Kehlani walking on the red carpet during the 67th Grammy Awards held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, CA on Feb. 2, 2025. Photo: Elyse Jankowski/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect

Students at Cornell University and Ithaca College have raised more than $5,000 to organize a pro-“Palestine” community event in light of Cornell’s decision to disinvite anti-Israel, R&B singer Kehlani from headlining the school’s annual end-of-the-year concert.

Slope Day is a large outdoor event at Cornell University that marks the end of classes in the spring semester. It is scheduled to take place this year on May 7. The event is organized by a student-run board and funded by a Student Activities Fee that all undergraduate students pay. Only Cornell students, alumni, full-time faculty, and stuff are invited to attend Slope Day.

On April 23, Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff announced that the university dropped the “After Hours” singer as the headlining performer for its annual Slope Day concert because of her anti-Israel views and antisemitic comments, which she has made in her music, on social media, and in interviews. Cornell has yet to announce who will replace Kehlani as the headlining performer at the event.

In response, students at Cornell and Ithaca are organizing an alternative “Community Slope Day” that will take place also on May 7. The event is described on its Instagram page as “a benefit concert for Palestine.”

Organizers started a GoFundMe campaign to support the event and have already raised more than $5,000, with a goal of raising $25,000 to help cover production and artist costs. Any unused funds will be donated to Palestinian causes. Atlanta-based rapper Nimstarr will perform and organizers are trying to secure more artists for the event. The Community Slope Day will be free and open to the general public. “This Slope Day will represent inclusion, equity, and freedom of speech,” organizers wrote on their GoFundMe page.

In an Instagram post, event organizers asked the public to boycott Cornell’s Slope Day and donate to a slew of organizations mentioned in a Google Document linked in their Instagram bio. Those organizations include the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestinian Refugees (UNRWA). Nine employees of UNRWA were fired for their alleged involvement in the Hamas terror organization’s deadly massacre in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023. Event organizers are also encouraging supporters to donate to the prominent anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace, which defended Hamas’s Oct. 7 killing rampage and has partnered with terrorist organizations to achieve its “primary goal” of “dismantling the State of Israel,” according to a report released earlier this year.

The logo for Community Slope Day features a slice of watermelon, which has become a symbol of the Palestinian movement because it shares similar colors to the Palestinian flag. The watermelon has been used to symbolize Palestinian terrorism and resistance, and is widely seen on college campuses and at pro-Palestinian protests.

A Grammy-nominated artist, Kehlani has called for a “Free Palestine” and unapologetically accuses Israel of genocide. The music video for her song “Next 2 U” opens with the text “Long live the intifada” and in the clip, Kehlani sings in front of the Palestinian flag. She also wears an ensemble that features a Palestinian keffiyah. The singer has shared anti-Israel posts on social media that include support for the Jewish state being wiped off the map and replaced with “Palestine.” In one Instagram post, she wrote: “It’s f— Israel from the top of my lungs. Idc [I don’t care] about the f—– threats. DISMANTLE ISRAEL. ERADICATE ZIONISM.” She has also participated in pro-Palestinian marches.

When announcing the decision to cancel Kehlani’s performance in Slope Day, Kotlikoff addressed concerns raised by students about giving a stage to someone who has spewed antisemitic and anti-Israel rhetoric.

“Unfortunately, although it was not the intention, the selection of Kehlani as this year’s headliner has injected division and discord into Slope Day,” Kotlikoff said in a released statement. “For that reason, I am rescinding Kehlani’s invitation and expect a new lineup for a great 2025 Slope Day to be announced shortly … I believe it is the right thing to do and the decision I must make to ensure community and safety at this high-profile event that reaches the entire campus.”

“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,” he added. “While any artist has the right in our country to express hateful views, Slope Day is about uniting our community, not dividing it.”

In a video posted on Instagram and TikTok on Saturday, Kehlani clarified: “I am not antisemitic, nor anti-Jew. I am anti-genocide. I am anti-the-actions-of-the-Israeli-government.” She said she is also “anti” the “extermination of an entire people” and “the bombing of innocent children, men, women.”

“I know you’ve seen Cornell University canceled my show, and now there are attempts at other cancellations on top of the cancellations I’ve already experienced over the past year,” she wrote in the caption for the video on Instagram. “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. i hope this helps.”

Cornellians for Israel, a pro-Israel student group at Cornell, spearheaded a petition to have Kehlani removed from the lineup for the Slope Day event. The petition garnered roughly 5,000 signatures and the student group raised over $28,000 to support their efforts. After Kotlikoff announced that Kehlani has been disinvited from the event, the pro-Israel group said it will use the funds to host pro-Israel events and speakers in the future, Fox News reported.