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Ithica, NY – Cornell University has expelled an international PhD student, “Blackness” seminar instructor, and prominent influencer, effectively sentencing him to deportation due to his outspoken anti-Israel activism.
On Monday, the Ivy League university notified Momodou Taal, a Gambian-born PhD candidate and British citizen, that he must leave the U.S. immediately, explaining there would be “no grace period for exiting the U.S.” after his expulsion.
The notice concerned Taal’s F-1 visa, a non-immigrant visa allowing international students to study full-time in the U.S., which was automatically revoked after the university made his second suspension in 2024—stemming from his anti-Israel activism—permanent.
“For students who have been suspended or discontinued from their academic program by their academic department or Cornell University,” Senior Immigration Adviser at Cornell, Hersh Sigodia explains, “then our office is required to close the student’s F-1 record. Closure of your F-1 record affects the student’s ability to remain or enter the U.S. in F-1 status.”
The suspension included a no-trespass order in response to an anti-Israel protest—where Taal spoke—that shut down a career fair attended by weapons industry representatives.
The Cornell Daily Sun, the nation’s oldest student-run newspaper, reported that “pro-Palestine protesters” disrupted a career fair on September 18th held on campus. The protest was primarily fueled by the anticipated presence of weapons manufacturers, including Boeing and L3Harris, as reflected in the protesters’ chants.
In addition to offering recruiting partnerships and internships, weapons manufacturers also offer courses through Cornell University. Boeing and L3Harris both sell military hardware to the U.S. government, which in turn supplies and fuels Israel’s ongoing war in Gaza and Lebanon.
Chants such as “F*** you, Boeing” echoed through the event as Boeing representatives left after approximately one hour and twenty minutes, despite the event being scheduled for two hours. L3Harris, which has facilities in nearby Rochester, NY, had an unattended table and faced similar protests from the Coalition for Mutual Liberation at a conference just a week earlier.
While Taal claimed he was present at the protest for only a few minutes, he was photographed on-site reading from an iPhone into a megaphone.
Taal had previously been temporarily suspended for his participation in a Pro-Palestine encampment last semester in January 2024.
The protest on September 18th also saw the attendance of Professor Russell Rickford, who had recently been reinstated. The NY Post reported that he was present as the group approached Statler Hall, the venue for the career fair.
Rickford was targeted last year for calling Hamas’s October 7th daring raid on Israel “exhilarating” and “energizing.” He would go on voluntary leave after an anonymously filmed video of the comments went viral. Rickford ended that leave at the beginning of the new semester this year.
Rickford also previously attracted the attention of a Jewish ‘dox‘ group that sent a mobile billboard bus on campus in early January. The bus, which was forced off the premises by Rickford supporters, targeted Rickford and demanded his firing.
The Interim President and Interim Provost of Cornell University, Michael Kotlikoff and John Siliciano released a statement on Monday condemning the protest as “disruptive” and “intentionally menacing,” promising punitive action.
“These intimidating tactics have no place in a university and violate our commitments to each other,” the University stated, “Actions have consequences, on campus and in the criminal justice system.”
University leadership also made various claims of physical harm to guests and police officers with “medical complaints of potential hearing loss.” These claims reference the use of cymbals, “shout[ed] profanity,” and the clanging of pots and pans.
Interim President Kotlikoff’s Wikipedia article contains an allegation of Jewish heritage, but the claim is unsourced and often added and removed. Kotlikoff has childhood ties to the Society of Friends but does not appear to identify as a member of the Quaker movement.
Two days after the career fair, a Cornell Daily Sun reporter interviewed the acting President of Cornell on a plethora of subjects.
“On the first day of classes, Day Hall was vandalized with pro-Palestinian graffiti,” the reporter stated before asking, “Do you feel safe on campus?”
“Absolutely. I’m around all the time,” Kotlikoff said. No reason was given for Kotlikoff to be fearful of pro-Palestinian graffiti.
Kotlikoff became interim president of Cornell upon the sudden retirement of Martha Pollack. Pollack’s retirement came in the wake of a rash of antisemitism accusations which resulted in leadership changes at 3 other Ivy League schools as well.
In his recent interview, Kotlikoff echoed Pollack’s retirement statement in correcting the use of the word “resign.” He also reiterated his belief that the retirement was voluntary.
“I really can’t speak to all of [Pollack’s] reasons for deciding to retire,” Kotlikoff said, “but she felt like she had done what she could do for the University and made a personal decision to step down.”
Momodou Taal is a prominent influencer on X/Twitter with approximately 29,000 followers. Taal’s belief system appears to have elements of Marxism in it, though he appears to fully commit to the ideas of Pan-Africanism, Islam, and advocacy for the African diaspora.
The great-grandson of The Gambia’s first president, Taal claims a politically eclectic and pragmatic background. Taal told the reputed Middle East reporter, Adama Munu that “[he] grew up hearing radical as well as establishment politics in conversations across both sides of my family.”
This pragmatism seemingly guided Taal toward anti-Zionism and the challenging endeavor of rallying support for it from the Black community.
“…When I hear people say things like ‘Palestinians can be anti-Black,’ I say, ‘That’s missing the point,’” explained Taal, “the systems that oppress the Palestinians also oppress us. It’s in your interest to be pro-Palestinian and anti-Zionist.”
While Taal claims his suspension was evidence that he was singled out for being “a visible Black person of the Islamic faith,” some may question this in light of Taal’s inherent real-world organizing abilities and recent Afro-centric teaching position at the University.
Further discrediting Taal’s theory is the rapid replacements of Ivy League presidents, some of them White, in the face of increasing accusations of antisemitism by Jewish groups for allowing pro-Palestine activism on campus.
Despite disproportionately low White enrollment in American universities, pro-Palestine protests appear to be heavily White. Though mountains of ‘research’ claim America is a ‘White Supremacist’ country, ‘Whiteness’ has done little to prevent vicious assaults on said protestors by police.
On 30 April 2024, the New York Police Department conducted a military-style siege, complete with armored vehicles, on the campuses of Columbia University and the City College of New York.
Pepper spray, batons, riot shields, and hand-to-hand combat were utilized against both male and female participants, regardless of race or religion.
The siege, ordered by NYC Mayor Eric Adams, was later revealed to be done at the behest of a group of Jewish billionaires, including several donors.
Earlier this month, a ‘woke’ Black Muslim teacher previously praised by the likes of CNN for teaching so-called ‘critical race theory’ was reassigned for her pro-Palestine advocacy. The move came after an intense pressure campaign by local Jewish groups.
According to reports, the Jewish Federation of Greater Philadelphia filed an official complaint that Keziah Ridgeway—a social studies teacher at Northeast High School—used her position to ‘denounce Israel’ and instill ‘hatred’ of Zionism, while allegedly ‘threatening’ Jewish parents on social media.
Seemingly as a result of political pressure, Ridgeway was moved to an “offsite” position. Similar to Taal, Ridgeway was promoted for pushing anti-White ideology and only suffered once engaging in anti-Zionist activism.
