Columbia defends letting professor who celebrated Hamas terrorist attacks teach course on Zionism



Columbia University, a hotbed of anti-Semitism and leftist extremism, will have a professor who celebrated the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terrorist attacks teach a course on Zionism in the new year.

Joseph Massad is a professor of modern Arab politics at Columbia University who has a special interest in "theories of nationalism, sexuality, race, and religion" and regularly contributes to the Middle East Eye, a radical blog apparently owned by a former official for both Al Jazeera in Qatar and the Hamas-affiliated al-Quds TV, Jamal Bessasso. Massad has also long contributed to the Electronic Intifada, a pro-Palestinian propaganda website.

On Oct. 8, 2023 — one day after Hamas terrorists massacred over 1,100 Israelis — Massad penned an article titled "Just another battle or the Palestinian war of liberation?" wherein he expressed amazement and apparent delight at the so-called "victories of the resistance."

"What can motorized paragliders do in the face of one of the most formidable militaries in the world? Apparently much in the hands of an innovative Palestinian resistance, which early on Saturday morning launched a surprise attack on Israel by air, land, and sea," wrote Massad. "Indeed, as stunning videos show, these paragliders have become the air force of the Palestinian resistance."

In addition to suggesting the terrorist attacks were provoked, Massad spoke highly of the terrorists' "success."

"Perhaps the major achievement of the resistance in the temporary takeover of these settler-colonies is the death blow to any confidence that Israeli colonists had in their military and its ability to protect them," continued the Columbia professor. "In the interest of safeguarding their lives and their children's future, the colonists' flight from these settlements may prove to be a permanent exodus. They may have finally realized that living on land stolen from another people will never make them safe."

At one stage in the article, Massad insinuated that the victims were "cruel colonizers" and stated, "The sight of the Palestinian resistance fighters storming Israeli checkpoints separating Gaza from Israel was astounding."

Whereas Massad described the terrorist attacks as "remarkable," "stunning," "striking," and "astounding," he referred to the Israeli response as "barbaric."

According to the university's directory of classes, Massad will teach a course on "the history of the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskala) in 19th century Europe and the development of Zionism through the current peace process between the state of Israel and the Arab states and the Palestinian national movement."

The listing further notes that the Hamas apologist will also provide "a historical overview of the Zionist-Palestinian conflict to familiarize undergraduates with the background of the current situation."

Nearly 50 students are already enrolled in the class, which is unsurprising granted the anti-Israel sentiment that abounds on campus.

Just last week, anti-Israel radicals marched around campus calling for a "free and liberated Palestine" and carrying banners that reportedly read, "Globalize the Intifada," and "Within Our Lifetime."

Blaze News previously reported that on the first anniversary of the Oct. 7 terrorist attacks, pro-Hamas protesters chanted, "Resistance is justified." One video of the demonstration showed protesters chanting, "One solution! Revolution!"

The university has apparently been reluctant to do anything meaningful to curb pro-terrorist sentiment on campus.

The House Committee on Education and the Workforce complained in August that the university had failed to expel any of the students responsible for the volatile demonstrations and encampment takeover in April, where Hamas-endorsed radicals illegally camped outside Columbia University for more than a week, destroying property, repeating genocidal rhetoric and demanding the institution divest from Israel.

'This would be akin to having a White Nationalist teach about the US Civil Rights movement.'

In the face of such unchecked extremism, one Jewish student tried to force Columbia's hand, filing a lawsuit accusing the university of allowing "a small group of fringe demonstrators to target Jewish students and faculty with harassment, hate speech, and violence for the sole reason that they are (or appear to be) Jewish." Columbia agreed to increase safety measures in June as part of a settlement.

The Israeli Embassy to the U.S. responded to the news of Massad's course, asking on X, "How many people has he already managed to indoctrinate?"

Amid backlash over the course, the university issued a statement Tuesday, denouncing his controversial comments but indicating he would teach the course anyway.

"Professor Massad's statements following the terrorist attack on October 7 created pain for many in our community and contributed to the deep controversy on our campus. We have consistently condemned any celebration or promotion of violence or terror," said the statement. "We remain committed to principles of free expression and the open exchange of viewpoints and perspectives through opportunities for constructive dialogue and understanding throughout our campus community, and we seek to provide a learning environment and classrooms that promote intellectual inquiry and analytical thinking along with civility, tolerance, and respect."

Columbia noted further that Massad's course is one of three that students can take next semester on the subject of Zionism and the history of Israel.

This did not sit well with Lawrence Rosenblatt, an adjunct professor of international and public affairs at Columbia, who submitted his resignation, reported the Jerusalem Post.

"I hereby resign my position as a member of the Columbia University faculty, effective immediately. I do so in response to learning (and seeing listed on the Columbia class registry) that a course on Zionism and the State of Israel will be taught this coming semester by Joseph A. Massad, who has advocated for the destruction of the State of Israel and celebrated the October 7 attacks," wrote Rosenblatt. "This would be akin to having a White Nationalist teach about the U.S. Civil Rights movement and the struggle for Black equality, or having a climate denier teach about the impact of global warming, or a misogynist teach about Feminism."

