Sporting keffiyeh, Indian-American MIT student slams univ's Israel ties

Sporting a keffiyeh, a symbol of Palestinian solidarity, the president of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) Class of 2025, Megha Vemuri, slammed the university's ties with Israel and said MIT students wanted a "free Palestine". The Indian-American student was delivering the commencement speech at MIT's graduation ceremony.

Vemuri also hailed the students of MIT for standing with the Palestinian people and said they would not tolerate genocide.

Highlighting the university's research links with the Israeli military, she said, "The Israeli occupation forces are the only foreign military that MIT has research ties with."

"This means that Israel’s assault on the Palestinian people is not only aided and abetted by our country, but our school," she added in her Thursday speech.

She also urged graduates to take action beyond campus.

"As scientists, engineers, academics, and leaders, we have a commitment to support life, support aid efforts, and call for an arms embargo and keep demanding now, as alumni, that MIT cut ties (with Israel)," she said.

She also heaped praise on varsity students for their efforts in recent months to cut ties with Israel. "Last spring, MIT's undergraduate body and Graduate Student Union voted overwhelmingly to cut ties with the genocidal Israeli military," Vemuri said in her commencement speech.

In her address, Vemuri also spoke of the atmosphere of uncertainty within academia and the significant challenges confronting student activists in the US. "It is no secret that at this time, academic institutions across the country are shrouded in a dark cloud of uncertainty," she said.

"The question of what will happen next echoes in our minds, and there is a lot of fear in many of our hearts," she added.

MIT STUDENTS WILL NEVER TOLERATE A GENOCIDE: VEMURI

"You called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza, and you stood in solidarity with the pro-Palestine activists on campus. You faced threats, intimidation, and suppression coming from all directions, especially your own university officials, but you prevailed," she said hailing the varsity students, adding, "Because the MIT community that I know would never tolerate a genocide."

Highlighting the devastation of Gaza’s higher education system, she said, "As we prepare to graduate and move forward with our lives, there are no universities left in Gaza."

"We are watching Israel try to wipe Palestine off the face of the earth, and it is a shame that MIT is a part of it," she added.