Andrew Ross is a professor of Social and Cultural Analysis at New York University (NYU) and a longtime anti-Israel activist. He has served on the advisory board and “Organizing Collective” of the U.S. Campaign for the Academic and Cultural Boycott of Israel (USACBI) and is a vocal supporter of boycotts targeting Israel. Ross’s activism intensified after Hamas’s October 7, 2023 massacre, as he took on a leading role in Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP) and repeatedly framed Israel’s war of self-defense as “colonial war.”
Hatred of Israel During a War Against Hamas
Following Hamas’s atrocities on October 7, 2023—where over 1,200 Israelis were murdered, hundreds kidnapped, and thousands wounded—Ross aligned himself with groups that excused or minimized the violence.
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On October 25, 2023, he spoke at an anti-Israel rally on behalf of Faculty for Justice in Palestine, declaring: “We’re making this community around the common cause. And that cause is the cause of Palestine.”
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He rejected Israel’s right to defend itself, calling the war not a conflict but a “colonial war.”
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Ross emphasized that the NYU administration “does not speak for the community,” instead casting FJP and its allies as the real voice of students, staff, and faculty.
These remarks framed Hamas’s war crimes as part of a decades-long “struggle,” effectively erasing the terrorism and mass atrocities that triggered Israel’s response.
Arrest for Anti-Israel Activism
On December 15, 2024, Ross was arrested outside NYU during a protest. Video showed him shouting “Free Palestine! Free Palestine!” as police escorted him away. His arrest highlighted his shift from academic activism into direct confrontation, positioning himself as a faculty face of campus protest movements.
Endorsement of Violence and Intifada Rhetoric
Ross has a history of justifying Palestinian violence:
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In a February 2016 article, he glorified Srur Abu Srur—killed during clashes with Israeli security forces—as a “martyr.”
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In the same article, Ross framed the wave of knife attacks against Israeli civilians as more than “weapons of the weak,” implying that the stabbings marked the beginning of a new uprising. He even invoked Yeats’s line about something “new about to be born,” framing violent attacks as historic and poetic.
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He claimed Jewish residents of the West Bank were more violent than Palestinian terrorists, excusing terror stabbings by casting settlers as the greater aggressors.
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In 2015, he produced a film titled The Coming Intifada, screened by NYC Solidarity with Palestine.
By romanticizing intifada and treating stabbings of civilians as resistance, Ross directly legitimized violence against Jews.
Conclusion
Andrew Ross is not just a critic of Israeli policy but a faculty activist who has defended terrorism, glorified intifada, and turned his classroom platform into a base for anti-Israel agitation. His arrest in December 2024 underscored his role as a public face of faculty-aligned protest movements that excuse Hamas violence and intimidate Jewish students. By blending academic work with open endorsement of antisemitic activism, Ross contributes to an environment where hostility toward Jews is normalized under the banner of “justice for Palestine.”
