Tufts is a private university located in Medford, MA. Tufts is deeply complicit in Israel's colonial subjugation of Palestinians, US policing and surveillance, US militarism and imperialism, US violence against Black and Brown migrants, and the displacement of working class residents (disproportionately Black and Brown) from Somerville, Medford, and other Boston area communities.
In October 2021, The US Department of Agriculture awarded Tufts University a $10 million grant to develop cultivated meat, "in collaboration with Israeli cultivated meat companies, industrial meat production companies, and leading researchers in Israeli academia." Funding for the grant was provided through the Israel Innovation Authority's Generic Technology Research Consortium program. The grant is part of a broader Israeli state effort to positively "brand Israel" as a hub of "innovation," in an attempt to whitewash over the realities of Israel's colonial subjugation of Palestinians and theft of Palestinian land and resources. Tufts University faculty have also been among recipients of grants from the Binational Science Foundation (BSF), which aim to promote connections and collaborations between the US and Israeli scientists (see here, here, and here).
Tufts University's chapter of Hillel promotes student participation in student groups and programs which support and normalize Zionism and Israel (see: here, here, and here). Tufts Hillel also encourages Tufts students to attend "Birthright" trips to Israel, and maintains multiple exchange programs with Israeli universities. Per Tufts Hillel's website: “Students are encouraged to study in Israel for a summer, semester, or full year.”
Tufts University hosts a chapter of the TAMID Group, which was established at Tufts in 2017. The parent organization TAMID is subtitled: "Experiential Learning Through Business in Israel." TAMID describes itself in the following way: "Since our founding, TAMID Group has been apolitical and areligious. TAMID connects our students to Israel only through non-divisive means: experiential business education." TAMID regularly praises "Israeli start-up culture," and provides multiple opportunities for students to support Israel, including the TAMID Fellowship (eight-week internship in Israel for a business), TAMID Consulting (in whichstudent teams remotely solve "challenging" business problems for Israeli companies), and the TAMID Investment Fund (in which TAMID chapters from different universities participate in a competition managing investment portfolios made up of Israeli companies). TAMID Group was fully funded by the Israel on Campus Coalition (ICC) until March 2018. See the Tufts chapter of TAMID's Facebook page: here; See the spread of TAMID Group campus organizations across the US: here.
Tufts University has also hosted multiple organizations which support and normalize Zionism and Israel at its general career fairs for Tufts students, including New England Yachad and Masa Israel Journey.
In 2017 the Tufts Student Government voted (17-6 with 8 abstentions) in favor of a resolution calling on Tufts University to terminate its investments in Elbit Systems, G4S, Hewlett Packard Enterprise, Northrop Grumman, and all other companies "involved in human rights violations, which must include the human rights violations against Palestinians, non-US-citizens in detainment and deportation proceedings, and incarcerated individuals." To date, Tufts University administration have chosen to ignore the will of the student body and have taken no action to divest the university from these companies. In 2020, the Tufts student body voted by campus-wide referendum demanding Tufts University issue an apology "for sending the former Tufts police chief to an intensive week-long course led by senior commanders in the Israel National Police, experts from Israel’s intelligence and security services, and the Israeli Defense Force" and prohibit "TUPD officers from attending programs based on military strategies and/or similar international trips in the future." The referendum passed overwhelmingly with 68% of students who voted on it voting in favor. As of 2022, Tufts University administration have chosen to ignore the will of the Tufts student body and have taken no action to honor the referendum results.
Tufts directs its students into careers working for the agencies which uphold and support US militarism, prisons, policing, and surveillance.
Tufts has hosted the US Department of State, the US Army, the US Navy, the US Marine Corps, and the US Coast Guard its 2019, 2020, and 2022 general career fairs for Tufts students. Tufts also directs its students into careers with the companies who design and manufacture weapons and technologies for these and other branches of the US military: Tufts hosted General Electric, MIT Lincoln Laboratory, and Amazon Robotics at its 2019 general career fair for Tuft's students (see entries on General Electric, MIT Lincoln Labs, and Amazon).
