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Columbia University’s Joseph Massad is set to instruct a course on Zionism’s history this spring semester, despite his controversial celebration of the October 7 attack and rejection of Jewish historical ties to Israel.
The Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies professor will lead “Palestinian and Israeli Politics and Societies,” a course that hasn’t been offered in 25 years. Following the October 7 Hamas terror attack, Massad published an article on Electronic Intifada, where he lauded the attacks as “stunning” and a “resistance victory,” while expressing joy at the Arab world’s “jubilation and awe.”
Just In: Joseph Massad, who will be teaching a course about Zionism at Columbia, goes on a complete ahistorical and antisemitic rant.
“Jews are some strange European group. Claiming they have genetic ties to Ancient Hebrews is almost Hitlerian.”
pic.twitter.com/hQMoR6SVKr— Eyal Yakoby (@EYakoby) December 30, 2024
His writing also revealed satisfaction at the sight of fleeing Israelis, expressing hope that “the colonists’ flight from these settlements [sic] may prove to be a permanent exodus.”
In a subsequent appearance on a Pakistani podcast, Massad contested the historical connection between European Jews and ancient Israel, contradicting thousands of years of Jewish tradition and documented historical movement to and from Israel.
Last month’s Columbia Daily Spectator report highlighted the controversy surrounding Massad’s appointment, including the resignation of a fellow professor who argued that the course selection damaged the university’s reputation.
The Jewish community has voiced strong opposition. Morton Klein, who heads the Zionist Organization of America (ZOA), the nation’s oldest pro-Israel organization, addressed Columbia’s interim president, Dr. Katrina Armstrong, stating:
Antisemitic professor Joseph Massad still appears on @Columbia’s website as chair of the academic review committee even after university President Shafik claimed he was removed.
Her lack of action to combat antisemitism is exactly what has fostered Jewish hate on campus. pic.twitter.com/AM6Kd6xFHt
— Rep. Elise Stefanik (@RepStefanik) April 17, 2024
“We were horrified to learn that Columbia University has decided to allow Joseph Massad to continue teaching a course on Jewish history and Zionism, scheduled for the spring semester, even though Massad has advocated for Israel’s destruction, praised terrorism against Israeli Jews, blamed Jews for antisemitism, denied the Jewish people’s connection to the Land of Israel, and praised the terrorist group Hamas’s massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023. The university’s decision is indefensible, and we urge you to rescind it without further delay.”
The controversy follows the resignation of Columbia’s previous president, Minouche Shafik, who stepped down after failing to address the surge of anti-Israel and antisemitic demonstrations on campus following October 7, 2023. Several other university administrators also resigned their positions.
