Professor Joseph Massad of Columbia, accused in a film by one student who approached him after a lecture of an overtly hostile attitude toward the student as an Israeli, and by another student of responding obnoxiously when the student tried to defend Israeli policy in class, has responded: “Massad called the documentary ‘a propaganda film’ and claimed it was a part of a ‘racist witchhunt of Arab and Muslim professors.'” This response hardly inspires confidence. Anyone can cry racism about anything, but there are important issues at stake.
So I’ll ask the relevant questions again: (1) did these incidents actually occur?; (2) If so, were they momentary lapses, or part of a pattern of behavior? (3) If these incidents did happen, when you combine them with the incredibly strident rhetoric, and innacurate factual assertions, present in Massad’s writings about Israel (e.g., this one), are pro-Israel opinions welcomed, or at least accepted, in his classes? Can students with such opinions expect fair treatment? Can Israeli students expect fair treatment in his classes?
These are substantial questions, ones that can’t be brushed off with (yes, there’s that word again) strident accusations of racism.
UPDATE: More details from the Jerusalem Post, revealing other alleged incidents involving Massad: “Massad, who teaches modern Arab politics and intellectual history, told a class, ‘The Palestinian is the new Jew, and the Jew is the new Nazi.’ In a separate discussion, he allegedly yelled at a Jewish student, ‘I will not have anybody here deny Israeli atrocities.'”
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