Similarly, Tufts hosted the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Corrections as well as the Commonwealth of Massachusetts Department of Corrections Office of Diversity and Equal Opportunity at its 2020 general career fair for Tufts students. The Mass Department of Corrections is responsible for running MA's prison system, which disproportionately targets Black and Brown and working class MA residents (see entry on State of Mass). Tufts also hosted the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) at its 2019 and 2020 general career fairs, and hosted the Middlesex District Attorney's Office at its 2020 general career fair.
Tufts University participates in Northeastern University's "DHS Center of Excellence" (COE), called "ALERT" ("Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats"), which is a consortium of nine universities and industry partners who receive grants and other support from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct "research, technology and educational development" for DHS. According to an annual report on the program, ALERT supports DHS to "quickly adapt to new research and education priorities related to the daunting mission of DHS to protect our nation from terrorist threats." ALERT includes educational programming targeted to "pre-college, undergraduate, graduate and career professional components" respectively, and includes a "High-Tech Tools and Toys Lab," "an Engineering Leadership Program focusing on Department of Homeland Security Topics," and "workshops and short courses." In 2021, NEU's "DHS Center of Excellence" (COE) won a $36 million contract from DHS to build a surveillance system called SENTRY (Soft target Engineering to Neutralize the Threat RealitY). SENTRY promises to turn schools, sporting events and city spaces into a panopticon that will "integrate elements such as crowd-scanning sensors mounted atop light poles, video feeds, cell phone traffic, aerial drone footage, and social media posts."
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) is the federal law enforcement responsible for carrying out the US federal government's regime of tracking, detention, and deportation of Black and Brown migrants. US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) as well as US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are sub-agencies housed within DHS.
Tufts University occupies 150 acres of land in the Boston suburbs of Somerville and Medford. The land Tufts owns along with the structures built upon it are collectively valued at $853 million (see: MassGIS statewide parcels dataset, 2021). Wickedlocal reported in 2021 that through its participation in PILOT (Payment in Lieu of taxes) programs with the cities of Somerville and Medford, Tufts currently pays only $450,000 ("in lieu of taxes") to Somerville and Medford respectively each year. Were Tufts University to pay the equivalent of residential property tax rates on the real estate it currently occupies, the university would have to pay $4.2 million dollars to the city of Somerville alone. In addition to gobbling up land while paying only a fraction of normal tax rates into city budgets, Tufts University attracts students, faculty, and researchers into the area who are, on average, wealthier and whiter than pre-existing residents. Together with the land it occupies, these transplants Tufts attracts contribute to the ongoing rise of local housing, rental, and living costs which is leaving many Somerville and Medford residents increasingly unable to afford to remain in the neighborhoods they have called home for years if not decades.
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From fiscal years 2007-2020, Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) funneled $1,607,657 from its donors to Tufts University as well as $1,243,450 to Tufts University Hillel.
The IACT (Inspired, Active, Committed and Transformed) program, which operates on the Tufts University campus, received $7,004,000 from Combined Jewish Philanthropies in FY20 alone. CJP states that they designed IACT to “strengthen and transform Jewish life and Israel advocacy on campuses through the expansion of Birthright Israel and the active engagement of Birthright Israel participants in new programs." WickedLocal reports that as of 2020, "The program, currently at 29 local Hillels around the country, supports a coordinator on each campus dedicated to recruiting students for Birthright Israel trips and inspiring them to become active in Jewish life and Israel activities once back on campus."
Tufts is listed as a partner in the US Department of Homeland Security's "Center of Excellence" (COE) located at Northeastern University, through which cooperating universities develop technology to support DHS projects of mass surveillance and intelligence sharing. In 2008, DHS partnered with Northeastern University to launch the Center for Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats (ALERT) as a designated "DHS Center of Excellence." In November 2021, Northeastern University won a $36 million contract from DHS to build a surveillance system called SENTRY (Soft target Engineering to Neutralize the Threat RealitY), a system which promises to turn schools, sporting events and city spaces into a panopticon that will "integrate elements such as crowd-scanning sensors mounted atop light poles, video feeds, cell phone traffic, aerial drone footage, and social media posts." Government spending records for grants to Northeastern University show Tufts University as an additional recipient on NEU's awards for both projects.
