Amid ongoing Israel’s aggression on the people of the Gaza Strip, students at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) in the United States (US), are facing threats of expulsion from the institute for supporting Palestine.
“The institute administration is attempting to silence actions supporting Palestine through disciplinary investigations and threats of expulsion,” Safiya Ogundipe, head of the Coalition Against Apartheid (CAA) told Anadolu Agency.
Ogundipe, a final-year student in the Department of Chemical and Biological Engineering at the institute, said, “CAA, an activism movement against apartheid in South Africa, has now taken a stance against Israel’s illegal practices. Established in the mid-1980s, it aims to end the institute’s cooperation with companies complicit in apartheid.”
Ogundipe added that the CAA was revived again in 2021 “after the evictions in the Sheikh Jarrah neighbourhood (in Jerusalem), ethnic cleansing, and the global movement in solidarity with it.”
She explained that since then, “the CAA’s goals have evolved from opposing the Israeli apartheid regime and the struggle of the South African people to combating the Israeli occupation as a settler-colonial entity.”
She noted that CAA has been promoting solidarity with Palestine since December, urging students and staff at MIT to withdraw from companies and research projects complicit in Israeli apartheid, occupation, and genocide.
Ogundipe reveals MIT administration threats to support Palestine’s ceasefire and boycott demands, while CAA organizes protests against Israel’s actions, including Rafah bombings, calling for MIT to sever ties.
As a result, CAA was suspended, facing threats of expulsion and bans from unauthorised demonstrations, while MIT was threatened with expulsion for further rule violations.
She said that MIT Chancellor Sally Kornbluth in a video on February 13 suspended CAA from the institute, causing concerns about freedom of expression and student struggles against injustices like Palestinian killings and hardships.
Ogundipe emphasized the importance of freedom of expression in the face of Palestinian genocide and the lack of scientific and technological advancements. She pledged to continue calling for a ceasefire, withdrawal of Israeli troops, and continued pressure on the government.
