Joseph Massad
Joseph Mossad’s Support for the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia University (Columbia), Celebration of Hamas Terrorism & Spreading Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories
Joseph Massad has celebrated Hamas terrorism in the wake of the group’s terror atrocities and war crimes against Israeli civilians. Massad also showed support for the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia in May 2024.Massad’s activism 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.
Massad has expressed support for terrorism, spread anti-Semitic conspiracy theories, compared Israel to Nazi Germany and promoted hatred of Israel and America.
In 2004, Massad was the subject of an anti-Semitism investigation at Columbia.
Massad is a supporter [00:45:50] of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
In a June 2019 interview, Massad expressed [00:02:55] support for the anti-Israel campus group Jewish Voice For Peace (JVP) for being “critical of Israeli racism inside Israel.”
In 2015, Massad participated [00:00:55] in a lecture organized by Cornell University (Cornell)’s chapter of the anti-Israel campus group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP).
Massad is a contributor to the anti-Israel news site Middle East Eye (MEE)and the Electronic Intifada (EI), as well as the Qatari-owned site Al Jazeera English (AJ English).
As of March 2024, Massad was listed as a professor of modern Arab politics and intellectual history in the Department of Middle Eastern, South Asian and African Studies (MESAAS) at Columbia.
Columbia is located in New York, New York.
Celebrating Hamas Terrorism
On October 8, 2023, a day after Hamas attacked Israel, Massad wrote an article for the EI titled: “Just another battle or the Palestinian war of liberation?”On October 7, 2023, Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 Israelis, kidnapped hundreds and wounded thousands. War crimes included mass rape and torture. Israel retaliated with a war called “Swords of Iron.” For more information, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
In the article, Massad wrote, referring to the Hamas terrorists who had infiltrated Israel by paragliding: “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…Indeed as stunning videos show, these paragliders have become the air force of the Palestinian resistance.”
Massad then wrote, defending Hamas’ war crimes after the group took over Israeli cities while intentionally killing civilians and taking hostages: “No less astonishing was the Palestinian resistance’s takeover of several Israeli settler-colonies near the Gaza boundary and even as far away as 22 kms, as in the case of Ofakim.”
Massad continued by claiming that “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.”
Massad then celebrated the fact that Israelis, referred to by him as “colonialists,” had to flee “through the desert on foot to escape the rockets and gunfire.”
Massad wrote, referring to this escape: “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.”
Massad also wrote, referring to Hamas terrorists’ invasion of Israel: “The sight of the Palestinian resistance fighters storming Israeli checkpoints separating Gaza from Israel was astounding, not only to the Israelis but especially to the Palestinian and Arab peoples who came out across the region to march in support of the Palestinians in their battle against their cruel colonizers.”
Still on the Hamas’ attack, Massad defended that “no less awesome were the scenes witnessed by millions of jubilant Arabs who spent the day watching the news, of Palestinian fighters from Gaza breaking through Israel’s prison fence or gliding over it by air.”
Massad then claimed the Hamas attack was “the resistance’s remarkable takeover of Israeli military bases and checkpoints.” He also wrote that “no less striking was the capture of some of Israel’s colonial soldiers and officers in their underwear while sleeping.”
Massad concluded his article by writing that the Hamas attack was a “stunning victory of the Palestinian resistance over the Israeli military.”
Support for Terrorism
On November 8, 2019, Massad gave the keynote address at The Jerusalem Fund’s 2019 annual conference, where he condemned then-U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Deal of the Century” as well as the Oslo Peace Accords.On January 28, 2020, U.S. President Donald Trump proposed a peace plan, referred to as the “Deal of the Century,” to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The proposed deal included land concessions by both sides of the conflict.
At the conference, Massad criticized [00:41:10] the Palestinian Authority (PA) for “continuously preventing the majority of Palestinian resistance action against [Israeli] occupation army.”
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.
