Throughout the past 20 months, beginning from the initial hours of Hamas' surprise assault on Israel on October 7, enormous demonstrations against Israel have occurred across the globe, spanning academic campuses to city streets. Recently, a new slogan has emerged among protesters' chants – "Death to IDF." This slogan, which received an enthusiastic reception at the Glastonbury music festival amid crowds brandishing Palestinian flags, continues gathering force, culminating in the latest incident at MIT University.
Sunday witnessed the anti-Israel activists in the Direct Action Movement for Palestinian Liberation (DAMPL) student organization spray-painting the slogan across entrance doors at the university's computer science and artificial intelligence laboratory, accompanied by their organization's identifier. The vandalism targeted Daniela Rus, who leads a project conducted in partnership with Israel. A video released by the organization displays Rus' photograph with the text "your hands are red," while messaging circulated within the organization's communication channels accused her of complicity in Israel's alleged "genocide."
. @MIT if this had been an attack of any other nature there would have immediately been an email sent out telling the community about the attack, condemning it, and showing steps to ensure safety. Why not now? Are we safe on campus? Are you taking this seriously? https://t.co/46vvJaxtft
— Talia Khan (@realtaliakhan) July 7, 2025
The group characterizes this as "scientific research exploited for ethnic cleansing purposes," describing their action not as a symbolic act but as a "warning shot." Their direct message to the university declared: "You are building weapons for an occupying army. We will meet you with forceful resistance, not polite requests. The resistance is alive, and knows exactly where you work."
"This violent threat was enabled by MIT's support of terrorist-sympathizing rhetoric. Now, researchers fear being murdered if they go into work to do science," Talia Khan, president of the MIT Israel Alliance, said. Neither the university nor Rus has provided official commentary regarding this grave incident. Meanwhile, university students describe an increasingly difficult atmosphere, fearing more serious attacks could follow.
Following the Glastonbury appearance where a Bob Vylan band member called for "Death to IDF" – essentially advocating for every Israeli's death, given the mandatory military service – this message has spread internationally, recently reaching Australia, where masked vandals defaced Israeli chef Eyal Shani's Melbourne restaurant while shouting "Death to IDF." The slogan's graffiti has also appeared recently in Brussels, Belgium, and proliferated across social media platforms.
