Joseph Massad is not just a tenured professor at Columbia University, he is a symbol of how deeply embedded pro-terror ideologies have become in elite academia. For years, Massad has used his position to openly support Hamas, glorify terrorism, spread antisemitic narratives, and revise Jewish history. What’s most alarming is the credibility and platform Columbia continues to grant him—despite decades of controversy, formal investigations, and public outcry.
His Role at Columbia University
As a long-time power broker within Columbia University’s Middle East Institute, Joseph Massad has used the protection of tenure and the authority of the classroom to advance extremist narratives cloaked as academic inquiry. His teaching and public commentary repeatedly blur the line between scholarship and political indoctrination, reframing violence as “resistance” and casting the existence of Israel as inherently illegitimate. Course materials, lectures, and media appearances are not used to interrogate ideas but to normalize them.
Massad is not operating on the margins of campus life. He is deeply entrenched in Columbia’s academic ecosystem and plays an active role in pro-Palestinian events, rallies, and panels sponsored or tolerated by the university. Rather than offering rigorous or balanced analysis, his rhetoric escalates tensions and advances a singular ideological worldview that excuses terrorism and vilifies Jews. The outcome is a classroom environment that many students experience as coercive and hostile, particularly Jewish students who are forced to learn under a professor who openly legitimizes violence and traffics in demonization under the guise of education.
Pro-Hamas Stance and Support for Terrorism
Massad’s allegiance to Hamas is unambiguous. He has repeatedly rejected Hamas’ designation as a terrorist organization, instead portraying the group as a heroic resistance movement. In doing so, he has dismissed the horrific acts of terrorism perpetrated by Hamas, including mass murder, rape, and kidnapping, as legitimate political action.
- October 2023 – Just 1 day after the October 7 massacre that saw Hamas terrorists slaughter more than 1,200 Israelis, massacre civilians in their homes and at a music festival, commit sexual violence, and kidnap hundreds of men, women, and children, Massad was published in an online radical outlet, “The Electronic Intifada”:
These statements discard the principles of academic inquiry and replace them with ideological advocacy. They function to sanitize terrorism, reframe mass violence as moral resistance, and push audiences toward rejection of dialogue, coexistence, and any peaceful resolution of the conflict.
Antisemitism and Holocaust Revisionism
Massad has built much of his academic reputation on the revision and distortion of Jewish history. His writings and lectures frequently advance antisemitic tropes, including the denial of Jewish identity, the erasure of Jewish suffering, and the accusation that Jews themselves are responsible for antisemitism.
- In his 2013 article The Last of the Semites, Massad accused Zionists of collaborating with Nazis and suggested that Israel’s founding was based on exploiting Holocaust trauma. He described Zionism as a continuation of “Nazi policies”—a grotesque and deeply offensive comparison.
- He has denied the Jewish connection to Israel, claiming Jews are merely “European converts,” and has called Zionism a “Christian colonial enterprise.”
- He has even gone so far as to argue that Palestinians are the real Semites, a claim that erases Jewish identity and rewrites history to serve a political narrative.
These are not isolated incidents—they are central to his academic work, forming the basis for his denial of Israel’s legitimacy and his justification of its destruction.
Denial of Jewish History
Massad’s worldview hinges on the false premise that Israel has no historical legitimacy. He routinely denies the long-standing Jewish connection to the land of Israel and dismisses Jewish indigeneity as colonial myth.
- January 2024 – In a Columbia lecture, he stated:
“Zionism is not a national liberation movement; it is an imperialist, settler-colonial project that has nothing to do with the real history of the Jewish people.”
- February 2024 – At a university panel:
“The Israeli state was founded on lies and historical fabrications… It is an apartheid state that exists through the displacement and violence against Palestinians.”
By framing Israel as a fraudulent creation, Massad provides the intellectual justification for Hamas’ goal of its eradication.
Professional Controversies and Campus Impact
Massad’s controversial behavior is not new. He has been the subject of major investigations and complaints throughout his academic career.
- 2004 Columbia Investigation – Massad was investigated for allegedly intimidating Jewish students in his classroom and silencing dissent. Students reported verbal abuse and open hostility toward pro-Israel perspectives.
- Second Intifada Rally – Massad once cancelled class to lead an anti-Israel rally, where he referred to Israel as a “racist state” and called for its dismantlement.
- He has regularly used extremist platforms like Electronic Intifada to push inflammatory rhetoric that vilifies Jewish identity, history, and the State of Israel.
The damage Massad inflicts extends beyond the classroom. His rhetoric poisons the educational environment and promotes a culture of fear, ideological conformity, and open antisemitism.
Joseph Massad is not just an academic with radical views—he is a danger to students, to Jewish safety on campus, and to the values of higher education. His unapologetic support for Hamas, glorification of terrorism, distortion of Jewish history, and encouragement of ideological extremism are incompatible with the responsibilities of a professor at any institution—let alone one of the nation’s top universities.