Massad also said [00:45:02]: “The Oslo Accords inaugurated this process of liquidating the Palestinian national struggle while the Deal of the Century plans and hopes to conclude it. The only thing standing in its way is the ongoing Palestinian resistance to Israeli settler colonialism and racism that continues inside Israel in Jerusalem, the West Bank, and Gaza.”
Massad continued and said [00:45:26]: “The ongoing ‘Marches of Return’ in Gaza and the armed resistance of the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam to Israeli invasions in Gaza...have all come together alongside the Palestinian-led global BDS movement to block the Palestinian misleadership embodied in the Palestinian Authority and its Israeli and American sponsors.”
Throughout 2018, Hamas organized and funded the “March of Return” riots where tens of thousands of Palestinians approached the Israel-Gaza border, attempting to breach Israel’s security fence. They sent explosive devices into Israel, shot firearms and threw projectiles at Israeli soldiers, necessitating the use of live fire in response.
One Hamas leader declared [00:00:30]: “We will take down the border and we will tear out their hearts from their bodies.” The riots intended to highlight the “right of return,” a Palestinian demand long discredited as a way to destroy Israel.
The Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades is the military wing of Hamas.
Spreading Anti-Semitic Conspiracy Theories
On May 21, 2013,AJ English published an opinion article written by Massad titled: “The Last of the Semites.”In the article, Massad wrote: “Zionism’s anti-Semitic programme of assimilating Jews into whiteness in a colonial settler state away from Europe, were a direct continuation of anti-Semitic policies prevalent before the [Second World] War.”
Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their own national home, and the right to develop their national culture. Zionism is a core part of the identity of most Jews.
On December 24, 2012, Massad wrote an opinion article for AJ English titled: “Zionism, anti-Semitism and colonialism.”
In the article, Massad wrote: "When the Nazis took over power in Germany, the Zionists, sharing Herzl’s understanding that anti-Semitism is the ally of Zionism, were the only Jewish group who would collaborate with them."
Theodor Herzl was the founder of the modern political Zionist movement. His 1896 book, “The Jewish State” envisioned the founding of an independent Jewish state within the next century. The First Zionist Congress was held in 1897. Herzl’s vision culminated in the birth of the State of Israel in 1948.
On December 11, 2004, Massad wrote an editorial for the MIFTAH website titled: “Semites and anti-Semites, that is the question.”
MIFTAH is an Israel-based non-governmental organization that has spread anti-Semitism, defended terrorism, and extensively demonized Israel. MIFTAH also supports BDS.
In the article, Massad wrote: "When the Nazis took over power in Germany, the Zionists, sharing Herzl’s understanding that anti-Semitism is the ally of Zionism, were the only Jewish group who would collaborate with them."
Theodor Herzl was the founder of the modern political Zionist movement. His 1896 book, “The Jewish State” envisioned the founding of an independent Jewish state within the next century. The First Zionist Congress was held in 1897. Herzl’s vision culminated in the birth of the State of Israel in 1948.
On December 11, 2004, Massad wrote an editorial for the MIFTAH website titled: “Semites and anti-Semites, that is the question.”
MIFTAH is an Israel-based non-governmental organization that has spread anti-Semitism, defended terrorism, and extensively demonized Israel. MIFTAH also supports BDS.
In the editorial, Massad claimed that Zionism abducted “the holocaust to justify Israel’s colonial and racist policies.”
Anti-Israel activists compare Israel to Nazi Germany to insinuate that the plight of Palestinians has eclipsed Jewish suffering during the Holocaust.
In the article, Massad criticized Western and Arab governments' condemnation of Palestinian terrorist groups for “accepting military and financial help from the Iranian government.”
Mossad then wrote: “This would be like demanding that the Europeans resisting the Nazi occupation during World War II refuse military and financial help from the white supremacist and apartheid United States, not to mention the racist colonizing regimes of France and Britain.”
