Cornell Professor Russell Rickford, who faced criticism for his remarks about the Hamas terror attack on Israel, is now on a leave of absence until the end of the semester. Rickford described the attack as "exhilarating" and "energizing," but later issued an apology acknowledging that his words were "reprehensible." A petition calling for his termination gained nearly 11,000 signatures. Cornell University confirmed his leave of absence and reassigned his course to another professor.