Megha Vemuri, an Indian-American undergraduate student at MIT, made remarks about Israel that triggered backlash from several Israelis, including PhD student Guy Zyskind, who called her comments “hate-filled rhetoric.”In a post on shared on X with a picture of him with his family , Zyskind expressed heartbreak and outrage, sharing that his 5-year-old twins, 2-year-old child, and Holocaust-survivor-descendant parents had traveled halfway around the world to witness his achievement, only to be met with hostility during what should have been a unifying event.“Instead, MIT’s student commencement speaker decided it was appropriate to use the moment for hate-filled rhetoric against Israelis and Jews. And it wasn’t just one person; too many in the crowd erupted with cheers and anger,” he said in the post“My kids might not have understood every word, but they felt the fear and hostility, and kept asking questions from that point on,” he added.Tagging MIT in his post, he asked, “How could @MIT let this happen and ruin a special day for hundreds of Jewish graduates and thousands of their family members?”Zyskind concluded his message by invoking a recent tragedy: the murder of two Israeli embassy staffers who were a couple in Washington, just a week earlier. “This is even more heartbreaking considering that just last week, a beautiful Jewish American couple was murdered in DC. Shame on MIT for allowing hate and division to overshadow a day meant for celebration and unity.”The post sparked widespread debate online. While many expressed solidarity with Zyskind, others defended the Vemuri’s right to address political issues.As protests erupted over the ban of Vemuri from the campus, MIT chancellor Melissa Nobles said, “Excuse me, I respect that you have a message to send but this is not the time or place.” She added, “Today is about our graduates and their families. Please respect them and allow me to continue.”
