Cornell student says he won’t work ‘for a Jew.’ University responds | World News

A Cornell University student has been reported to the university’s Office of Civil Rights after rejecting a startup job offer with the message, “Not interested in working for a jew. Thanks,” an incident that sparked widespread outrage online and prompted responses from the founders, the university and the student himself.Austin Franco, from the batch of 2028, was accepted as an employee to the startup, co-founded Gabe Einhorn along with his brother Aiden Einhorn.Following the incident, Gabe asserted he did not plan to pursue further action against the student, and said, “[With] all these comments [that are] antisemitic, I think the best thing is just to not let it get to you and not respond to it.”
Chronology of events
Franco had initially applied for a growth/sales role at VrfyID in May this year, through Handshake, a digital hiring platform.
After being accepted in the first round, Aiden shared a post, asking the candidates to set up a time for the meeting on May 29.
While Franco expressed his interest at first and responded with his availability, he did not attend the meetings on the dates agreed upon later students.
Upon following up, Franco said, “Not interested in working for a jew. Thanks.”Story continues below this ad
Founders’ reaction: Gabe, a “proud Jew” who also wears a kippah — a Jewish skullcap — and Aiden were both “taken aback” Franco’s message and did not know how to react, The Sun quoted.
Gabe’s post, shared over X on June 8, entailed a screenshot of his exchange with Franco, where he described the hiring process and ended his caption with “Sad world.” The post, where he hoped to “prove a point to people that antisemitism exs” captured the attention of more than two million viewers.
While posting the screenshot, Gabe crossed out Franco’s name as he did not want to cause any personal damage to Franco, he said.
“He’s just a student, he might not know any better — it could be people in his environment, or on social media he saw something about Jewish people and he is just following the wave,” Gabe told the media organisation.Story continues below this ad
However, comments on the post revealed Franco’s last name using a photo-editing software, which led to his identity being revealed publicly.

When a college kid can go on international television, get a chance to apologize, and instead say that a few bad experiences with Jews is enough for him to hate 15 million people… it shows you how powerful every single action really is.
We sleepwalk through our days. We cut… https://t.co/kZcIlyPQTX
— Gabe Einhorn (@EinhornGabe) July 30, 2026
Franco’s response: When Franco learned about the post, he alleged that he had begun facing doxxing and intimidation, including “digging up personal information, harassing via email and phone employers, and receiving threats,” according to a statement quoted The Sun.
“The whole debacle caused undue stress for my family, and they were assumed guilty association. I was unperturbed the events and hope to come out of this experience with a better idea on life,” Franco wrote in his statement.
His experiences with Jews: The following morning, on June 8, Franco responded to Gabe’s post and the responses, sharing his experiences with Jews.
“My experiences with Jews have not been pleasant … this is not to say I havent had positive experiences, but on the aggregate that is not the case,” Franco wrote on X.Story continues below this ad
“Given that I have been doxed and intim[id]ated your community including having my personal life investigated for no other reason than a single comment I cant imagine any reasonable person not coming to a similar conclusion,” he added.
Gabe reacts: Reacting to Franco’s post over X, Gabe said, “I don’t think his response did him any justice. I think the best response that he could have done was just apologize and say it was a make and he didn’t mean it directly.”
University acts
A Cornell University spokesperson, meanwhile, shared that it “learned of a deeply durbing comment a student on the Handshake platform in violation of the online job board’s terms of service and Cornell Career Services’ terms and conditions for job seekers.”
“The student’s action has been reported to the Cornell Office of Civil Rights as a bias incident,” the spokesperson added.Story continues below this ad
Moreover, the spokesperon emphasized the University’s disapproval of antisemitism and hate speech.
“Cornell condemns antisemitism and all forms of hatred and discrimination in the strongest possible terms. The university is steadfastly committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for every member of our community,” the spokesperson stated.
The Anti-Defamation League in March this year gave Cornell a “C” grade in its third annual Campus Antisemitism Report Card. A “C” grade stands for “corrections needed,” according to The Cornell Sun.
Hiring platform’s reaction
Handshake, the digital hiring platform, too, messaged Aiden, stating that it had reached out both to the student and the school, while claiming Franco’s conduct to be in violation of its Terms of Service.Story continues below this ad
“Handshake takes any report of harassment or hate speech seriously. Whenever content is flagged as potentially violative, we promptly investigate and take appropriate action in accordance with our policies. For privacy reasons, we don’t comment publicly on individual users or the outcomes of specific investigations,” a spokesperson from the platform told The Sun.
One incident, different perspectives
Gabe now hopes that Franco would learn from the experience. “At the end of the day, I hope he realizes that he shouldn’t have generalized like that. … You never know who you might work with, or work for, or be friends with that comes from a different background or different religion,” Gabe told The Sun.
“I really don’t wish that he ends up not finding a job from it. I just hope he learns from it, and people can realize he changed and accept it,” he added.
On the other hand, Franco called the entire episode ” an interesting bedtime story” for his children in the future. He also stated, “I probably also gave Gabe Einhorn the best PR his company will have in the near future and wish him the best with his startup.”Story continues below this ad
“It seems part of youth is to do crazy or drastic things, and though I imagine this is different from the path most take it fulfills the requirement, nonetheless,” Franco said in his response to The Sun.
“Such actions might not be the brightest ideas in hindsight; however, they are still important to developing character and integrity. And hopefully the prior experience coupled with the many more I will have throughout my life serve to be fulfilling and reflective,” he added, according to the report.
Interview with Piers Morgan
In an interview with Piers Morgan, Franco was called out the renowned broadcaster for being an “anti-Semite” and a “hypocrite.”
Justifying his post, Franco explained: “I have had enough experiences that were displeasing that I didn’t want to be around. It’s just a preference and I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that.”

Piers Morgan speaks to the Ivy League student who went viral for saying ‘he’s not interested in working for Jews’.
‘You’ve doubled down – you’re proud of it! And for that reason, I don’t give a TOSS what happens to you!’
Full interview dropping at 7pm (BST)…@piersmorgan pic.twitter.com/zw2Aofn3i7
— Piers Morgan Uncensored (@PiersUncensored) July 28, 2026
He also compared Jews with midgets, saying, “You know, if you had a problem with Asian people or midgets… let’s say you’re around ten midgets, and all of them are really mean to you. They step on your feet, right? You’re gonna say, okay, I don’t want to be around them anymore.”Story continues below this ad
The student also called Cornell University’s reaction to the incident “ridiculous”.
“And if your boss is somehow a midget, they’re gonna say, len, I don’t want to work for you because you’re a midget. It might not be a nice thing to say, but is it really worth using your marbles over this, like the Jewish community did within America? Saying we are gonna make this kid unemployable, let’s ruin his life, let’s kick him out of Cornell. I mean, it’s really ridiculous.”
Responding to Franco’s remarks, Piers Morgan criticised him, saying, “I find it incredibly depressing that a young man, given the privilege that you’ve had to go to a top university, could be this thick, or worse, not care about what you’re saying and the consequences to a huge number of people around the world who see a young, arrogant kid.
Morgan came down heavily on the student, “who wants to brazenly espouse anti-Semitism in interviews like this. And shame on you, and shame on everyone that has made you like this… You kind of make yourself unemployable. I wouldn’t employ you. Had you said I’m sorry, had you expressed any remorse… I would be like, you know what, you’ve been dealt a harsh lesson in life, move on. You haven’t learnt your lesson, Austin. You’ve doubled down. You’re proud of it… Future employers can watch this interview and they can decide if you have the values that they wish to have in their company. Good luck with that.”