In fiscal year 2019 alone, Fidelity Charitable funneled $5,502,369 from its donors into Tufts University.
Tufts University hosted Gann Academy to present to students at Tufts' 2020 Engineering Alumni-Student Panel and Networking Industry Night.
In April 2022, Tufts university hosted General Dynamics Mission Systems at a recruiting event on the Tufts campus. Tufts University students mobilized against the weapons company's presence on their campus, forcing General Dynamics Missions System workers to pack up and leave one and a half hours early, as reported in the Tufts Daily:
[The] recruiting event was scheduled to last from 5–8 p.m. but was cut short around 6:30 p.m., after protesters disrupted the recruiters’ presentations in the SEC atrium. The event was staffed by a handful of General Dynamics representatives and attended by about four students, according to one of the attendees. The protesters numbered at least 20 and included undergraduate and graduate students and local community members.
In response to speeches and chanting from protesters, the General Dynamics recruiters initially moved their information session from the SEC atrium into a smaller room in Anderson Hall. After protesters disrupted that meeting too, the recruiters packed up their materials and left.
In the SEC atrium, protesters called attention to a 2018 airstrike in Yemen, where General Dynamics-manufactured guided missiles hit a school bus and killed 40 children.
“Imagine that you’re 10, 12 years old, returning back from a field trip, and all of a sudden a bomb falls on your head and kills your entire class,” one protester shouted into a megaphone, drowning out a General Dynamics recruiter’s presentation on open positions at the company.
Tufts University hosted Intel Massachusetts at its 2020 Engineering Alumni-Student Panel and Networking Industry Night. Intel also presented at a Fall 2021 career fair co-organized by Tufts University (along with other local universities).
Tufts University was one of the universities that participated in The Israel Summit in 2021.
Tufts University hosted Kleinfelder at a Fall 2021 career fair (the career fair was co-organized by Tufts University in collaboration with other local universities).
Kraft Family Philanthropies donated $500,500 to The Hillel Foundation at Tufts University from FY04-FY08. Kraft Family Philanthropies donated $400,000 to Tufts University from FY11-FY14. Daniel Kraft, "President-International" of Kraft Group, serves as Trustee Emeritus at Tufts University.
The Krupp Family Foundation donated $10,000 to Tufts University in FY19.
Diane Hessan is a member of the Tufts University Board of Trustees, and also serves on the Board of Directors of MassChallenge.
The Paul and Joanne Egerman Family Charitable Foundation donated $50,000 to Tufts University in FY15 & FY19.
Tufts University hosted Massachusetts-based weapons manufacturer Raytheon to present to Tufts students at the University's 2019, 2020, and 2021 general career fairs. Tufts hosted Raytheon to present to Tufts engineering students in May 2022. Raytheon's presence at Tufts career fairs has sparked outrage and protests amongst Tufts students and community members.
The Ruderman Family Foundation donated $17,500 to Tufts Unversity Hillel in FY12 & FY14.
The Klarman Family Foundation donated $4,661,000 from FY14-19 to ITrek, a program which pays for US graduate students to go on trips to Israel and in which Tufts University is a participant. The Klarman Family Foundation also made a $400,000 donation to Combined Jewish Philanthropies (CJP) in FY16 which was earmarked "To support IACT and Faculty Study Tours to Israel for fiscal years 2015 and 2016." IACT is an initiative of Hillel International, which according to Hillel "leverages Birthright Israel to transform Jewish life on campus," and "achieves its goals by providing funding, resources, and support for a dedicated campus professional who will identify and engage lesser-affiliated first-year students and sophomores, recruit them to join a Birthright Israel trip." Hillel international states that Tufts University is one of the "Founding Campuses" of the IACT initiative.
