• Further to yesterday’s item about the two dozen Big Law firms writing to law school deans telling them to get a grip on anti-Semitism, the Wall Street Journal today reports details on the origin of the letter:

The letter was the idea of Joe Shenker, senior chairman of Sullivan & Cromwell, who was in Israel on Oct. 7. He tells us that after the American Lawyer wrote about his experience, law students began to contact him with stories about harassment on campus. This included verbal threats and anti-Jewish slurs, including “gas the Jews,” that have become common since Oct. 7. Mr. Shenker drafted the letter, worked his contacts in the legal community, and they sent the letter.

The anti-Jewish hate that has burst into the open in the last month is deeply troubling and must be resisted. If college administrators are too cowardly to act, and to discipline or expel the haters, then the larger society needs to apply pressure so they do. Good for Mr. Shenker and his legal associates.

Hear, hear, and hats off to Joe Shenker.

• Cornell University has canceled classes today because of ongoing anti-Semitic threats to students.  No word yet on whether there will be a campus-wide teach-in deploring hate, as usually happens whenever a racial microaggression or fake noose is spotted on campus. Instead, Cornell is suggesting students focus on “mental health and relaxation.”

•  Analysis: Yes.