A petition to oust a controversial Columbia University professor with an ugly track record against Israel has already garnered more than 20,000 signatures — after he praised last week’s Hamas terror attacks as “awesome.”
Tenured politics and history teacher Joseph Massad — who was previously probed by the Ivy League school in Manhattan for alleged anti-Israel remarks in class — is under fire for “condoning and supporting terrorism,” according to a student who mounted the petition to have him booted.
Maya Platek, a 23-year-old junior and former student body president, rips Massad in the Change.org petition she started Friday, saying he “refuses to condemn Hamas … for its horrific actions,” instead callously showing support for the “recognized terrorist organization.”
The petition targets Massad over his screed on a site called “Electronic Intifada” that was posted one day after the brutal Hamas massacres in the Jewish nation — and in which he hails “the stunning victory of the Palestinian resistance” against “cruel colonizers.”
Massad — a professor of Columbia’s modern Arab politics and intellectual history departments who has been employed by Columbia since 1999 — gushed about the “astonishing,” “astounding,” “awesome” and “incredible” nature of the terror attacks against thousands of Israelis, 1,300 of whom were murdered and 3,000 more wounded.
“The sight of the Palestinian resistance fighters storming Israeli checkpoints separating Gaza from Israel was astounding,” wrote Massad — who once called Israel “a racist Jewish state” — while gleefully noting the “astonishing takeover” of “several Israeli settler-colonies.
“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,” the teacher added.
The prestigious school, which saw an Israeli student assaulted outside the campus library last week, has long been derided as a liberal hotbed of hate.
The group Alums for Campus Fairness just mobilized a truck — now a tool used to shame bad actors on college campuses — to also call out Columbia Dean Josef Sorrett for allegedly not condemning the attack on Israel.
The truck is emblazoned with the words, “DEAN SORETT: CONDEMN HAMAS TERRORISM NOW” alongside the gruesome image of what was an Israeli child’s room soaked in blood, juxtaposed with pro-Palestinian protesters in New York last week, one of whom is proudly displaying a swastika.
As for Massad, he is no stranger to censure. He survived a 2005 university investigation that “backed up some allegations that Massad expressed anti-Israel views in his classroom” and found “one instance of unacceptable behavior by a professor.”
He was granted tenure on his second try at the promotion four years after the probe.
The professor — whose bio says he has a ”particular interest in theories of identity and culture, including theories of nationalism, sexuality, race and religion” — has incited rage for his “Jew-baiting” history and ignited the furor of Columbia alums who denounced his tenure in 2009.
Platek seethed in her petition that “Massad’s decision to praise [last week’s] abhorrent attack encourages violence and misinformation in and outside of campus, particularly putting many Jewish and Israeli students on campus at risk.
“Moreover, many students have expressed that they feel unsafe in the presence of a professor who supports the horrific murders of civilians,” she said.
“Regardless of one’s stance on the conflict, supporting and praising one of the worst acts of terrorism in history is never acceptable,” the student wrote. “We call on Columbia University to hold Massad responsible for his comments and immediately remove him from the Columbia faculty.”
Journalist Bari Weiss, a Columbia alum who raised awareness about Massad’s disturbing pro-Palestinian leanings back in 2005, condemned the professor’s Hamas-sympathizing rant.
“Joseph Massad, the author of this piece, is a tenured professor @Columbia . I have been criticizing him since I was an undergrad and was accused of being a hysteric and worse for doing so,” Weiss wrote on X. “I was just listening to what he had to say. Read it for yourself.”
A former student who signed Platek’s petition added, “Fifteen years ago Massad was my professor at Columbia U.
“One day he abruptly cancelled class and instructed everyone to attend the on-campus pro-Palestinian rally. The administration later chastised him. Clearly nothing has changed with him.”
Platek told The Post that she launched the petition “because I heard concerns from a couple dozen Columbia students, read the article, and was shocked.
“I have seen a lot of support from the Columbia student body, alumni, and many others who are concerned that there is a professor at Columbia who supports terrorism,” she said.
Among the many damning comments against the professor on the petition was this: “Professors shouldn’t be glorifying terrorism. I really never thought I would have to write that.”
Another affronted student told Campus Watch, “This was possibly the most offended I`ve ever been.
“Massad does not even pretend to give the entire picture, he states that on the first day. Besides being offensive, is it really worth it to take a class that doesn`t tell you both sides of a controversy?”
Neither Massad, Sorett nor Columbia immediately responded to Post requests for comment Sunday.
Additional reporting by Carl Campanile
