Columbia University is reportedly investigating two professors for making alleged antisemitic comments, as stated by the university’s president
Columbia University President Nemat Shafik confirmed during a campus antisemitism hearing that two professors are under investigation for discriminatory remarks. The professors in question are Arab politics professor Joseph Massad and law professor Katherine Franke. Massad faced criticism for referring to a Hamas terrorist attack on Israel as “awesome” in an article, sparking controversy. Columbia University President Nemat Shafik disclosed during a campus antisemitism hearing that two professors, Arab politics professor Joseph Massad and law professor Katherine Franke, are being investigated for making discriminatory remarks. Massad’s comment on a Hamas terrorist attack as “awesome” in an article has stirred significant controversy and drawn widespread criticism.
Columbia University president Nemat Shafik confirmed during a hearing Wednesday on campus antisemitism at her school that two professors are “under investigation for discriminatory remarks.”
Shafik was asked by multiple members of Congress about allegedly antisemitic remarks from several faculty members, and she confirmed during her testimony that Arab politics professor Joseph Massad and law professor Katherine Franke are under investigation by the school.
Massad, a tenured professor, had been mentioned by Democrats and Republicans alike in the House Education and Workforce Committee hearing titled “Columbia in Crisis: Columbia University’s Response to Antisemitism.” The professor referred to the Oct. 7 Hamas terrorist attack on Israel as “awesome,” “astonishing,” “astounding,” and a “resistance offensive” in an Oct. 8 Electronic Intifada article.
His article drew widespread criticism, and a petition for his removal was circulated by Columbia students that gained nearly 80,000 signatures. The bar for tenured professors to be fired is extremely high, due to the purpose of the tenure system as the a way to provide the strongest possible level of academic freedom for faculty without fear of repercussion.
However, when pressed by Rep. Elise Stafanik (R-NY) about Massad’s status as the chairman of the academic review committee, Shafik committed to removing him if he was not already removed — a status that remains unclear.
Franke is under fire for having said, “All Israeli students who served in the [Israel Defense Forces] are dangerous and shouldn’t be on campus.”
The law professor, who has been teaching at the school since 1999, recently wrote an op-ed in The Nation criticizing Columbia for threatening academic freedom, writing, “The university is under pressure to root out any students or faculty critical of Israel — and it’s already caved.”
Another professor targeted for criticism in the hearing was Dr. Mohamed Abdou, who was hired as a visiting scholar after the Oct. 7 attack after having posted on social media, “I’m with Hamas & Hezbollah & Islamic Jihad.”
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“I share with you your repugnance at those remarks,” Shafik said in response to a line of questioning from Stefanik about Abdou. “On my watch, faculty who make remarks that cross the line in terms of antisemitism, there will be consequences.”
Shafik confirmed that Abdou “has been not just terminated, but his files will show that he will never work at Columbia again,” although, she said, he will finish grading student papers before departing.
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