Kehlani at the Fashion Trust U.S Awards 2025. (Gilbert Flores/Variety via Getty Images)
(JTA) — R&B singer Kehlani denied claims that her pro-Palestinian activism is antisemitic after Cornell cancelled her campus concert amid outcry from Jewish students.
“I am being asked and called to clarify and make a statement yet again, for the millionth time, that I am not antisemitic, nor anti-Jew,” said Kehlani in an Instagram video Sunday.
“I am anti-genocide. I am anti- the actions of the Israeli government. I am anti- an extermination of an entire people. I’m anti- the bombing of innocent children, men, women. That’s what I’m anti,” she continued.
Two people appear briefly in the background of the video. Kehlani said both were Jewish and identified one as her best friend and the other as her engineer. She also cited her work with pro-Palestinian Jewish organizations, including Jewish Voice for Peace, an anti-Zionist Jewish group.
Kehlani has been an outspoken critic of Israel’s military campaign in Gaza, and included the message “Long Live the Intifada,” a reference to two Palestinian uprisings, the latter of which included waves of suicide bombings, in a music video last June.
She also posted another video last spring in which she condemned other artists for not speaking up about the conflict, saying, “It’s f— Israel, it’s f— Zionism, and it’s also f— a lot of y’all too.”
Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff cancelled Kehlani’s planned performance at the school’s end-of-semester concert, called “Slope Day,” after Jewish students expressed concern over her inclusion.
“In the days since Kehlani was announced, I have heard grave concerns from our community that many are angry, hurt, and confused that Slope Day would feature a performer who has espoused antisemitic, anti-Israel sentiments in performances, videos, and on social media,” Kotlikoff, who is Jewish, wrote in an email to the Cornell community announcing the cancellation.
Cornellians for Israel, a student club, commended the decision, writing in a post on Instagram, “this is a win for anyone who values community and belonging.”
The school’s JVP chapter, meanwhile, condemned the cancellation, writing in a post on Instagram that the school’s administrators and trustees have “no moral backbone.”
“By going out of their way to repress and silence outrage against the genocide in Gaza, they are shamelessly complying with the Trump administration’s ruthless attack on university autonomy, safety, and freedom, all while claiming to ‘fight antisemitism,’” the post read.
Cornell is poised to lose $1 billion in federal funding from the Trump administration, ostensibly over its handling of campus antisemitism. The school has filed a lawsuit contesting the looming funding cuts.
The singer’s replacement for Slope Day has yet to be announced, but some students are attempting to organize an alternative “Community Slope Day” in response to the cancellation.
An online petition to that effect by the campus chapter of the Democratic Socialists of America accuses Israel of genocide and says Kotlikoff is uninviting Kehlani “because wealthy donors and right-wing administrations tell him to.” As of Wednesday afternoon, it had 113 signatories.
“With bombs and bloodshed as a backdrop, Cornell rescinded Kehlani’s invitation under the guise of combating antisemitism, when really the administration disagrees with her politics,” the petition says. “This only serves to scapegoat the Jewish community.”
In the caption of her Instagram address, Kehlani also called out Cornell, writing, “if you want to cancel me from opportunity, stand on it being because of your zionism. don’t make it anti-jew. this a played out game. all this because we want people to stop dying.”
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