In the wake of Hamas's Oct. 7 attack, MIT president Sally Kornbluth responded to a rise in campus anti-Semitism with a new initiative: "Standing Together Against Hate." Launched on Nov. 14 of last year, Kornbluth trumpeted it as an effort aimed at "community building." She put MIT chancellor Melissa Nobles in charge.

Trouble began to brew when, as a part of this initiative, the school invited a Hamas apologist to speak, an event slated to take place on March 18. Last month, members of MIT's Jewish Alumni Alliance met with Kornbluth to request that the school also consider hosting Dennis Ross, the former U.S. envoy to the Middle East and a well-respected diplomat who has served in both Democratic and Republican administrations.

Kornbluth expressed interest in the suggestion, the alumni group said in a statement, and the group's members extended an invitation to Ross, who agreed to participate in a separate event, his office told the Washington Free Beacon. But MIT administrators, led by Nobles, backed out, telling the Jewish alumni group they were "steering clear of politicians, current or past," according to an email, the contents of which were reviewed by the Free Beacon.

Ross has worked in the White House, most recently on the National Security Council in the Obama administration. Before that, he served in the National Security Council under Ronald Reagan and in the State Department under George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton. He has never run for office.