Jewish students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology say they are being prevented from attending classes by hostile anti-Israel student “blockades” — and fear the school is “unsafe for Jews.”
An open letter written by the Israel MIT Alliance claimed that Jewish and Israeli students were “physically” barred from classrooms by a “hostile” pro-Palestinian group called the Coalition Against Apartheid (CAA).
“This comes after students from CAA harassed MIT staff in their offices for being Jewish and disrupted classes in the past few weeks,” the letter read.
“Many Jewish students are afraid to leave their dorm rooms and have expressed that they feel MIT is unsafe for Jews,” the letter continued.
“This message is supplemented by Hillel’s public and private warnings [the school’s graduate Jewish community] and many faculty that Jewish students should not enter the main lobby of MIT today.”
Four hours after the CAA protest began, the administration told students to leave the lobby and threatened them with suspension — but only the Jewish students who were there to protest walked out, according to the group.
MIT’s Israel Alliance says Jewish students live in fear on the university’s campus.Corbis via Getty Images
“Indeed, the CAA continues to invite more non-MIT students and protesters to join them in calling for a violent uprising (“Intifada”) and justifying Hamas’ terrorist attacks on Israeli civilians,” the alliance said.
An hour later, all students received an emergency notification telling them to avoid the area, “officially recognizing the danger presented to students as a result of this violent protest.”
“The responsibility to protect Jewish students should not rest with the students themselves,” the organization said.
“CAA advocates restrictions that not only ignore MIT guidelines, but also prevent Jewish students from attending classes,” the letter said.
The MIT Israel Alliance said the CAA protest was on the 85th anniversary of Kristallnacht – the infamous pogrom against Jews across Nazi Germany in 1938 that is considered the start of the Holocaust.
A protester holds a “Jews to Free Palestine” sign at a rally in support of Palestine at MIT last month.AFP via Getty Images
“We are seeing history repeat itself and Jews on the MIT campus are afraid,” the letter concluded.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth said in a statement that students who remain in Lobby 7 after they have been told to leave will be disciplined but will still be able to attend class.
“Because we later heard serious concerns about collateral consequences for students, such as visa issues, we have decided, as an interim measure, that students who stay past the deadline will be suspended from non-academic campus activities,” Kornbluth said.
“Students will remain enrolled at MIT and will be able to attend academic classes and labs. We will refer this interim action to the Ad Hoc Complaint Response Team, including the chairperson of the Disciplinary Committee, for final judgment,” he continued.
“As I have emphasized many times, MIT supports the right to free speech for everyone at MIT. However, as MIT’s Statement on Freedom of Speech and Academic Freedom makes clear, ‘the time, place and manner of protected expression, including organized protest, may be restricted so as not to interfere with the essential activities of the Institute,’” Kornbluth added.
The Post has reached out to MIT for comment on the incident.
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
