A singer had called Zionists “scum,” said people shouldn’t feel safe until Zionism is extinguished, and incited violence. Or in the euphemistic words of a New York Times headline writer, she had “supported Palestinians.”
Cornell University had invited the singer, who goes by the name Kehlani, to perform on campus. After Jewish students and others expressed their concerns about her hateful rhetoric, the performance was eventually cancelled.
The New York Times covered the cancellation on April 23 under the headline, “Cornell Cancels Kehlani Performance Over Her Stance on the War in Gaza.”
The subhead reinforced the slanted message: “The R&B singer’s outspoken support for Palestinians had drawn criticism on the campus and beyond. Some students expressed disappointment at the cancellation.”
This framing fundamentally distorted the reason for the cancellation. As correctly noted in the article itself, Cornell University canceled the concert due to what the university president called Kehlani’s “antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments.” Student Jewish leaders were equally clear that this — not the performers opposition to the war or support for Palestinians — was the reason for their concern.
But the paper has repeatedly pushed the narrative that pro-Palestinian expressions and speech are being stifled. And apparently the headline writers sought to force this story into that frame.
In doing so, they not only erased Jewish concerns about antisemitism and anti-Jewish violence, but also portrayed Jewish victims of bigotry as powerful warmongers. They not only normalized Kehlani’s demonization and calls for violence, but also valorized them.
In response to CAMERA’s outreach, the Times amended the headline and subhead. The new headline reads, “Cornell Cancels Kehlani Performance Over Alleged Antisemitic Statements.” The amended subhead correctly referred to criticism of the singer and not her support for Palestinians.
The corrected headline is certainly more accurate. Amanda Silberstein, a Jewish student leader at Cornell, had said that “Kehlani isn’t just an artist with controversial views—she is someone who has publicly glorified violence against Jews and consistently promoted dangerous, antisemitic rhetoric that directly threatens our community. … By inviting someone with such a deeply troubling history of antisemitism to headline one of our most high-profile campus events, Cornell is sending a message that Jewish safety and wellbeing are negotiable.”
A Cornell student group that called for the cancellation pointed to Kehlani’s calls for an “intifada” and to “dismantle Israel.” They quoted her as saying, “It’s fuck Israel. It’s fuck Zionism. And it’s fuck a lot of y’all too.” And it described Kehlani as promoting views “that actively call for violence” and taking a stance “which endangers a marginalized group.”
A footnote to the student group’s statement substantiates these concerns, linking to screenshots that showed Kehlani had indeed urged an “intifada”; called Zionists “the scum of the earth”; amplified a post that said Zionists are “all evil”; and shared another that said “no one should feel comfortable or safe until Zionism is extinguished.”
