JTA– Cornell University President Michael Kotlikoff and student protesters are trading accusations after an incident in which protesters surrounded the president’s car following an on-campus debate about Israel.

The protesters, from a group called Students for a Democratic Cornell, released a video appearing to show that President Michael Kotlikoff had backed up into one of them while a protester shouts that the car ran over his foot.

In response, Cornell released its own video depicting what it said was a “harassment and intimidation incident,” its enhanced version of which it said offered “complete footage of the parking lot interactions, instead of clips to support a narrative.”

That video shows students surrounding the president’s car as he tries to exit his parking space. After he eventually departs, the students continue to mill around with no obvious indication of injury to any of them.

In a statement of his own, Kotlikoff said that despite being surrounded by protesters who banged on his car windows, he waited until his backup camera showed a clear path before maneuvering out of the spot.

“The behavior I experienced last night is not protest,” Kotlikoff said in his statement, released Friday night.

.@ABC report tonight on Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff hitting two students with his car after they approached him to discuss repression of free speech on campus and the 80 student activists he’s suspended without due process: pic.twitter.com/qu2IaZEpwV — nick (@unionnick) May 4, 2026

.@ABC report tonight on Cornell President Michael Kotlikoff hitting two students with his car after they approached him to discuss repression of free speech on campus and the 80 student activists he’s suspended without due process:........

© The Times of Israel