, has been to identify and contact all faculty, students and staff whom we knew to be in the area, to assure their safety and to make arrangements for their passage home, if desired. We have also reached out to all students who have a registered address in the region to offer whatever support we can. And we continually offer a broad range of mental health and other support services. Please reach out and seek help if you need it.
The loss of human life is always tragic, whether caused by human actions such as terrorism, war or mass shootings, or by natural disasters such as earthquakes, fires or floods. Regrettably, there are so often horrific events around the world, and because it is impossible to respond to each of them, there is no way to acknowledge the pain that different members of our community feel when such events occur. Just last month, we saw atrocities in the Nagorno-Karabakh region, and this past weekend there was a terrible earthquake in Afghanistan. Today, as we mourn the loss of life in the Middle East, I want also to call out events like these and acknowledge the distress of our community members impacted by them.
In stressful moments like this, we need to embrace our shared humanity and be supportive of one another. As a community of scholars, we can also learn about the history and politics of the Middle East. Perhaps some of our current students will ultimately have the wisdom that has so eluded world leaders, and find a way to permanent peace, not just in the Middle East but around the world.
Sincerely,
Martha E. Pollack
President
NOTES ON POLLACK STATEMENT : WHY CORNELLIANS ARE IN UPROAR OVER THE ABOVE STATEMENT
PARAGRAPH 1 :
- No fault attributed to the party which launched the surprise killing rampage.
- No criticism of Hamas' targeting of completely innocent Israeli civilians -- including men, women and children.
- No mention of the atrocities committed by Hamas -- including kidnappings, rape, and murder of innocents.
- The "brutality" of fighting refers only to the "aftermath" of the initial attacks when both Hamas and Israel became involved. So the suggestion is that both parties are responsible for initiating this "brutality".
- "Horror" is noted, but reference is to the Israel-Hamas fighting, not the "horror" caused by Hamas's surprise killing of innocents -- including decapitation of babies.
PARAGRAPH 2 :
- Expresses concern for safety while stating the need for mental health support for Cornell Community members -- not for the actual victims.
- No mention that it was the unprovoked Hamas attacks which created the mental and emotional anguish for all involved.
PARAGRAPH 3 :
- Recognizes loss of life across the globe brought by fires, earthquakes, floods, and human action -- but no mention of the specific events in Israel or the loss of Israeli lives caused by a surprise attack (not a natural disaster).
- Notes horrific events occurring around the world -- but no specific mention of which side commenced and carried out the horrors in Israel.
- To distract from the events in Israel, tragedies in Afghanistan and Nagorno-Karabakh are cited -- which are mentioned along with just one brief reference to the word "Israel" in the entire statement.
- References emotional distress felt by Cornellians -- but no mention at all of the physical killing or mental distress of the victimized Israelis.
PARAGRAPH 4 :
- The above statement encourages Cornellians who are safe and sound in their US homes while reading the President's message to support one another in order to relieve their personal emotional stress. However, the statement offers no condolences, support, or encouragement related to the slaughtered Israelis or their surviving families.
- Instead, the statement urges all Cornellians to learn MidEast history and politics, presumably to better understand the Hamas attack -- while not specifically noting what happened to 1400+ Israelis who are no longer living.
- Finally, the President's statement offers hope that Cornell students will engender "world peace" at some point in the future of the planet. A very nice, if platitudinal, thought which is disconnected to the recent events in Israel. .