At the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), anti-Israel sentiment is currently at an all-time high. This was evident when a guest professor, Shahar Kvatinsky, who serves as a visiting electrical and computer engineering professor from the University of Toronto, faced a barrage of outrage and disrespect during his talk on his recent military experience in Gaza.
The event organized by the MIT Israel Alliance aimed to provide students with an insight into the Israeli Defence Forces’ (IDF) strict rules of engagement and Kvatinsky’s experience as a reservist officer, following the Oct 7th massacre. However, it quickly escalated into chaos when some anti-Israel students started to disrupt the proceedings.
During the talk, one woman silently grabbed four pizza boxes, stepped out briefly before returning to the discussion. Later on, when the moderator opened up a Q&A session with around 50 attendees, the same woman berated Kvatinsky, accusing him of being a “murderer” and questioning how he could sleep at night knowing that he might stand trial for war crimes.
This sparked further outrage from other students, who joined in, calling Kvatinsky a genocidal war criminal and challenging his claims about IDF soldiers raping women. In response to the hostile audience, Kvatinsky told The Post, “Facts don’t matter to them. They just memorized some texts they [wanted] to say, and it’s unrelated to the facts.
As tensions rose, two more students grabbed another five pizzas before running out of the room. Another student waved a “MIT Jews oppose genocide” sign as he left the talk. MIT computer science student Will Sussman commented on the bizarre turn of events by saying, “Some in the audience were pretty upset by things these students were saying but it was mostly just strange that they thought taking pizzas from an event is going to accomplish anything.
The backlash against the students who disrupted the talk and stole nine pizzas has been intense on social media. One user compared their actions to Hamas stealing aid, while another sarcastically referred to it as “Pizzacide.
MIT has faced accusations of failing to protect Jewish students in the past. In March, the House Committee on Education and the Workforce demanded evidence of how the university had handled complaints of antisemitism on campus. Talia Khan, president of the MIT Israel Alliance, testified to the congressional committee in December that a survey found 70% of Jewish students on campus felt compelled to hide their religious identity out of fear.
As anti-Israel sentiment continues to grow across campuses nationwide, it is becoming increasingly clear that universities must take action to ensure that all students feel safe and respected in their educational environments.
