This article was updated Dec. 23 at 2:07 a.m.

Middle Eastern, South Asian, and African studies professor Joseph Massad’s spring 2025 “Palestinian and Israeli Politics and Societies” class has sparked controversy and prompted School International and Public Affairs professor Lawrence “Muzzy” Rosenblatt to resign Monday.

The class has been the subject of several social media posts and caught the attention of multiple news outlets, including Fox News, The Jerusalem Post, and Jewish Insider. Rosenblatt posted a resignation letter to his Facebook on Monday after learning “that a course on Zionism and the State of Israel will be taught this coming semester by Joseph A. Massad, who has advocated for the destruction of the State of Israel and celebrated the October 7 attacks.”

Massad faced scrutiny in October 2023 for an article published in the Electronic Intifada on Oct. 8, 2023, describing the attack as a “stunning victory of the Palestinian resistance over the Israeli military.” Students circulated a petition calling for Columbia to remove Massad from the faculty, and in response, over 300 students, faculty, alumni, and University affiliates signed a letter condemning the “incendiary and defamatory petition” and expressing their “unflinching admiration” for Massad’s scholarship. The original petition has over 79,000 signatures, with several new signatories added Tuesday.

“Over the past 15 months I stayed to teach because I believe the Institution was not aligned with the hateful and destructive values of some who teach and study here, and that by staying I would not be ceding the Academy to those who spew evil, but instead be a model for thoughtful, responsible and professional learning,” Rosenblatt wrote in a Facebook post obtained by Spectator. “However, the institution of Columbia, in officially sanctioning this class and this professor, has harmed the Academy it once was.”

Rosenblatt did not respond to a request for comment.

“While Massad has a right to think what he thinks, and speak what he believes, Columbia has a responsibility to teach objectively and fairly,” Rosenblatt wrote. “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. But that is not what is happening here.”

Columbia released a statement on its Office of Public Affairs website on Monday.

“Professor Massad’s statements following the terrorist attack on October 7th created pain for many in our community and contributed to the deep controversy on our campus,” the statement read. “We have consistently condemned any celebration or promotion of violence or terror.”

Massad did not respond to a request for comment sent to his email listed on a spring 2023 syllabus obtained by Spectator. His email is unavailable in the Columbia email system as of Saturday.

Gil Hochberg, MESAAS chair, did not respond to a request for comment.

Massad, a tenured professor of modern Arab politics and intellectual history, first taught the class in the 1999-2000 academic year.

“The History of the Jewish Enlightenment (Haskala) in 19th century Europe and the development of Zionism through the current peace process between the state of Israel and the Arab states and the Palestinian national movement,” the course description for spring 2025 reads. “Provides a historical overview of the Zionist-Palestinian conflict to familiarize undergraduates with the background of the current situation.”

“Palestinian and Israeli Politics and Societies” is one of three courses Columbia students can take about Zionism and the history of Israel during the spring semester, two of which are offered at the Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies, according to the statement.

Spectator found three classes about Zionism and the history of Israel offered through the Institute for Israel and Jewish studies—“Zionist Thought: Center and Periphery,” “History of Modern Israel,” and “Israel and the Palestinians.” All of the classes are graduate-level courses with 18, 25, and 20 seats respectively.

A documentary titled “Columbia Unbecoming”—which was produced by the David Project, a now-defunct pro-Israel campus group, and selectively screened to journalists, political figures, and Columbia officials—featured 10 Columbia affiliates , many of whom said they felt intimidated by Massad after they expressed pro-Israel sentiments. In 2005, the University reported that there was “no evidence of any statements made by the faculty that could reasonably be construed as anti-semitic.”

“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,” the Monday statement read.

In response to the University’s statement, Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine at Columbia, Barnard, and Teachers College posted a statement to Instagram on Thursday, defending Massad.

“Rather disturbingly, this post uses suspiciously similar language to that found in the [Columbia Jewish Alumni Association] post on Professor Massad, as well as to the many other defamatory posts and publications it helped to create,” the statement read. “Like these slanderous posts and libelous publications, the official Columbia News Statement similarly misrepresents Professor Massad’s course title and content, which is on ‘Palestinian and Israeli Politics and Societies’ (a course he has taught for 25 years incidentally), eliminating ‘Palestinian’ from the title and misrepresenting it as ‘one of 3 courses… on Zionism and the History of Israel.’”

During former University President Minouche Shafik’s testimony in front of the U.S. House of Representatives on April 17, several representatives referenced Massad, asking Shafik why he had not been fired yet. Shafik stated that Massad was under investigation. Massad, who was once chair of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences academic review committee, is not listed as a 2024-25 committee member.

The University declined to comment on the status of the investigation.

“Moreover, the News Statement repeats the slanderous error that former President Shafik made on April 17, chastising Massad not for what he had written but for what he was accused of writing,” the FSJP-CBT statement read. “By doubling down on the distortions of Professor Massad’s words, the university both violates Massad’s rights and undermines the historical record.”