Lawsuit Alleges MIT Ignored Professor Harassing Jewish, Israeli Students

A federal lawsuit filed against the Massachusetts Institute of Technology accuses the university of repeatedly failing to discipline a tenured linguistics professor, Michel DeGraff, who allegedly harassed Jewish and Israeli students, leading one student to leave the university due to safety concerns. The professor reportedly posted personal information about an Israeli student and instructor's military service on social media, inciting public harassment and threats. Despite multiple complaints, MIT's administration, including President Sally Kornbluth, is accused of ignoring the incidents and refusing to investigate, with the university's harassment office dismissing complaints as 'settler-colonial Zionist propaganda.' The lawsuit claims that following the Hamas attacks on Israel in October 2023, MIT became a hostile environment rife with antisemitism, including acts such as students urinating on the campus Hillel building and distributing terror maps. The complaint highlights that DeGraff also spread hateful rhetoric in emails to the Linguistics and Philosophy Department, labeling Jewish students with a 'Jewish mind infection,' and that these actions were met with indifference by university officials. The Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, representing the affected students and faculty, accuses MIT of violating Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by allowing a hostile climate of antisemitism to persist without consequence.