Tufts University participates in ALERT ("Awareness and Localization of Explosives-Related Threats"), a consortium of nine universities and industry partners who receive grants and other support from the US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) to conduct "research, technology and educational development" for DHS. According to an annual report on the program, ALERT supports DHS to "quickly adapt to new research and education priorities related to the daunting mission of DHS to protect our nation from terrorist threats." ALERT includes educational programming targeted to "pre-college, undergraduate, graduate and career professional components" respectively, and includes "High-Tech Tools and Toys Lab," "an Engineering Leadership Program focusing on Department of Homeland Security Topics," and "workshops and short courses."
US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and US Customs and Border Protection (CBP) are sub-agencies housed within DHS. ICE and CBP jointly carry out the US government's violent regime of tracking, detention, and deportation of Black and Brown migrants.
Tufts University hosted Raytheon - Collins Aerospace to present to Tufts students at the University's 2020 Engineering Alumni-Student Panel and Networking Industry Night. Raytheon's presence at Tufts career fairs has sparked outrage and protests amongst students and community members.
Tufts University hosted CDM Smith to present to students at the University's 2020 Engineering Alumni-Student Panel and Networking Industry Night.
Tufts University hosted Amazon Robotics to present to Tufts students at the university's 2019 general career fair.
Tufts University hosted Yachad New England to present to Tufts students at the University's 2019 general career fair.
Tufts University hosted the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) to present to Tufts students at its 2019 general career fair.
Tufts University hosted the Boston Museum of Science to present to Tufts students at the university's 2020 and 2021 general career fairs.
Tufts University hosted iRobot to present to Tufts students at the University's 2020 general career fair.
Tufts University hosted Apple to present to Tufts students at its 2021 Art & Design Career Fair.
Tufts University hosted Takeda Pharmaceuticals to present to Tufts students at Tufts' 2019 general career fair, Tufts' 2021 Health and Life Sciences Career Fair, and Tufts' 2022 general career fair. (Takeda Oncology is an independent subsidiary of Takeda Pharmaceutical Company.)
Tufts University hosted Pfizer to present to Tufts students at its 2019 and 2020 general career fairs, as well as the university's 2021 Health and Life Sciences Career Fair.
Tufts University hosted General Electric at its 2019 general career fair for Tufts students. Tufts University hosted General Electric Aviation at its 2020 Engineering Alumni-Student Panel and Networking Industry Night.
Tufts University hosted MIT Lincoln Labs to present to Tufts students at the University's 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 general career fairs. Tufts University also hosted MIT Lincoln Labs to present to Tufts students at the University's 2020 Engineering Alumni-Student Panel and Networking Industry Night.
Tufts University hosted Fidelity Investments to present to Tufts students at its 2019 and 2020 general career fairs.
Tufts University has hosted the Office of the Massachusetts State Treasurer and Receiver General, the Massachusetts Trial Court, the Office of the Inspector General for the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, and the Massachusetts Executive Office of Technology Services and Security to present to Tufts students at the University's 2019, 2020, 2021, and 2022 general career fairs.
Tufts University has listed job openings and internships at BAE Systems as "featured jobs" on the Tufts Career Center website (see here and here).
Tufts University hosted Draper Labs at a Fall 2021 career fair (the career fair was co-organized by Tufts University in collaboration with other local universities), Tufts hosted Draper at its 2020 general career fair, and Tufts hosted Draper to take part in Tufts University's 2020 Engineering Alumni-Student Panel and Networking Industry Night.
Tufts University is one of the "participating universities" in the "Draper Scholar Program," through which Draper hosts 50+ graduate-level students per year in research fellowships wherein these students "conduct their research under the supervision of both a university faculty advisor and a Draper technical staff supervisor in an area of mutual interest."
Tufts University hosted Tufts Medical Center to present to Tufts students at the University's 2020, 2021, and 2022 general career fairs, as well as at the University's 2021 Health and Life Sciences Career Fair.
Tufts University hosted the U.S. Air Force to present to Tufts students at the University's Spring 2020 general career fair.