On January 4, 2009, during Operation Cast Lead (OCL), Massad wrote an editorial for the EI titled: “The Gaza Ghetto Uprising.”
In the editorial, Massad compared Israel to Nazis and Hamas attacks on Israel to the Warsaw ghetto uprising.
Massad wrote in the article: “The crushing of the Gaza Ghetto Uprising and the slaughter of its defenseless population will be relatively an easy task for the giant Israeli military machine and Israel’s sadistic political leadership.”
Anti-Israel activists compare Israel to Nazi Germany to insinuate that the plight of Palestinians has eclipsed Jewish suffering during the Holocaust.
Comparing Israel to Nazi Germany
On October 8, 2023, Massad wrote an article for the EI titled: “Just another battle or the Palestinian war of liberation?”In the article, Massad criticized Western and Arab governments' condemnation of Palestinian terrorist groups for “accepting military and financial help from the Iranian government.”
Mossad then wrote: “This would be like demanding that the Europeans resisting the Nazi occupation during World War II refuse military and financial help from the white supremacist and apartheid United States, not to mention the racist colonizing regimes of France and Britain.”
The International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) highlights as one possible contemporary example of anti-Semitism: “Drawing comparisons of contemporary Israeli policy to that of the Nazis.” The U.S. State Department adopted the IHRA’s working definition of anti-Semitism in 2016. Over 40 countries have adopted the definition as well.
On January 4, 2009, during Operation Cast Lead (OCL), Massad wrote an editorial for the EI titled: “The Gaza Ghetto Uprising.”
In the editorial, Massad compared Israel to Nazis and Hamas attacks on Israel to the Warsaw ghetto uprising.
Massad wrote in the article: “The crushing of the Gaza Ghetto Uprising and the slaughter of its defenseless population will be relatively an easy task for the giant Israeli military machine and Israel’s sadistic political leadership.”
Israel commenced Operation Cast Lead (OCL) in 2008-09 in order to stop Hamas rocket fire from Gaza targeting Israeli civilians. In 2010, Hamas admitted that nearly 700 of the Palestinian casualties in OCL were combatants.
Hatred of Israel
On January 27, 2020, during an interview for Russia Today (RT), Massad claimed [00:00:53] that Israel used the Holocaust to whitewash [00:03:26] “its crimes.”
On December 19, 2019, Massad wrote an editorial published in MEE that Israel’s seeking “non-aggression” agreements with Gulf Arab countries as a prelude to possible future peace deals was part of a strategy by Israel to seek “regional dominance through overwhelming military superiority over its neighbors.”
Massad also wrote that Israel was “the main regional aggressor in the entire Middle East.”
On December 4, 2019, Massad wrote an editorial published in the ME titled: Palestinian RIght of Return; The legal key to undoing the Zionist Conquest.”
In the article, Massad wrote that “the Zionist colonisation of Palestine...was based on racial supremacy.”
On December 19, 2019, Massad wrote an editorial published in MEE that Israel’s seeking “non-aggression” agreements with Gulf Arab countries as a prelude to possible future peace deals was part of a strategy by Israel to seek “regional dominance through overwhelming military superiority over its neighbors.”
Massad also wrote that Israel was “the main regional aggressor in the entire Middle East.”
On December 4, 2019, Massad wrote an editorial published in the ME titled: Palestinian RIght of Return; The legal key to undoing the Zionist Conquest.”
In the article, Massad wrote that “the Zionist colonisation of Palestine...was based on racial supremacy.”
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.
In a March 2002 lecture at Oxford University, Massad reportedly said: “The Jews are not a nation…The Jewish state is a racist state that does not have a right to exist.”
Massad continued and said [00:00:50]: “There is also an ideological investment in European settler colonialism, which calls for European ethnicity and cultural racial superiority.”
Massad concluded the interview by saying [00:01:08]: “...Historically, the U.S. was - and still is – a settler colony, that sanctifies white supremacy over the rest of the people. Therefore, there is a kind of fusion between the U.S. and Israel. Israel reminds it of how things were in the United States in the past."
