A Cornell student caught in a whirlwind of controversy after declaring that he was 'not interested in working for a Jew,' has received more than $11,000 from supporters who blamed Jewish people for trying to 'ruin' his reputation. 

Austin Franco, 19, sparked a fierce debate on social media after he turned down an interview at a tech start-up over the founder's Jewish faith. 

Gabe Einhorn, the 24-year-old chief executive of VryfID, an anti-fraud platform, jumped on X to share the message he received from Franco on the college career platform Handshake. 

He included a screenshot of Franco's comments, which read: 'Not interested in working for a Jew. Thanks.' 

Yet, after receiving mountains of backlash over his comments, supporters began appearing and rallying behind the Ivy League student. 

A GiveSendGo was even made for Franco, which garnered over $11,400 as of Monday afternoon. 

An account on X, which operates under the username Lord Miles, said he created the fundraiser and wrote: 'I’ve created a givesendgo with 100% of proceeds going to him. jews are doxxing this man and trying to ruin his career. I cannot let that happen.'

The user, who is known for controversial content, verified an X account previously believed to be connected to Franco, which has a bio that reads, 'Standing by my principles: honor, integrity, and loyalty.'

'Just got confirmation this is indeed Austin. Ran through several AI detectors,' the account wrote, alongside photos of Franco holding up a notepad that read, 'Lord Miles. 6/13/2026.'

Routledge also claimed that he called Franco and verified it was in fact the Cornell student. 

'He is very grateful for all the donations and was very stressed about his life being ruined by people who hate Christ,' the account added. 

The user later said: 'A lot of generous donations, thankyou everyone so far. As someone who got almost kicked out of university in 2021 for denying the existence of Israel, I personally empathize with this kid.' 

'I just raised $10k for antisemitism,' another post from Routledge proudly declared, referring to the GiveSendGo. 

The controversy even attracted the attention of former New York City mayor Eric Adams, who wrote on X: 'He was offered a job and turned it down because he was “not interested in working for a Jew.” Replace the word “Jew” with any other religious or racial group, and the outrage would be immediate and universal.

'Antisemitism has become dangerously normalized on some of our most elite campuses and institutions. What should be condemned without hesitation is too often excused, ignored, or rationalized. If you think this isn’t your fight because you’re not Jewish, think again. 

'Hate never stops with one group. It may begin with the Jews, but history has shown that it never ends there,' Adams concluded. 

Franco's X account surfaced after he stood his ground following the viral comment to Einhorn, who is incredibly vocal about his Jewish faith on his social media and LinkedIn. 

In a statement, Franco explained that he had previously had negative experiences with people of Jewish faith. 

'I was stating why I was not interested after you had asked to interview 3 times. I found out you were Jewish after the fact. My experiences with Jews have not been pleasant, both in person and online,' Franco wrote. 

'This is not to say I haven't had positive experiences, but on the aggregate that is not the case. Obviously, the reactions by your community only serves to further prove my point and indicate your post on X was not done in good faith.'

Franco went on to argue that, if Einhorn had said he 'didn't want to work for someone who was white or Christian this would not have blown up to the capacity it has here today.'

The account since posted asking if anyone was hiring, offered up his resume, said he would be 'happy to go on any shows to explain my doxxing' and 'much more' and linked an Instagram account.

'Any lawyers who think I have a legitimate case to be made for doxxing, defamation or something else feel free to reach out,' his latest post said. 

According to Franco's LinkedIn, the Cornell student is working toward a Bachelor of Science degree in Industrial and Labor Relations. 

It was also revealed that Franco attended Virginia Tech College of Science, where he studied economics and made the Dean's List twice - once in the fall of 2024 and then again in the spring of last year.

The Ivy League student also boasted experience in key roles across many extracurricular clubs, including serving as president of his high school debate club and participating in the school's Model United Nations. 

Einhorn's initial post featured a screenshot of Franco's response to the interview offer. 

The company co-founder wrote: 'He probably knows nothing about Jews except for what they tell him in college and on social media. Sad world.'

Einhorn had blurred out Austin's last name initially. As users tried to unveil the student, Einhorn wrote: 'Don't need to ruin his life.' 

But Franco was eventually exposed in an updated video that Einhorn posted on Instagram, which showed the message sent on the Handshake careers platform, alongside the student's full name. 

A spokesman for Cornell University wrote underneath Einhorn's post: 'Cornell University is aware of an unconfirmed report regarding a post made by a student on the Handshake platform. We take all reports of discrimination and hate speech seriously and are actively reviewing the matter.'

'We are committed to conducting a thorough review in accordance with university policy. Cornell condemns antisemitism and all forms of hatred and discrimination in the strongest possible terms. 

'Our university remains deeply committed to fostering a safe, inclusive, and respectful environment for every member of our community,' the statement concluded. 

Elle, a Trust and Safety specialist at Handshake, wrote to Einhorn regarding the incident and said the company was looking into the message that violated its Terms of Service.

'Our team is reaching out to the student and their school directly to address their behavior on the platform,' the message, shared by Einhorn on X, read.   

Social media swirled with reactions following Einhorn's post. 

'It was very gracious of you to block his name. This is the most ridiculous thing I've ever seen... the rise of anti-Semitism in America is literally crazy, especially since it all came AFTER October 7th. 

'This is anti-American,' one user commented under Einhorn's post. 

'You didn't dodge a bullet, Gabe. You dodged a whole effing missile,' another comment read. 

'In this tough environment where internships are so hard to come by, this student chooses antisemitism? My daughter has been applying to hundreds of internships with no luck. She would never have answered like that,' a third wrote. 

'Thank goodness he revealed himself and he is not too bright, you hire a better candidate,' another reassured. 

A fifth user wrote: 'The anti-Israeli sentiment is bleeding into very scary, hateful behavior towards a religion. How stupid, and It's awful - I'm sorry to see this.' 

Both Einhorn and his brother, Aiden Einhorn who co-founded the company with him, have since appeared in videos on social media and sat down with Fox News. 

'I would say that there's too much hate in the world right now. To overgeneralize one specific religion or one specific race is never a good idea,' Einhorn told Fox New's Dana Perino. 

'You see people that are, across the board, from different walks of life that could become friends, that could do business together, that can build a family together. 

'I never think it's a good idea to overgeneralize in that sense, and I think we need to come together and bring more love to the world.'

The Daily Mail reached out to Einhorn and attempted to reach Franco for comment.