Mar 7, 2024,04:59pm EST
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology became the latest college to be hit with an antisemitism lawsuit since the beginning of the Israel-Hamas war last year when two Jewish students there accused the school of fostering antisemitism on campus, according to the Associated Press.
Important Information
According to the AP, the federal lawsuit claimed that MIT had condoned antisemitic activities on campus and had allowed the intimidation and harassment of teachers and students who were Jewish.
According to the filing, antisemitism at MIT has caused Jewish and Israeli students to postpone their graduation dates or exams, and it has caused some academics to leave the university due to discrimination on campus.
The AP said that the lawsuit requested that MIT fire employees and expel students “who engage in antisemitic behavior” in addition to asking the court to prevent the university from developing, implementing, or maintaining policies that penalize or discriminate against Jewish students.
In related lawsuits filed in the past few months, Harvard University, Columbia University, New York University, and the University of Pennsylvania have also been accused of permitting antisemitism.
MIT did not immediately reply to a message left by Forbes seeking comment.
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The MIT Israel Alliance extended similar concerns and allegations raised by the complaint in a newsletter published in November. It added that Jewish and Israeli staff members’ offices were attacked and Jewish and Israeli students were pressured into leaving their departmental lounges. It claimed that suspected supporters of Israel were “intimidated and targeted (privately and publicly) by members of the MIT community.”
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The Coalition Against Apartheid, a student organization, was recently suspended by MIT for organizing an anti-Israel protest on campus without the required authorization. In a video statement, MIT president Sally Kornbluth stated that “the right of everyone on our campus to express their views” was something she fully supported and that the group’s suspension had nothing to do with the content of their speech. Less than two months have passed since students at Harvard sued the university for allegedly failing to take appropriate action against antisemitism on campus.
The students who filed the case asked Harvard to dismiss faculty members and officials who had encouraged antisemitism on campus. Long before the case was filed, Harvard was the center of controversy as politicians and former students attacked the esteemed university, accusing it of tolerating antisemitism. During a heated session in December, the presidents of Harvard, MIT, and the University of Pennsylvania testified before Congress about how their various institutions handle antisemitism on campus. During the meeting, Claudine Gay—who resigned as president of Harvard amid scandal surrounding the institution—stated that she had seen a “dramatic and deeply concerning rise in antisemitism” on academic campuses, including Harvard.