Rosenblatt, who was reportedly not scheduled to teach in the spring semester, noted that Massad is entitled to his opinions and has a right to express his opinion, but "Columbia has a responsibility to teach objectively and fairly."

"At best perhaps one could tolerate a class on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict co-taught from the many diverse Israeli and Palestinian perspectives, though not by someone who advocates for the eradication of a group of people. But that is not what is happening here," continued Rosenblatt. "Columbia has lost not only its moral compass, but its intellectual one."

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Amy Wax Threatens To Sue Penn for Race Discrimination, Breach of Contract

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Anti-Israel Radicals Throw Urine-Filled Mason Jars Through University of Michigan Regent's Window

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University of Michigan axes DEI statements after woke faculty begs for sustained race-obsessed programming



The University of Michigan announced Thursday that it was ending its use of DEI statements in faculty hiring.

This decision — recommended in late October by an eight-member faculty working group and inevitable in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's June 29, 2023, ruling in Students for Fair Admissions, Inc. v. Harvard/UNC banning race-based college admission — is sure to disappoint the multitudes of leftists who rallied on campus Monday in support of continued funding for DEI initiatives.

The working group noted in its final recommendations document that while DEI statements have been used at the university for several years, they should no longer be solicited as part of faculty hiring and consideration for promotion, citing feedback from nearly 2,000 faculty members and policies at peer institutions.

"Critics of diversity statements perceive them as expressions of personal identity traits, support of specific ideology or opinions on socially relevant issues, and serve as a 'litmus test' of whether a faculty member's views are politically acceptable," wrote the working group. "Thus, as currently enacted, diversity statements have the potential to limit viewpoints and reduce diversity of thought among faculty members."

While willing to give the DEI statements the boot in theory, the working group found a way to keep the "values of DEI" alive, recommending that applicants should incorporate DEI content into teaching, research, and service statements.

'Students were less likely to interact with people of a different race or religion or with different politics.'

The university did not enact this second recommendation.

"Diversity, equity, and inclusion are three of our core values at the university. Our collective efforts in this area have produced important strides in opening opportunities for all people," Laurie McCauley, the provost of the university, said in a statement Thursday. "As we pursue this challenging and complex work, we will continuously refine our approach."

"I'm grateful for this faculty committee, which spent months soliciting feedback from across campus, evaluating our methods and determining the best course forward," added McCauley.

Leftists on campus are evidently upset over the potential loss of the divisive and counterproductive tool for indoctrination and gatekeeping. After all, it has been a reliable cash cow that has kept numerous radicals employed.

The New York Times Magazine reported in October that the university had blown nearly $250 million on DEI since 2016. The result: an environment where internal polling reportedly indicated that "students were less likely to interact with people of a different race or religion or with different politics" and the creation of "a powerful conceptual framework for student and faculty grievances — and formidable bureaucratic mechanisms to pursue them."

'Some anti-oppressive DEI narratives can engender a hostile attribution bias and heighten racial suspicion, prejudicial attitudes, authoritarian policing, and support for punitive behaviors.'

A 2021 Heritage Foundation report indicated that Michigan had the largest DEI staff of any major public university on multiple measures, with hundreds of people formally tasked with providing DEI services.

The Times indicated that whereas other universities have seen theirs shrink, Michigan's DEI bureaucracy has actually grown in recent years such that the number of employees operating in DEI-related offices or with "diversity, "equity," or "inclusion" in their job titles at its Ann Arbor campus has actually ballooned by 71% since the school kicked off "D.E.I. 2.0" in 2023.

Those facing the potential loss of titles, jobs, and ideological dominance rallied on campus Monday to protest the possibility of a partial defunding of DEI initiatives at the university — something on which the board of regents is reportedly set to vote.

Pragya Choudhary, among the protesters who attended the rally, which was organized by the senate advisory committee on university affairs, said, "The principles of DEI have positively impacted every person here, and with improvement, DEI initiatives can do even more, but without DEI initiatives, we will all suffer," reported the Michigan Daily.

Su'ad Abdul Khabeer, an associate professor of American culture, said, "Unlike those who claim DEI here at the University of Michigan has done nothing, my critique is we haven't done enough."

Ali Mazrui, a SACUA member and African studies associate chair, suggested that by defunding the race-obsessed programs, the board was surrendering to the incoming Trump administration: "We in faculty government would prefer that the Regents saw themselves as representing us and the people of the state rather than bowing prematurely to a government that is likely to be hostile to DEI. … Acquiescing too early, too easily, without protest, is the way that totalitarian governments come to power."

"The Regents were interested in potentially doing away with the use of diversity statements for faculty hiring," Kevin Cokley, the psychology department's associate chair for diversity initiatives, told the Daily. "It is not a surprise to me that now there are some concerns about the potential dismantling of DEI initiatives at large."

Sarah Hubbard, on the board of regents, said, "The national conversation has highlighted the need to be sure there are results and that all people are being represented under these DEI programs."

A study published last week by the Network Contagion Research Institute and Rutgers University conclude that "while purporting to combat bias, some anti-oppressive DEI narratives can engender a hostile attribution bias and heighten racial suspicion, prejudicial attitudes, authoritarian policing, and support for punitive behaviors in the absence of evidence for a transgression deserving punishment."

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