A blistering letter signed by hundreds of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) alumni has rebuked the school for fostering a “national reputation for antisemitism” as Jewish students claim “bounties” are offered by Pro-Palestine groups for identifying them.
The document, signed by more than 700 MIT Jewish alumni and allies, accused the school of failing to condemn Kornbluth for not taking enough action against antisemitism following her testimony on Capitol Hill last week.
“During the congressional testimony of December 5, 2023, President Kornbluth implied calls for genocide of Jews may not constitute bullying and harassment under MIT’s code of conduct, depending on context,” the letter to the school’s governing body, the MIT Corporation, read.
Kornbluth, who is Jewish, caused a “public uproar” when she was the “only president that did not issue an apology”, the letter charged.
According to the signatories, the president’s silence spoke volumes.
“Exactly what kind of message was the MIT Corporation trying to send to the MIT community, and especially its Jewish members, with such a statement so at odds with the overwhelming majority of the public?” the letter states.
“We are alarmed to observe MIT earning a national reputation for antisemitism on President Kornbluth’s watch, rather than for academic excellence, and joining a group of ignominious universities currently struggling with antisemitism on their campuses.”
Dana Rubin, an Israeli student at MIT for a number of years who is now in a master’s computer science program, claimed antisemitism on campus is nothing new.
“I personally, and we as a community, have been reporting incidents of antisemitism for years, and nothing has been done,” she told The Post Wednesday.
Rubin — formerly president of the MIT Chabad Student Board, a Jewish organization and an activist — said she attended an Israeli counter-protest to a pro-Palestine rally on November 9th.
She claimed Pro-Palestine students filmed her and her peers then doxxed them online, offering “bounties” for the identities of people caught on film. Since then, she and her friends have received anonymous threats.
“I walk around campus and I see people filming me. I’ve heard from people in my sorority that other members say they’re miserable being in a sorority with me.
“We all got threats. It is a very unsafe environment.
“There’s a group of white liberals who think they understand what’s going on, but they have no idea, and they are more extreme, in my opinion, than the actual Palestinians I know.”
MIT did not return a request for comment on Wednesday.
In their letter, the MIT alumni called for “immediate and concrete” action from the institution, including “enforce meaningful consequences for the individuals who violate MIT’s rules, create an antisemitism-specific task force on campus, and publicly announce that calls for violence against civilians is grounds for expulsion and amend the MIT Code of Conduct to include this if necessary.”
On Friday, more than 70 lawmakers signed a bipartisan letter calling for the resignation of University of Pennsylvania President Liz Magill along with Harvard University President Claudine Gay and Kornbluth. Magill resigned the following day, but both Harvard and MIT have stood by their appointees.
The White House also condemned the university leaders, though at a briefing Press Secretary Karine Jean-Pierre would not call for their resignation because the schools are private institutions.