Marie Adele Grosso

Marie Adele Grosso’s Arrests at the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia University (Columbia)

Marie Adele Grosso has justified Hamas terrorism, celebrated intifada and spread hatred of Israel and the police. Grosso was arrested twice at the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia in April 2024.

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

Grosso’s activism and social media posts took place during Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists. Israel launched the war, called called “Swords of Iron,” after a series of Hamas terror attacks and war crimes against Israeli civilians, including mass murder, torture, rape, beheadings and kidnappings. The atrocities were executed on October 7, 2023, and left approximately 1,200 Israelis dead, hundreds kidnapped and thousands wounded.

As of May 2024, Grosso’s LinkedIn profile said she was studying for a bachelor’s degree in sociology and human rights at Barnard College (Barnard). Her Instagram bio said she was slated to graduate in 2026. Barnard is part of Columbia, which is located in New York, New York.

As of the same date, Grosso’s LinkedIn said she had been an intern at Pax Christi International since August 2022.

Grosso, who also goes by Marie Adele Gasteyer Grosso, is the daughter of anti-Israel professor Catherine M. Grosso. As of May 2024, Grosso was listed as a professor of law at Michigan State University (MSU). She spent [p. 1] the 2015-2016 academic year as a visiting professor at Birzeit University, which is near Ramallah.

Birzeit University’s student body has celebrated terrorists since at least 2003. That year, student government elections featured models of exploding Israeli buses, as parties competed on the basis of which Palestinian faction had killed the most Israelis.

As of May 2024, Grosso’s LinkedIn said she was located in New York, New York.

Justifying Hamas Terrorism

On October 9, 2023, Grosso posted on TikTok a video in which she referred to Hamas’s October 7, 2023 attack on Israeli citizens. She said [00:01:50]: “Bombing civilians is never okay, but Hamas’s attack was not unprompted.”

On Saturday, October 7, 2023, approximately 2,900 heavily armed Hamas terrorists breached Israel’s border with Gaza. They executed numerous war crimes on civilians, including mass murder, beheadings of children, rape of men and women, torture, kidnappings and mutilation.

Hamas broadcast videos of their butchery on social media, often to victims’ accounts for families to see. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.” As of November 10, 2023, approximately 1,200 Israelis, the vast majority of them civilians, were murdered during the attacks. Hamas kidnapped 242 Israelis, including at least 30 children. At least 3,500 people were wounded, many severely.

A terrorist detained by Israel admitted he raped an Israeli woman when he broke into a kibbutz house during the October 7, 2023 attack. In March 2024, a former hostage of Hamas publicly stated she was sexually abused and tortured while in captivity.

For more information on the October 7, 2023 terror attacks, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.

Celebrating Intifada

`On December 8, 2023, Grosso posted on TikTok a video titled: “An Intifada is NOT antisemitism.”

The term “intifada,” which translates from Arabic as “uprising” or “insurrection,” carries the connotation of violence. Palestinian intifadas waged against Israel have been marked since 1987 by hundreds of hijackings, shootings, stabbings, bombings and suicide missions.

In the video, Grosso said [00:00:17] that Intifada can mean “an uprising against Israeli occupation,” while “global Intifada would be a global uprising against the State of Israel.”

Grosso further spoke [00:00:34] about the two intifadas launched against Israel, saying: “Both started by systemic Israeli violence and Israeli oppression.”

The first intifada (1987-1991) saw Palestinian gunmen hijack multiple buses, as well as perpetrate shooting, stabbing and bombing attacks against Israelis. The second intifada (2000-2005) was characterized by more than 120 suicide bombings against Israeli civilians on buses and in cafes. The “Knife Intifada” in late 2015 was characterized by Palestinian youth stabbing Israeli civilians.

On December 27, 2023, Grosso posted on TikTok: “...#freepalestine

…#gaza #intifada…”

Grosso’s post included a video that showed an anti-Israel activist holding a Palestinian flag with Jerusalem’s Western Wall in the background. The video was captioned: “Loved ones in Palestine surviving and resisting genocide.”

Anti-Israel activists use the term “resistance” to refer to violence and terror perpetrated against Israeli civilians and their allies. It is used to glorify and encourage anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence. Anti-Israel activists chant slogans such as: “Resistance by any means necessary!” and “Resistance is justified when people are occupied!” in response to terror attacks.

