MIT students establish protest camp against Israel and university’s connections with IDF

Students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology have set up an encampment on campus to protest Israel’s military campaign in Gaza and the university’s relationship with the Israel Defense Forces.

The group putting up tents on the school’s Kresge Lawn is calling the effort the Scientists Against Genocide Encampment, according to Francesca Riccio-Ackerman, a research assistant and PhD student. “MIT has received OVER $11 MILLION in research funding from the Ministry of Defense of Israel since 2015,” she wrote on X on Sunday evening. “We will NOT REST until MIT cuts research ties with the Israeli military.”

MIT students follow those at Columbia University and Yale University, as well as others, who are protesting Israel by putting up tents on the campus and refusing to remove them. They have also held demonstrations filled with chants and calls for lawmakers and university leaders to sever ties with any company or group involved in Israel’s military efforts in Gaza.

The protests have resulted in arrests, and, especially at Columbia, have captured the attention of the nation, with the White House “condemning” the antisemitism present at some demonstrations. However, student protesters at the school maintained that an unnecessary spotlight has been cast on “inflammatory individuals who do not represent us,” per the Intercept. “Our members have been misidentified by a politically motivated mob.”

Talia Khan, an MIT student and president of the MIT Israel Alliance, according to her X bio, posted a video of the MIT encampment set up on Sunday. “And, it’s happened. The anti-Israel, pro-terrorist encampment is now up at @MIT,” she wrote. “We are afraid to go near.”

In the video, dozens of students are walking in a circle around the encampment, and they can be heard chanting as drums are played.

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About 1,200 Israelis were killed and several hundred hostages were taken on Oct. 7 when Hamas militants launched a surprise attack on Israel. Israel swiftly launched a counterattack into Gaza, vowing to eradicate the terrorist group. However, Israel’s subsequent military campaign has resulted in the deaths of more than 30,000 Palestinians, according to witnesses and the Hamas-run Gaza Health Ministry. More than a hundred Israeli hostages are still believed to be held by Hamas.

The conflict has inflamed tensions in the United States and threatens to heavily affect November’s presidential election, with many young voters, such as those on college campuses, incensed by the U.S.’s support for Israel amid Palestinians’ deaths. Antisemitism has also been on the rise, with Jewish citizens increasingly concerned about their wellbeing.