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The CEO initially blacked out Franco’s name to conceal his identity, but the student doubled down on the antisemitic rhetoric in a subsequent X post.
By Shula Rosen
A Cornell University student is under investigation after allegedly rejecting a job opportunity at a startup founded by two Jewish brothers and sending a message stating, “Not interested in working for a Jew.”
The message was sent through the job platform Handshake by Austin Franco, 19, after he had applied for a summer position at VryfID, a company that matches renters with landlords and verifies identities to prevent fraud.
According to information shared publicly by VryfID co-founder Gabe Einhorn, Franco had been considered for an internship on the company’s growth team, which focuses on attracting renters to the platform.
Einhorn later posted the exchange on X, drawing attention to rising antisemitism. He initially concealed Franco’s identity, but online users subsequently identified the student.
“I felt bad exposing him because I thought he could have made a mistake and he really doesn’t believe this wholeheartedly,” Gabe told The New York Post.
The incident did not end there. The following day, Franco published a post on X in which he expanded on his views.
“My experiences with Jews have not been pleasant, both in person and online. This is not to say I haven’t had positive experiences, but on the aggregate that is not the case,” Franco wrote.
Franco studies industrial and labor relations at Cornell University, according to a LinkedIn profile that has since been deleted.
Cornell confirmed that it is reviewing the matter. The message was sent on Monday, approximately one month after the university’s semester had ended.
“Cornell condemns antisemitism and all forms of hatred and discrimination in the strongest possible terms,” a university spokeswoman told The New York Post.
VryfID was founded by Gabe Einhorn and his younger brother Aiden Einhorn, a 22-year-old business student at New York University. The brothers launched the company in the summer of 2025.
The exchange circulated widely on social media after being posted by Gabe Einhorn, drawing attention to the comments and prompting a response from Cornell regarding the ongoing investigation.
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