MIT sued over failure to address anti-Semitic harassment on campus
The Brandeis Center has filed a federal lawsuit against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the school’s allegedly inadequate response to anti-Semitism.
The lawsuit, filed on June 25, accuses MIT of standing by while students and faculty spread hatred toward Jews.
The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law has filed a federal lawsuit against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) for the school’s allegedly inadequate response to anti-Semitism.
The lawsuit, filed on June 25, accuses MIT of standing by while students and faculty spread hatred toward Jews.
The document says that after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas attacks against Israel, students praised terrorism and targeted Jewish peers. According to the complaint, anti-Semitic chants disrupted classes and buildings were vandalized.
Paul Eckles, the Brandeis Center’s senior litigation counsel, told the Jewish News Syndicate that the two plaintiffs, who are an MIT instructor and a former doctoral candidate, “are seeking fundamentally and most importantly systemic change and relief on the campus, but also recovery for them to remedy the harm that they experienced.”
The lawsuit says MIT violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by failing to protect Jewish students while accepting federal funds.
One MIT professor allegedly harassed an Israeli researcher online. That professor then went after a Jewish student, emailing the department and threatening to use him as a class example of a Jewish “mind infection.”
MIT administrators were copied on the emails, but allegedly stayed silent.
“When a Jewish student objected to the hateful rhetoric, the professor harassed him publicly, declaring him to be a real-life example of the ‘mind infection’ in a relentless series of online posts,” the complaint states.
According to the lawsuit, the harassment escalated, with flyers styled like Hamas headbands targeting the student.
“This is a textbook example of neglect and indifference. Not only were several anti-Semitic incidents conducted at the hands of a professor, but MIT’s administration refused to take action on every single occasion,” said Kenneth L. Marcus, chairman of the Brandeis Center, in a statement about the lawsuit.
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As Campus Reform has reported, this is not the first time MIT has been sued for its anti-Semitism response. In 2024, two MIT students sued the school for its alleged “blatant and intentional disregard for its legal obligations to its students.”
In a statement provided to Campus Reform, MIT spokesperson Sarah McDonnell said that MIT rejects anti-Semitism and “will defend itself in court regarding the allegations raised in the lawsuit.” McDonell also pointed to a statement from MIT President Sally Kornbluth: “Antisemitism is real, and it is rising in the world. We cannot let it poison our community.”