The Western Wall refers to a part of the retaining wall of the complex that housed the Second Jewish Temple approximately 2000 years ago in Jerusalem.

Hatred of Israel

In a May 2, 2024 interview with “Leading Britain’s Conversation” host Ben Kentish, Grosso refused [00:00:08] multiple times [00:00:25] to answer the question: “Do you think Israel has a right to exist?”

In the interview, Grosso said [00:00:04]: “I, well, think Palestinians have a right to return.”

The “right of return” is a Palestinian demand discredited as a means to eliminate Israel. International law mandates no absolute right of return and UN Resolution 194, which defined principles for “refugees wishing to return to their homes,” was unanimously rejected by Arab nations following the 1948 Arab-Israeli War.

When asked [00:00:08] by the host if she believed Israel had a right to exist, Grosso responded: “I believe Palestinians have a right to equal rights. I believe Palestinians have a right to return to their homelands. Since 75 years ago, Palestinians have been systematically forced out of their homes.”

The modern State of Israel was founded 76 years earlier, in 1948.

When asked [00:00:25] the same question again, Grosso answered [00:00:45]: “There’s a difference between believing that Jewish individuals should be in, or have a right to be in, Palestine, and believing that Israel as a country should be allowed to continue what they’re doing. And I believe that the land is Palestine.”

On November 22, 2023, Grosso posted on TikTok a video in which she said [00:00:04]: “The government of Israel is an oppressive regime. It is an apartheid state. It is committing genocide. They have restricted freedom of movement, restricted access to water and sanitation, restricted access to food, falsely imprisoned people including children for 75 years.”

Grosso also said [00:00:32]: “It’s more about believing an oppressive regime should end and not believing that one side or the other should have more deaths. It’s about freeing people from this oppressive awful power that they’ve been forced to live under for generations.”

Hatred of the Police

On May 11, 2024, Grosso posted on TikTok: “...NYPD should be disbanded #freepalestine…#gaza…#intifada #protest #nypd #columbia #acab.”

"ACAB” is an acronym that stands for “All cops are bastards.” It is sometimes rendered as “1312,” representing the position of the letters in the English alphabet.

Arrested Twice at the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia

On April 19, 2024, Grosso was featured [04:12:12] in a YouTube video participating in the encampment. She can be seen in the video wearing a keffiyeh.

Grosso was arrested twice at the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia in April 2024. NPR reported that she was arrested the first time “at the Columbia encampment that police dismantled on April 18 [and] again outside Hamilton Hall on April 30.”

On April 30, 2024, participants in Columbia’s second pro-Hamas encampment forced their way into the university’s Hamilton Hall, barricading themselves in the building and taking three Columbia custodians hostage. Protesters also vandalized [00:00:55] and destroyed university property inside the hall. A police raid on Hamilton found knives, gas masks, ropes and literature that read: “...DESTROY zionist business interests everywhere!...DEATH TO AMERICA!...”

On April 18, 2023, Grosso was reportedly arrested by the New York City Police Department (NYPD) for trespassing while participating in the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia.

On April 19, 2024, Grosso posted on TikTok a video titled: “Grwm [get ready with me] to go back to protest after my school had me arrested!” In the post, Grosso wrote: “I got suspended later lol #freepalestine…”

Also on April 19, 2024, Time Magazine reported that Grosso was back on the Columbia campus to continue protesting despite being suspended from the university. The article also said Grosso was “banned from campus housing” and she “cannot use her meal plan.”

On May 1, 2024, Grosso posted on TikTok a video, in which she said [00:00:01] she was “arrested for the second time” by the NYPD. She was referring to her arrest on April 30, 2023, for which she was also charged with trespassing. The university reportedly suspended her again following the second arrest at the encampment.

On May 1, 2024, Grosso posted on TikTok another video about her April 30, 2024 arrest.

On April 17, 2024, Columbia students and anti-Israel activists set up a pro-Hamas encampment on campus to protest Israel’s war against Hamas and promote BDS. The encampment was forcibly dismantled and approximately 80 Columbia students were arrested.

A new Columbia encampment was erected, during which participants forced their way into the university’s Hamilton Hall, vandalizing [00:00:55] and destroying university property. They barricaded themselves in the building, taking three Columbia custodians hostage. An NYPD raid on the building found knives, gas masks, ropes and literature that read: “...DESTROY zionist business interests everywhere!...DEATH TO AMERICA!...”