Protesting MIT students take to the streets after pro-Palestinian encampment dismantled
Hours after police cleared the pro-Palestinian encampment on the MIT campus early, protestors still made sure their voices were heard as they marched through Cambridge Friday afternoon.
The protestors gathered on the steps of MIT around 2:30, demanding the school cut ties to Israel before marching through Cambridge.
“Our fight is against the continuation of unethical research and development happening by MIT and Israel’s military,” said Zeno, a suspended MIT graduate student.
Hundreds of students gathered across from Massachusetts Avenue where the recently torn-down encampment had lived for the last three weeks.
Ten individuals, a mix of graduate and undergraduate students at MIT, were arrested when the camp was dismantled around 4:00 a.m., according to the university. The students did not resist arrest and were peacefully escorted from the encampment by MIT police officers and taken off campus for booking.
Police in riot gear arrived around 4 a.m., encircled the camp, and gave protesters about 15 minutes to leave. A crowd outside the camp began gathering and chanting pro-Palestinian slogans but were dispersed by 6 a.m.
The move at MIT comes several days after police first attempted to clear the encampment only to see protesters storm past barriers and restore the encampment, which includes about a dozen tents in the heart of the campus in Cambridge.
Nearly 10 people were arrested Thursday for blocking the parking garage that faculty use. Students on campus want MIT to stop funding research for the Israeli Ministry of Defense.
“Our actions today had nothing to do with the specific viewpoints of the students in the encampment,” Kornbluth said in a statement. “We acted in response to their actions. There are countless highly effective ways for all of us to express ourselves that neither disrupt the functioning of the Institute nor create a magnet for external protestors.”
Jewish and pro-Israel students had been waiting for this day. Many telling Boston 25 they were scared to go to school.
“The encampment I know for a lot of people is very ignorable but for a lot of people it’s not,” said Jacob Zerykier, an MIT student.
Protesters would not say what they would do next. When asked specifically if they would try to disrupt graduation on May 31st their answer was only that they vow to continue protests.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
Download the FREE Boston 25 News app for breaking news alerts.
Follow Boston 25 News on Facebook and Twitter. | Watch Boston 25 News NOW
