Rep. Tim Walberg (R-MI) on Wednesday grilled the president of Columbia University over a professor who praised Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel, and repeatedly cut off her attempts to respond.
Columbia University President Minouche Shafik and members of the Board of Trustees were brought before the House Committee on Education and the Workforce to testify about the university’s response to antisemitism and tensions since Hamas’ October 7 terrorist attacks on Israel and the subsequent war. Walberg and several other members of the committee specifically grilled them at times about a professor, Joseph Massad, who has praised the attacks:
“The day after the October 7 attack, Professor Joseph Massad,” Walberg said about Massad during the hearing, “he wrote in an article praising, and I quote him, ‘the innovative Palestinian resistance’ for attacking Israel and glorifying Hamas' slaughter of nearly 1,200 Jews as, and I quote again, ‘awesome, astonishing, astounding, and incredible.’”
Walberg: “Do you condemn Professor Massad's statement, and has he faced any consequences for it?”
Shafik: “I do condemn his statement. I am appalled by what he said.”
Walberg: “Any consequences?”
Shafik: “He has been spoken to.”
Walberg: “Spoken to?”
Shafik: “And I think you could-”
Walberg: “So, support of terrorism is acceptable if you're a Columbia professor?”
Shafik: “Not at all. And I should say-”
Walberg: “He's been spoken to?
Shafik: “I didn't get to fin-”
Walberg: “I have your answer.”
Students at the university have circulated a petition calling for Columbia to fire Massad and remove him from his post as the chair of the School of Arts and Sciences Academic Review Committee.
