Jewish students walk out after MIT commencement speaker's anti-Israel remarks

Jewish students walked out of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) commencement ceremony on Thursday when the 2025 class president delivered anti-Israel remarks.

Megha M. Vemuri applauded the on-campus protests against Israel after the Oct. 7, 2023 Hamas terrorist attacks and Israel's attacks in response in Gaza.

Vemuri accused Israel of trying to wipe Palestine "from the face of the Earth." 

"Last spring, MIT's undergraduate body and graduate student union voted overwhelmingly to cut ties with the genocidal Israeli military. You called for a permanent ceasefire in Gaza. And you stood in solidarity with the pro-Palestinian activists on campus. You faced threats, intimidation and suppression coming from all directions, especially your own university officials," she said in the address.

Fox News reported that Vemuri was banned from Friday's undergraduate ceremony after her remarks.