An MIT student disrupted a math lecture to yell ‘free, free Palestine’ and accuse the prestigious university, Israel and the U.S. of ‘perpetuating genocide’.
Lecture recording footage captured the dramatic moment a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology stood up in front of an audience of classmates to vocalize his support of Palestine.
The display on Wednesday morning was a reaction to the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, which has seen more than 10,000 Gazans dead in retaliation for the October 7 terror attack on Israel. As of Friday, Israel has estimated the number of dead citizens at 1200, and the number kidnapped at over 200.
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman, 57, shared the video and slammed MIT for a ‘failure of leadership’.
The student got up to interrupt the math lecturer – who politely asked if the disruption could wait until he was done explaining a math problem, saying ‘can I just finish this line?’
An MIT student disrupted a math lecture to yell ‘free, free Palestine ‘ and accuse the prestigious university, Israel and the U.S. of ‘perpetuating genocide’
Billionaire hedge fund manager Bill Ackman , 57, shared the video and slammed MIT for a ‘failure of leadership’
When the teacher was finished – the student demonstrator said ‘as you witness an ongoing genocide of Gaza in MIT silence – I’m joining hundreds of students city-wide walking out of class,
‘We stand for the liberation of Palestine against active genocide that is perpetuated by MIT, Israel and the United States.’
The student then grabbed a Palestinian flag and chanted ‘free, free Palestine’ along with his fellow protestors.
Ackman – CEO of Pershing Square – shared the recording on X (formerly known as Twitter) and said: ‘This is a math class this morning at MIT. This is the state of learning and ‘free speech’ at our top universities. It would not be happening without a failure leadership at MIT.
‘Imagine being a student who borrowed $250k to attend MIT or a professor who is trying to do research in this environment.’
An MIT student responded to the tweet and questioned whether it was MIT – because they allegedly didn’t have class on Friday – when Ackman shared the post – but he corrected himself and explained that the video was from Wednesday.
Users on X were quick to fire back at Ackman – with one asking ‘What university did you graduate from where political activism was uncommon?’ and another saying ‘He waited patiently until the instructor was finished and gave him an ok. Not like they are storming the classroom.’
The MIT disruption comes amid a flurry of university protests from both sides in response to the Israel-Hamas war.
The student demonstrator said ‘as you witness an ongoing genocide of Gaza in MIT silence – I’m joining hundreds of students city-wide walking out of class’
The MIT disruption comes amid a flurry of university protests from both sides in response to the Israel-Hamas war
On Friday – Columbia University in New York City suspended Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) student groups after unauthorized campus protests left college kids feeling threatened and intimidated.
The two student organizations are suspended as official student groups through the end of the fall semester.
Columbia’s senior executive vice president and chair of its Special Committee on Campus Safety, Gerald Rosberg, announced the news in a statement Friday afternoon.
‘This decision was made after the two groups repeatedly violated university policies related to holding campus events, culminating in an unauthorized event Thursday afternoon that proceeded despite warnings and included threatening rhetoric and intimidation,’ said Rosberg, who also serves as chair of Columbia’s Special Committee on Campus Safety.
SJP is a network of pro-Palestinian student groups across the US which spread anti-Israel propaganda often mixed with antiemetic, provocative and sometimes violent messaging.
JVP is an anti-Zionist group that supports the international boycott movement against Israel.
18 protesters from BrownU Jews for Ceasefire Now were arrested for trespassing Wednesday night
Approximately 20 students entered University Hall around 12:15 p.m. to call on Brown President Christina Paxson to agree to divest from companies profiting off the war
On Wednesday – police arrested at least 18 Brown University students staging a sit-in protest at the school president’s office demanding the institution divest from companies profiting off the war in Israel.
The students were arrested for trespassing at the school’s main administrative building, University Hall, Wednesday night, Brown University said in a statement.
Video showed handcuffed students being led to Providence police prisoner transport vans, while dozens of protesters outside the building sang in support of the group.
‘Brown issued multiple trespass warnings and ultimately moved forward in arresting 18 who refused to leave a campus building where their presence after operating hours posed security concerns,’ said the university.
The group, BrownU Jews for Ceasefire Now, said 20 students were arrested during the sit in calling on their school to promote a ceasefire in the Israel Hamas war.