MIT Pres. warns students over flyers linking to Mapping Project

(A7) Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) President Sally Kornbluth published a letter to the student body warning that the university would not tolerate antisemitism after flyers linking to a project that maps Jewish institutions were distributed on the first day of classes on Monday.

“I hadn’t intended to start the year with a message like this, but on Monday, an incident occurred that I found troubling. I cannot be the arbiter of every disagreement about speech at MIT, and I do not expect to write often about such things. But as we start a new year together, it’s important that you hear directly from me,” Kornbluth wrote.

She elaborated, “On Monday, as first-year students entered Kresge Auditorium for an orientation event, several other students were handing out flyers. ‘Welcome to MIT!’ the flyers announce, next to a drawing of Tim the Beaver, MIT’s mascot. The flyers go on to comment on the conflict in the Middle East and the State of Israel in particular, and they list more than 20 additional resources.”

“While I have repeatedly defended freedom of expression, I must tell you that I found some of the websites cited on the flyers deeply concerning. I was particularly disturbed to see that the flyers featured a URL for something called the Mapping Project, which catalogs hundreds of Jewish and other organizations in the Boston area – from a council of synagogues to universities, businesses and museums – and then provides their addresses and, in some cases, lists the names of key officials. The goal of this effort is, in its own words, ‘to reveal the local entities and networks that enact devastation, so we can dismantle them. Every entity has an address, every network can be disrupted.’ I believe the Mapping Project promotes antisemitism,” she stated.

Korbbluth wrote, “Like every other form of racial and religious prejudice and hate, antisemitism is totally unacceptable in our community. It cannot be justified, and it is antithetical to MIT’s values.”

Earlier this month, a federal lawsuit accusing MIT of tolerating antisemitism after the October 7 attacks in Israel was dismissed.

The MIT lawsuit accused the university of approving antisemitic activities on campus and tolerating discrimination and harassment against Jewish students and faculty. In dismissing the lawsuit July 30, US District Judge Richard Stearns noted that MIT took steps to address on-campus protests that posed a potential threat to Jewish students.

In November, Jewish students at MIT said members of a pro-Palestinian Arab group, Coalition Against Apartheid, physically prevented them from attending classes.

MIT later suspended Coalition Against Apartheid, citing unsanctioned demonstrations it held on campus.

In January, a group of Jewish alumni of MIT launched a campaign to withhold donations until the administration cracks down more forcefully on manifestations of antisemitism on campus.