Hamid Dabashi is the Hagop Kevorkian Professor of Iranian Studies and Comparative Literature at Columbia University. But far from being a neutral academic, Dabashi has built a career spreading antisemitic conspiracy theories, demonizing Jews, and endorsing pro-Hamas propaganda and violent resistance. He routinely equates Israel with ISIS, Nazi Germany, and calls it the “most well-funded terrorist organization on planet Earth.” His long record of public statements, articles, and social media posts reveals an individual wholly unfit to educate students in any responsible or inclusive academic environment.

Hamid Dabashi’s Support for Hamas and Extremist Activism

• In April 2024, during the height of Israel’s war with Hamas, Dabashi participated in the pro-Hamas encampment at Columbia University. He joined the faculty walkout in solidarity with student protesters who had been arrested for occupying campus grounds. Dabashi marched alongside signs demanding Columbia “End Student Suspensions” and “Disclose, Divest”—directly endorsing the same encampment that displayed calls for violence, antisemitic slogans, and support for terrorism.

• He referred to the Gaza border riots organized by Hamas in 2018 as a “bold act of nonviolent revolutionary mobilization,” despite the fact that those protests were violent and deadly, with documented participation by Hamas operatives. He praised those attempts to storm the Israeli border as having “schooled Gandhi” and “sent Martin Luther King back to school.”

Repeated Promotion of Antisemitic Conspiracies

Dabashi has for years peddled antisemitic tropes that portray Jews and Zionists as a shadowy, controlling force:

• He has accused “Zionist bosses” and “a Zionist cabal” of controlling U.S. politics and claimed they act as a “Fifth Column of a foreign country.”

• In a 2008 article, he wrote:

  “Obama began his speech in front of AIPAC by falling right into the oldest trap that the American Zionist cabal has in its bag of tricks.”

• In a 2016 post, he claimed Hillary Clinton should just “pick up Benjamin Netanyahu as her VP,” mocking U.S. support for Israel as total subservience to Zionist influence.

• Dabashi’s social media posts frequently allege that “rich and powerful Zionists” have “infiltrated, bought, and paid for all the major and minor corridors of power” in the U.S.

• In 2004, he was formally investigated by Columbia University after Jewish students accused him of promoting antisemitic views in his teaching and writings.

Equating The Jewish State with ISIS and Nazi Germany

• On multiple occasions, Dabashi compared Israel to ISIS, describing it as a terrorist organization that mimics jihadist tactics.

  “What’s the difference between ISIS and ISRAEL?… ISIS murderous thugs… ISRAELI counterparts… declared it part of their Zionist settler colony.”

• In 2014, he likened Gaza to Auschwitz, accused Israelis of being driven by a “shared and sustained murderous history,” and claimed that “Zionist militarism” was equivalent to Nazi barbarism.

• In a July 2014 post, he juxtaposed the Warsaw Ghetto with Gaza, suggesting that Palestinians were resisting the same kind of genocide Jews faced under the Nazis.

Demonization of Jews

• Dabashi has publicly referred to Jewish Israeli citizens as “delusional fanatics” engaged in “a frenzied stupor to murder more Palestinians.”

• He declared:

  “The Israeli flag, the very term ‘Israel’ are now and forever synonymous with mass murderers… with massacres… with genocide…”

• In an op-ed for Al-Ahram, he claimed Israelis suffer from a kind of spiritual rot:

  “There is a vulgarity of character that is bone-deep and structural to the skeletal vertebrae of its culture.”

Extremist Group Leadership and Anti-Israel Organizing

• Dabashi is on the advisory board of USACBI, the U.S. branch of the Palestinian BDS National Committee, which oversees the academic and cultural boycott of Israel.

• He has supported and moderated events for Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP)—groups widely criticized for their antisemitic activities on campuses.

• He has played a visible role in launching Columbia University Apartheid Divest (CUAD), pushing the university to divest from companies tied to Israel’s security sector.

Hamid’s Impact on Campus

Hamid Dabashi is not an educator — he is a propagandist. From his open embrace of antisemitic conspiracy theories, to his glorification of violence and support for terrorist-aligned student protests, Dabashi has used his position at Columbia University to legitimize hatred, spread extremist ideology, and intimidate Jewish students. His continued presence in the classroom is not just inappropriate — it’s dangerous.