Rumeysa Ozturk

Rumeysa Ozturk engaged in anti-Israel activism in March 2024, in the wake of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israelis on October 7, 2023.

On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped 251 and wounded thousands. War crimes included various systematic sexual crimes like gang rape and genital mutilation. Men and women were violated, even after being murdered. Victims who survived that day, including hostages, endured forms of humiliation and torture.

Gazans working in the targeted Israeli villages provided intelligence to Hamas on which families to kill and torture, including long-time employers. Many Palestinian civilians joined in and celebrated the attacks. Hamas livestreamed their crimes on social media, including to victims’ accounts for families to see. To learn more, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.

Ozturk is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

As of January 2025, Ozturk was listed as the course instructor of "Intro to Children's Media - 04" and "Youth and Media - 06" at Tufts University (Tufts).

The courses were scheduled to take place in February and April 2025, respectively. Both course descriptions said: "...reserved for high school students who are rising 10th, 11th, or 12th grade students...students will be prompted to submit an additional application after enrollment..." Tufts is located in Medford and Somerville, Massachusetts.

As of January 2025, Ozturk's LinkedIn profile said she had worked as a graduate research assistant at Tufts since August 2023, and as a course instructor at Tufts from July 2024 to August 2024.

As of the same date, Ozturk's LinkedIn said she was studying for a doctorate in child study and human development at Tufts, slated to graduate in 2026.

Ozturk graduated with a master's degree in developmental and child psychology from Teachers College, Columbia University (TC) in 2020. TC is located in New York, New York.

As of February 2025, Ozturk's LinkedIn said she was located in the Greater Boston area, Massachusetts.

On March 26, 2024, Ozturk co-authored an op-ed published in the Tufts Daily newspaper titled: "Try again, President Kumar: Renewing calls for Tufts to adopt March 4 TCU Senate resolutions." The authors urged "President Kumar and the Tufts administration to meaningfully engage with and actualize the resolutions passed by the Senate."

The op-ed referred to the passing of anti-Israel resolutions by the Tufts Community Union (TCU) Senate, which demanded the University "...acknowledge the Palestinian genocide, apologize for University President Sunil Kumar’s statements, disclose its investments, and divest from companies with direct or indirect ties to Israel."

On March 4, 2024, Tufts President Kumar published a "Message on TCU Senate Resolutions" addressed to Tufts students, faculty, and staff. Kumar wrote: "...the Tufts Community Union Senate...passed three resolutions, initially proposed by the Coalition for Palestinian Liberation..."

President Kumar's message continued: "...we’re disappointed that a majority voted to pass three of the four resolutions. To be clear: as we have done in the past, we reject the Boycott Divestment Sanctions movement, we wholeheartedly support academic freedom and all our academic and exchange programs, and we will continue to work with all companies that we engage with and do business with now."

Anti-Israel Activism

Social Media and Weblinks