'A toll on your psyche': Jewish students recount mistreatment, harassment on college campuses

'I needed to step up'

While Talia Khan considers herself a Zionist, she didn't spend a lot of time thinking about Israel until she saw the response to Hamas' attack from the campus community at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

The Jewish student completed her undergraduate and graduate degrees at MIT, and she is pursuing a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering.

"It became clear to me that I needed to step up and do things. The response on campus is not what you would expect after a tragic attack on any other group," Khan told CP during the summit.

Khan, the daughter of a Jewish mother and an Afghan Muslim father, is the president of the MIT Israel Alliance. The interfaith organization is comprised of students and faculty members, and it hosts educational events and conducts outreach efforts to combat disinformation about Israel. 

She realized the need for a pro-Israel group at MIT after multiple students and faculty members co-signed emails immediately after Hamas' attack that condemned Israel and praised the terror group's actions as a form of "resistance."

The student remembers some women from her study group had written "Free Palestine" and "Resistance Is Justified" on their social media before Israel's military operation in Gaza to eradicate Hamas and rescue the hostages had even begun. 

"I was really just shocked that these girls were not saying anything about what happened to these innocent people in Israel," Khan said. "So, I brought it up with them, and I was like, 'Let's have a conversation about this.'"

Khan said she asked the women about the Nova Music Festival, a dance event that became the site of a massacre where Hamas slaughtered around 400 attendees. She claims the women replied to her by arguing that festival attendees were partying on "stolen land."

When Khan asked the women about the mass murders and sexual assaults carried out by Hamas, they replied, "Oh, Israel does that 10 times and more."

Khan also faced hostility from labmates, who filed harassment claims against her, saying that they didn't feel "safe" around a Zionist.

According to Khan, one of her labmates told her that Jews should not be allowed to publicly mourn the victims of the Oct. 7 massacre because it was "unfair to the victims of the ongoing genocide in Gaza."

"And I was like, 'Look, if you think Jews are uniquely not allowed to mourn our victims, then you might just be a racist,'" Khan recalled. "That kind of broke his brain."

"And still to this day, half of my lab won't look me in the eye, they won't work with me, they won't talk with me," she said. "It's a very horrible experience, and it's the reality for Jews and non-Jewish Zionists on campus."

The Jewish student holds MIT responsible for the situation on campus, stating that the administration has failed to make it clear that ostracizing people for their religious beliefs is unacceptable. The MIT administration, she said, has failed to protect students and ensure a safe learning environment. 

In November 2023, Khan said MIT Interfaith Chaplain Nina Lytton repeatedly condemned Israel and its supporters during an event that was supposed to be about Native Americans. The event not only made the Jewish students who attended uncomfortable, according to Khan, but a Native American student later emailed several Jewish students to say she felt uncomfortable on their behalf. 

"This interfaith chaplain was constantly harassing Jewish students and helped students make signs for their illegal protests with blood splatters on them that told MIT's President, 'Sally Kornbluth, you better watch out,'" Khan told CP.

After anti-Israel activists set up an encampment on campus last year, Khan remembered Lytton would invite anti-Israel students to come to her office and plan protest activities.

Khan expressed frustration, saying that MIT still employs Lytton. She argued that the same standard was not applied to Father Daniel Moloney in 2020. The Catholic chaplain at MIT was asked to resign following a message he sent to parishioners, asking them not to make rash judgments about police officers following the death of George Floyd. 

"It's just a very clear double-standard the way MIT is treating this situation versus others," Khan said. 

In response to an inquiry from CP, a spokesperson for MIT highlighted an August 2024 statement from Kornbluth that stated antisemitism was "antithetical to MIT's values." The spokesperson did not address whether MIT had disciplined Lytton in any way.

"The Institute has worked steadily for more than 18 months to strengthen and streamline its policies and rules to promote a campus environment free from harassment and discrimination; taken steps to strengthen and accelerate its student disciplinary processes; and communicated clear expectations to all students and the broader MIT community about responsible expression," the spokesperson stated, directing CP to visit MIT's website for additional updates.