Hatred of America
In a January 21, 2024 interview for Al-Jazeera, Massad said: “I do not see much difference between the American role in Israel's wars, and its support of Israel and its racist regime, which calls for the supremacy of the Jewish race, and its support in the past for the South African regime, the Rhodesian regime, or even the oppressive and racist regimes that ruled the Portuguese colonies...”Massad continued and said [00:00:50]: “There is also an ideological investment in European settler colonialism, which calls for European ethnicity and cultural racial superiority.”
Massad concluded the interview by saying [00:01:08]: “...Historically, the U.S. was - and still is – a settler colony, that sanctifies white supremacy over the rest of the people. Therefore, there is a kind of fusion between the U.S. and Israel. Israel reminds it of how things were in the United States in the past."
Investigated for Anti-Semitism
In October 2004, The David Project group released “Columbia Unbecoming,” a film in which Columbia students described academic abuse and intimidation they claimed they had faced at the hands of Massad, George Saliba and Hamid Dabashi.
During a 2002 lecture, Massad reportedly asked a Jewish student who had served in the Israeli army: “How many Palestinians have you killed?” after the student had asked Massad an unrelated question.
Another student claimed that Massad screamed at her and ordered her to leave his classroom after she told Massad that Israel provides civilians with advanced warnings before attacks.
Another student also said that Massad’s “favorite description is the Palestinians as the new Jew, and the Jew as the new Nazi” and that he called "the Zionists are the new Nazis.”
In March 2005, a Columbia ad-hoc faculty committee was created to investigate the accusations against Massad. The committee reportedly admitted to the lack of grievance procedures available for addressing student concerns but stated that they did not find “evidence of any statements made by the faculty that could reasonably be construed as anti-Semitic.”
The committee was reportedly composed of five professors, three of whom were accused of being “predisposed” to Massad. One of the committee members was Massad’s dissertation advisor at Columbia, while two others were BDS supporters.
Support for the Pro-Hamas Encampment at Columbia
On May 9, 2024, The Middle East Eye published an article by Massad in support of the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia, titled: “Student protests upend hegemony on Israel and Palestine forever.”In the article, Massad wrote: “As a principal bastion for the maintenance of the ruling elite ideology, Columbia University is essential for the maintenance of ideological stability. The fear is that when its own students and faculty veer off the liberal script, this will lead to a domino effect on the rest of the university system across the US, or even travel to other liberal systems, as the recent university encampments inspired others across Western Europe, Canada and Australia.”
Massad further stated: “Indeed, student and faculty agitation against the ongoing Israeli genocide has spread to dozens of universities, including New York University, Yale, Cornell, Harvard, Princeton, MIT, Emory University, the University of Texas at Austin, the University of California at Berkeley, and the University of Southern California, to name but a few examples of where recent massive repression or the threat thereof has been deployed.”
On April 17, 2024, Columbia students and anti-Israel activists set up a pro-Hamas “Gaza Solidarity Encampment” on the university's main lawn. Many participants were arrested and the encampment featured multiple violent incidents, including taking over a campus building and taking a university worker hostage.
Activists protested Israel’s war against Hamas and demanded that Columbia “divest from companies and institutions that profit from Israeli apartheid, genocide and occupation…”
The action had reportedly been planned for months and was organized by the Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD) coalition. The encampment was also organized by Columbia’s banned pro-Hamas activist group Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the university chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP). Activists reportedly received training from National SJP and other anti-Israel organizations.
The encampment was also in support of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
AJ English has come under scrutiny by the U.S. State Department for Qatari “editorial and programmatic control” of AJ English, as Qatar is also the principal financial backer of the terror groups Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
AJ English has a significant social media following and has used its platforms to spread anti-Semitism, whitewash terrorists and promote anti-Israel propaganda.
