Columbia adjunct professor resigns after academic who praised October 7 to teach Zionism course

A Columbia University adjunct professor announced his resignation on Monday in response to a report from The Jerusalem Post that an academic who praised the October 7 massacre will be teaching a course on Zionism.

International and public affairs adjunct professor Lawrence Rosenblatt sent a resignation letter to the Columbia administration in response to Prof. Joseph Massad’s scheduled teaching of the undergraduate course, History of the Jewish Enlightenment in 19th century Europe and the Development of Zionism.

“I hereby resign my position as a member of the Columbia University faculty, effective immediately,” said Rosenblatt. Massad “has advocated for the destruction of the State of Israel and celebrated the October 7 attacks.”

Rosenblatt said that having Massad, who authored an October 8 Electronic Intifada article positively describing Hamas operations as “astounding” and retaliatory, teach a course on Zionism was “akin to having a White nationalist teach about the US Civil Rights movement and the struggle for Black equality, having a climate denier teach about the impact of global warming, or a misogynist teach about feminism.

“While Massad has a right to think what he thinks and speak what he believes, Columbia has a responsibility to teach objectively and fairly,” wrote Rosenblatt.

“At best, perhaps one could tolerate a class on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict co-taught from the many diverse Israeli and Palestinian perspectives, though not by someone who advocates for the eradication of a group of people.”

Massad's course 

The course Massad is set to teach will provide “a historical overview of the Zionist-Palestinian conflict” and the “current peace process between the State of Israel and the Arab states and the Palestinian national movement.”

Massad wrote in that October 8 article that “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.

“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,” said Massad. “They may have finally realized that living on land stolen from another people will never make them safe.”

Rosenblatt said that for the past 15 months, he had continued to teach at Columbia, which has been the locus of the anti-Israel encampment protests, because he believed the values of the institution were not the same as the destructive values of some students and staff.

“Columbia has lost not only its moral compass but its intellectual one,” Rosenblatt said.

“The institution of Columbia, in officially sanctioning this class and this professor, has harmed the academy it once was. As it is gone, I cannot remain. My hope is that Columbia will correct this travesty, and if so, I would be open to returning.”

Rosenblatt is not a tenured faculty member and was not scheduled to teach during the spring semester.

Massad’s course drew criticism from the Israeli embassy in the US on Saturday, which questioned on X/Twitter how many students the professor had “managed to indoctrinate.”

A Columbia spokesperson put out the following statement in response: "Professor Massad’s statements following the terrorist attack on October 7 created pain for many in our community and contributed to the deep controversy on our campus. We have consistently condemned any celebration or promotion of violence or terror. We remain committed to principles of free expression and the open exchange of viewpoints and perspectives through opportunities for constructive dialogue and understanding throughout our campus community, and we seek to provide a learning environment and classrooms that promote intellectual inquiry and analytical thinking along with civility, tolerance, and respect."

"Professor Massad’s class is one of three courses Columbia students can elect to take next semester on the subject of Zionism and the history of Israel, two of which are offered through Columbia’s Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies. Professor Massad's class is limited to 60 students and is not a required course," the statement concludes.

Mathilda Heller contributed to this report.