Hamid Dabashi, an Iran native and Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature has spent years turning his academic post at Columbia University into a megaphone for pro-Hamas propaganda, antisemitic conspiracy theories, and the demonization of Jews. Far from serving as a neutral educator, Dabashi has repeatedly endorsed terror-aligned movements, equated the Jewish state with ISIS and Nazi Germany, and spread hate-driven rhetoric that contributes to a toxic campus climate.
His long record of public statements, classroom influence, and institutional affiliations marks him as a central figure in the intellectual radicalization happening at Columbia.
Endorsing Hamas and Extremist Activism
Dabashi has publicly supported Hamas-aligned activism, often praising violent uprisings against Israel. In April 2024, during Israel’s defensive war against Hamas, Dabashi joined Columbia’s pro-Hamas encampment and participated in the faculty walkout supporting students who were arrested for criminal actions on campus.
Despite the encampment’s violent rhetoric and antisemitic slogans, Dabashi stood in solidarity with protestors demanding Columbia “Disclose, Divest” and end disciplinary action against those involved in hate-fueled disruptions.
His past rhetoric makes this alignment unsurprising. In reference to the 2018 Gaza border riots, which were orchestrated by Hamas and resulted in deaths and injuries, Dabashi described the events as a “bold act of nonviolent revolutionary mobilization,” claiming they “schooled Gandhi” and “sent Martin Luther King back to school.”
Promotion of Antisemitic Conspiracy Theories
Dabashi’s academic and public commentary are steeped in antisemitic tropes and conspiracies. Over the years, he has claimed:
- That “Zionist cabals” and “Zionist bosses” control U.S. politics
- That American Jews operate as a “Fifth Column of a foreign country”
- That “rich and powerful Zionists” have “infiltrated all the corridors of power”
In a 2008 article, he attacked President Obama’s support for Israel, writing:
“Obama began his speech in front of AIPAC by falling right into the oldest trap that the American Zionist cabal has in its bag of tricks.”
In 2016, he posted that Hillary Clinton might as well “pick up Benjamin Netanyahu as her VP,” mocking American policy as mere obedience to “Zionist” control.
Such language is not abstract or academic—it directly echoes antisemitic conspiracy theories that have fueled hate movements for generations.
Comparing Israel to ISIS and Nazi Germany
Dabashi has equated the State of Israel with some of the most violent regimes in history. In various writings and posts, he has described Israel as:
- “The most well-funded terrorist organization on planet Earth”
- Morally equivalent to ISIS: “What’s the difference between ISIS and ISRAEL?”
- A Nazi-like regime: likening Gaza to Auschwitz, and Zionist militarism to Nazi barbarism
In a 2014 post, he compared the Warsaw Ghetto uprising to Palestinian resistance, suggesting that Israeli Jews were now the perpetrators of genocidal violence once inflicted upon them.
This calculated moral inversion—comparing Holocaust victims to their murderers—strips his statements of legitimacy and reveals their antisemitic core.
Demonization of Jews
Dabashi has repeatedly demonized Israelis and Jews as a people and Jewish identity as inherently corrupt:
- Referred to Israeli citizens as “delusional fanatics”
- Described the Israeli flag and name as “synonymous with mass murderers”
- Claimed that Israeli culture suffers from a “bone-deep vulgarity of character”
In an op-ed for Al-Ahram, he accused the entire Israeli national identity of being spiritually rotten, stating that this vulgarity is “structural to the skeletal vertebrae of its culture.”
These statements move well beyond political criticism—they are pure racialized hate speech under the mask of scholarship.
Institutional Ties to Antisemitic Movements
Dabashi has formal affiliations with extremist groups that operate under the guise of activism:
- He serves on the advisory board of USACBI, the U.S. arm of the Palestinian BDS National Committee, which advocates for academic boycotts of Israel and delegitimizes its right to exist.
- He has supported Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP), both of which have been condemned nationally for antisemitic actions on campus.
- He helped launch Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), a coalition that targets Israel’s existence through economic and cultural warfare.
These affiliations confirm that Dabashi is not simply an observer of student movements—he is an architect and amplifier of their radical agenda.
Implications for Columbia University
As a tenured professor, Hamid Dabashi wields enormous influence over the academic culture and intellectual framing of Middle East politics at Columbia. His glorification of violence, propagation of antisemitic narratives, and collaboration with terror-aligned groups directly undermines the university’s mission of intellectual rigor, diversity, and safety.
Jewish students cannot feel safe in an environment where a professor promotes the ideology of their would-be murderers. And no university should tolerate faculty who use their scholarship to legitimize hate and terrorism.
Hamid Dabashi represents the worst of what happens when academia is weaponized to spread hate. His long record of antisemitic statements, his support for Hamas-linked activism, and his demonization of Jews disqualify him from any role in higher education—let alone at one of the world’s leading universities.
Columbia must decide whether it will continue to shelter those who glorify terror and incite division—or take action to uphold the values it claims to represent.