Title: MIT Under Investigation: Congressional Committee Seeks Documents on Handling of Antisemitic Incidents and Protections for Jewish Students
The House Education and Workforce Committee, which is currently investigating campus antisemitism in the United States, sent a letter to the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) on Friday requesting a comprehensive collection of documents related to how the prestigious institution has been addressing antisemitism and safeguarding Jewish students. The deadline for MIT to comply with the document demand is 5 pm ET on March 22, 2023.
Rep. Virginia Foxx (R), who chairs the House Education and Workforce Committee, expressed grave concerns about MIT’s handling of antisemitic incidents on campus and accused the school of exhibiting hypocrisy and selective enforcement of its policies, which she believes exposes the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of the institution’s leadership. MIT is now one of four Ivy League schools under investigation by the committee, with Harvard University, Columbia University, and the University of Pennsylvania being the others.
The document request from the House Education and Workforce Committee includes a wide range of materials: documents on antisemitic incidents since early 2021; disciplinary actions related to hate crimes; sources of funding for certain pro-Palestinian organizations; communications related to antisemitism; meeting minutes from meetings of MIT leaders; diversity policies; and records on foreign donations, including those from Qatari sources.
MIT representatives were not immediately available to comment on the document demand. In a previous statement, MIT spokesperson Kimberly Allen detailed the measures taken by MIT to protect Jewish students, which included disciplinary actions and educational steps like required antisemitism awareness training. “At MIT,” Allen stated, “intolerance and bigotry toward Jewish members of our community are an affront to our shared values.”
During a recent roundtable event, Talia Khan, a second-year graduate student at MIT, testified that the institution has been “overrun with toxic antisemitism” and that “terrorist supporters directly threaten the lives of Jews on our campus.” Khan expressed her deep trauma and distress, having experienced several antisemitic incidents in just the past five months.
