Indian-American student delivers graduation speech supporting Palestine at MIT: 'We are watching Israel try to wipe off...'

An Indian-American student at Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), identified as Megha Vemuri, delivered a speech supporting Palestine on graduation day.

Wearing a red keffiyeh, a scarf that shows support for Palestine, she addressed to fellow graduates, families, and faculty, saying, “You showed the world that MIT wants a free Palestine.” She criticised MIT’s links with the Israeli military, calling it a serious concern.

“As scientists, engineers, academics, and leaders, we have a commitment to support life, support aid efforts, call for an arms embargo, and keep demanding now, as alumni, that MIT cuts the ties,” she said.

Vemuri's speech comes at a time when Trump administration has tightened its visa rules and launched a crackdown on those promoting anti-semitism, groups like Hamas and even China.

Vemuri's speech

“The Israeli occupation forces are the only foreign military that MIT has research ties with; this means that Israel’s assault on the Palestinian people is not only aided and abetted by our country, but our school,” Vemuri said. She also added, “We are watching Israel try to wipe Palestine off the face of the earth, and it is a shame that MIT is a part of it.”

Vemuri further praised students who have stood up in support of Palestine.

“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-Palestine activists on campus," She said, praising students for standing their ground despite facing “threat, intimidation, and suppression coming from all directions, especially your university officials."

She compared the situation of MIT graduates with students in Gaza: “While we prepare to graduate and move forward with our lives, there are no universities left in Gaza.”

At the end of her speech, Vemuri asked her classmates to turn their class rings outward, a tradition that represents graduates stepping into the world.

She ended her speech saying, “We carry with us the obligation to do everything we can to stop it.”