AJ English is geared to a Western audience and has been careful to distance itself from controversy involving AJ’s Arabic news channels. When caught minimizing the murder of Jewish Israelis or publishing falsehoods that demonize Israel, AJ English has usually been quick to retract its statements.
BDS
The Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement was founded by Omar Barghouti in 2005 to challenge “international support for Israeli apartheid and settler-colonialism.” BDS is an allegedly “Palestinian-led movement,” although leading BDS activists have admitted [00:01:01] this is not true.
One of the demands of BDS includes [point 3] what is generally known as the “right of return,” a demand discredited as a way to eliminate Israel. Barghouti said the “right of return” is a means to “end Israel’s existence as a Jewish state.”
Barghouti has said that BDS “aims to turn Israel into a pariah state, as South Africa once was.”
In his activism, Barghouti has also said [00:05:55] regarding Israel: “Definitely, most definitely, we oppose a Jewish state in any part of Palestine. No…rational Palestinian, not a sellout Palestinian, will ever accept a Jewish state in Palestine.”
The movement has been linked to numerous terrorist organizations and received a public endorsement from Hamas in 2017.
BDS initiatives include calling on institutions and individuals to divest from Israeli-affiliated companies, promoting academic and cultural boycotts of Israel, and organizing anti-Israel rallies, protests and campaigns.
The movement’s most notable achievement has been the infiltration of university campuses through lobbying for “BDS resolutions.” In these cases, student governments and student groups, backed by their own anti-Israel members and affiliates, have proposed resolutions on some form of boycott of, or divestment from, Israel and Israeli-affiliated entities.
Boycott resolutions, although non-binding, have been passed by student governments on numerous North American campuses.
BDS activity is often aggressive and disruptive. It has been noted that universities that pass BDS resolutions see a marked increase in anti-Semitic incidents on campus. On one campus, when the student government debated a BDS resolution, reports emerged of violent threats against those opposing it.
Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English (AJ English) is a Qatari-owned news channel, part of the Al Jazeera Media Network (Al Jazeera), headquartered in Doha, Qatar. Al Jazeera and AJ English are owned by the Qatari government and are financed by Sheikh Hamad bin Thamer Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.AJ English has come under scrutiny by the U.S. State Department for Qatari “editorial and programmatic control” of AJ English, as Qatar is also the principal financial backer of the terror groups Hamas and the Muslim Brotherhood.
AJ English has a significant social media following and has used its platforms to spread anti-Semitism, whitewash terrorists and promote anti-Israel propaganda.
AJ English is geared to a Western audience and has been careful to distance itself from controversy involving AJ’s Arabic news channels. When caught minimizing the murder of Jewish Israelis or publishing falsehoods that demonize Israel, AJ English has usually been quick to retract its statements.
Social Media and Weblinks
University Website:https://mesaas.columbia.edu/faculty-directory/joseph-massad/
- Status:
- Professor
- University:
- Columbia
- Organizations:
- Al Jazeera,
- BDS
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- Last Modified:
- 07/30/2025
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Infamous Quotes
“The sight of the Palestinian resistance fighters [Hamas terrorists] storming Israeli checkpoints separating Gaza from Israel was astounding.”
“No less striking was the [Hamas’s] capture of some of Israel’s colonial soldiers and officers in their underwear while sleeping.”
“They [Israelis] may have finally realized that living on land stolen from another people will never make them safe.”
“What can motorized paragliders [Hamas terrorists] do in the face of one of the most formidable militaries in the world [Israeli military]? Apparently much in the hands of an innovative Palestinian resistance…Indeed as stunning videos show, these paragliders have become the air force of the Palestinian resistance.”
“...Historically, the U.S. was - and still is – a settler colony, that sanctifies white supremacy over the rest of the people. Therefore, there is a kind of fusion between the U.S. and Israel. Israel reminds it of how things were in the United States in the past."
"When the Nazis took over power in Germany, the Zionists…were the only Jewish group who would collaborate with them."
