The MIT Jewish Alumni Committee | The MIT Jewish Alumni Committee

The Jewish MIT Alumni Committee

Introduction:

The Jewish MIT Alumni Committee is a group drawn from the entire MIT community who are concerned about the outbreak of anti-Semitism on campus, and who wish to help MIT fix its culture that allowed anti-Semitism to incubate, and then erupt. Membership is open to both Jews and Gentiles. We are all concerned and dismayed by this outburst of anti-Semitism, and wish to help insure the safety of Jews on campus both now, and into the foreseeable future.

We will not be doing any finance solicitations.

Membership is free and open to all MIT alumni, faculty, and staff.

Preamble and Mission Statement:

Jews have enjoyed a long history at MIT. MIT welcomed Jewish students and faculty earlier and in greater numbers than most other elite American universities, starting with Gerald Swope, Class of 1895. MIT’s founder, William Barton Rodgers, was a foe of antisemitism that he had observed in academia. The Institute, from its founding, believed in merit, eschewing ethnic hatreds such as antisemitism. Jews are taught to believe in Tikun Olam, the imperative to act to “repair the world”. Perhaps this is why Jews are attracted to the sciences and engineering, primary tools to build a better world. Jewish graduates and Jewish faculty have achieved great heights in science, engineering, economics, and many other fields. Many of MIT’s 100+ Nobel Prizes have been awarded to Jewish faculty and alumni. Alumni have a unique perspective on the importance of MIT to individual growth and to societal health. Alumni are driven by an affinity and a gratitude to the institution that educated them and laid the foundations for their future successes. Alumni enthusiasm for an institution is its best testimonial and its best advertisement. But alumni cannot be enthusiastic about the Institute in its current state of disarray. An Institute that allows religious and ethnic hatred to spread. An Institute in which truth and civility are abandoned. An Institute in which the law is boldly and arrogantly flaunted by the mob. As MIT alumni, we clearly see the damage that is overtaking the alma mater we hold dear. Our perspective allows us to see what some inside the Institute may not see. Our distance allows us to speak the truth without fear of reprisals.

Mission Statement

Our mission, as Jewish Alumni along with our Righteous Allies, is to preserve and foster as rich and as welcoming an environment at MIT for Jews as is afforded to all members of the MIT community without regard to race, color, or creed. Collaboration among community members is essential to the work of MIT. That collaboration requires a shared commitment to reason, and to mutual respect that transcends individual political views. It also requires an inviolable commitment to the physical safety of all members of the community. We are compelled to raise our collective voices to identify threats to the academic and campus environment, and the reputation and integrity of our alma mater. At this difficult moment when Jews around the world are under attack, we are compelled to support and protect Jews at MIT. We stand ready to help MIT end the outbreak of antisemitism currently running rampant, investigate and reform its sources, and set up mechanisms to thwart its return. We are prepared to work with the Corporation, Administration, and Faculty to achieve this goal, and restore MIT to its historic role as the world’s leading university for the study and learning of STEM fields. The Jewish MIT Alumni Committee. Arthur J. Carp ’76, Chair.