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U.S. House Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) sent a letter to Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) President Sally Kornbluth and MIT Corporation Chair Mark P. Gorenberg on Friday requesting documents and information regarding the school’s handling of antisemitism.
“We have grave concerns regarding the inadequacy of MIT’s response to antisemitism on its campus,” Chairwoman Foxx wrote. “In testimony before the Committee on December 5, 2023, Dr. Kornbluth made numerous statements that further called into question the Institute’s willingness to address antisemitism seriously. … Despite widespread public criticism of Dr. Kornbluth’s testimony, the MIT Corporation issued an endorsement.”
“The MIT Corporation’s assessment stands at odds with the experiences of many Jewish MIT students. A survey of 75 Jewish students found that 59 percent had experienced antisemitism since October 7, and 73 percent did not feel comfortable publicly being Jewish, Israeli, or supportive of Israel on MIT’s campus. … When asked to rate whether ‘the MIT administration’s actions have been adequate to help you feel safer on MIT’s campus’ on a scale of one (not at all) to five (completely), 74 percent of students chose one or two. … MIT has cited its supposed commitment to free speech as limiting its ability to take action against antisemitism on its campus. However, the Institute has demonstrated a clear double standard in how it has tolerated antisemitic harassment and intimidation. … MIT’s hypocrisy and selective enforcement of Institute rules… exposes the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of its leadership’s rationalizations for their inaction towards antisemitism on campus.”
The full letter can be read HERE.
Earlier this month, the House Education and the Workforce Committee hosted a roundtable forum on Capitol Hill where Jewish students from nine American universities shared their recent experiences with campus antisemitism.
Among them was Talia Khan, a second-year MIT graduate student at MIT, who told lawmakers, “In the past five months, I have become traumatized.”
MIT, Khan said, has become “overrun with toxic antisemitism” and by “terrorist supporters that directly threaten the lives of Jews on our campus.”
“It is not overly dramatic to ask that something be done when our very existence is under threat,” she stated.
The Combat Antisemitism Movement (CAM) has been actively collaborating with the House Education and Workforce Committee to address the issue of campus antisemitism.
The harrowing testimonies of Jewish students like Talia Khan can’t be ignored, downplayed, or denied.
Colleges and universities, including @MIT, must take concrete action to ensure safe and supportive learning environments free of antisemitic hatred. https://t.co/Eidm6Gq7gJ
— Combat Antisemitism Movement (@CombatASemitism) March 8, 2024
