A group of Jewish alumni of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) launched a campaign on Wednesday to withhold donations until the administration cracks down more forcefully on manifestations of antisemitism on campus, Haaretz reported.
The campaign organizers, a group called MIT Jewish Alumni Alliance (MITJAA), are urging Jewish graduates and their allies to reduce their annual gift to their alma mater to a token $1. Similar campaigns have been launched at Harvard, the University of Pennsylvania and Columbia by Jewish alumni.
The campaign, the organizers said in an announcement, was in response to "continued inaction following numerous antisemitic incidents on campus."
MITJAA was formed soon after the October 7 Hamas attack against Israel.
Matt Handel, a founding member, said he drew inspiration from Tuesday's resignation of Harvard President Claudine Gay and last month's resignation of Penn President Elizabeth Magill over responses to antisemitism on their respective campuses.
Both Gay and Magill came under fire following their disastrous testimony at a congressional hearing on campus antisemitism last month.
MIT President Sally Kornbluth testified at the same hearing but has thus far emerged relatively unscathed, with MIT's governing board expressing its firm support for her.
Handel said he believed the campaigns to withdraw donations at the other schools "sent a message" that ultimately led both Gay and Magill to step down. "One of the primary jobs of a university president, after all, is to fundraise," he added.