An academic who resigned from MIT last month published a recent column explaining his decision, noting he could “no longer be a part of a system that foments antisemitism.”
MIT computer science lecturer Mauricio Karchmer – who is of Jewish descent – lamented how his school could not outright condemn Hamas’ Oct. 7 attack in Israel, and how many faculty and students endorsed anti-Israel rhetoric following the atrocity.
Karchmer opened his piece by recounting how he urged the head of his department “to issue a statement of support for Israelis and Jews” in the immediate wake of the attack.
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An MIT lecturer who recently resigned from his role at the school claimed he could “no longer” be a part of a system that “foments antisemitism.” (Erin Clark/The Boston Globe via Getty Images)
The lecturer noted he believed such a statement would be a no-brainer considering “The university had sent statements before on various issues — such as a message condemning the murder of George Floyd in 2020 and another standing in solidarity with the Asian community amid a wave of hate crimes in 2021.”
However, Karchmer said the message sent out by his department “was riddled with equivocations, without mentioning the barbarity of Hamas’s attack, stating only that ‘we are deeply horrified by the violence against civilians and wish to express our deep concern for all those involved.’”
He added, “I was shocked that my institution — led by people who are meant to see the world rationally — could not simply condemn a brutal terrorist act.”
The academic then mentioned his disappointment at the on-campus protests that soon followed, which included “slogans demanding the erasure of the Jewish people.”
“Even worse, faculty members started endorsing this behavior,” Karchmer said, before admitting that the worst part of it all has been watching “the Israeli and Jewish students — who comprise fewer than 6 percent of the MIT student body — suffer” because of it.
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Pro-Israeli and Palestinian protesters rally on college campuses. (Getty Images)
“To the Israeli kids on campus, October 7 is not just some terrorist attack,” he noted, adding, “Every single one of them knows a victim from that day — someone who was killed, or maimed, or had a loved one taken from them.”
The computer science lecturer then declared, “And despite all they’ve been through, the leadership at MIT has failed them.”
The author went on to diagnose the problem at MIT that has led to this explosion of antisemitism, stating that “Students at MIT and other elite colleges have been radicalized by faculty members who have encouraged and even led the student body to become social justice warriors.”
“America’s brightest minds are being manipulated by a force they don’t even understand to adopt a narrow view of the world,” he said, adding that this has “led to an illiberalism on MIT’s campus.”
Karchmer then described his decision to resign from the school, saying, “I loved my job. But I realized there, and then I could no longer train kids in algorithms, knowing they might one day spread this ideology even further through their advanced knowledge. I knew I could no longer be a part of a system that foments antisemitism.”
He concluded with a searing indictment of the university, saying, “MIT’s mission is to train the next generation of leaders. But right now, I’m terrified of the thought that today’s students could lead anything in the future.”
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Karchmer’s last day on the job is January 15. His academic department at MIT did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
