A group of students at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) interrupted an Israeli professor, Shahar Kvatinsky’s lecture with an odd protest that included pizza stealing and war criminal claims.

Kvatinsky, a visiting lecturer at the University of Toronto, was discussing his experiences as an Israel Defence Forces (IDF) reservist officer in Gaza after the October 7th tragedy at an event organised by the MIT Israel Alliance. He described the Israeli military’s stringent rules of engagement and related stories of discovering weapons hidden in residential buildings.

The normally uneventful lecture took an odd turn, though, when one student quietly left the room, taking four pizza boxes meant for the audience. This student, along with others, berated Kvatinsky during Q&A, outlining charges of war crimes and calling him a “murderer.” Other students did the same, citing reports of IDF soldiers raping women that had already been proven false.

With increasing frustration, Kvatinsky stated that “facts don’t matter to them” and that the students weren’t really listening to his explanation but were only reciting prepared lines.

Only more mayhem ensued as two more students stole five more pizzas and fled the room, and a third student pulled out a sign that said, “MIT Jews oppose genocide,” as he was leaving the lecture.

Will Sussman, an MIT computer science student who attended the event, posted on social media about the event.

I won’t repeat everything the anti-Israel students said to tonight’s guest speaker at @MIT, Prof. Shahar @Kvatinsky. But there’s one thing I can’t stop thinking about:

They took nine pizzas.

First a student took four pizzas, left, and came back to call the veteran professor a… pic.twitter.com/3Kuy0BppuJ

— Will Sussman (@WillSussmanPhD) September 19, 2024

There’s one thing I can’t stop thinking about: the protesting students took nine pizzas, said Will Sussman.