A former professor of the University of Illinois-Urbana Champaign (UIUC), is attempting to regain his previous teaching position after he was dismissed by the university’s authorities for speaking against Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza strip.
Steven Salaita, a Palestinian-American, was said to have been dismissed in August 2014, weeks before he was scheduled to begin a tenured role as associate professor of American Indian Studies at UIUC.
Before his appointment at UIUC, he was teaching at the faculty of Virginia Tech. Reportedly, Salaita and his wife had both resigned from their positions and were prepared to move to Illinois.
However, he later received a letter from UIUC Chancellor Phyllis Wise and Vice President Christophe Pierre, stating that his appointment would “not be recommended by submission to the Board of Trustees in September.”
It was later revealed that the sudden and unexpected reversal of Salaita’s appointment was made in response to tweets he had posted that were critical of Israel’s Operation Protective Edge, a bloody 50-day military campaign in the Gaza Strip which the United Nations estimates killed some 2,131 Palestinians and 71 Israelis.
According to the Intercept, Salaita’s multiple tweets were highlighted in an article in the conservative outlet, the Daily Caller. The University board of trustees then convened an unusual session to discuss the tenor of Salaita’s tweets and his position at the university. They voted 8-to-1 to reject his appointment.
After public backlash regarding the university’s decision, Chancellor Wise said publicly, “The decision regarding Prof. Salaita was not influenced in any way by his positions on the conflict in the Middle East nor his criticism of Israel. Our university is home to a wide diversity of opinions on issues of politics and foreign policy. […] What we cannot and will not tolerate at the University of Illinois are personal and disrespectful words or actions that demean and abuse either viewpoints themselves or those who express them.”
Critics of the decision have claimed that Salaita was not fired to maintain “civility,” but was dismissed due to outside pressure. Salaita has filed a Freedom of Information Request in an effort to uncover internal communications related to his dismissal. It was then revealed that pressure from students, alumni, and influential pro-Israel donors are the root cause of his dismissal.
Many concerned citizens have said Salaita’s case is a classic example of an affront to freedom of speech in a country that prides itself as the leader of free speech. Activists and human rights bodies have now joined him in his search for justice.
Lawyers from the law firm Loevy & Loevy and the Center for Constitutional Rights, a legal advocacy group focused on civil liberties and human rights, have helped Salaita amend his lawsuit against the university. In addition to his reinstatement, Salaita is also seeking financial damages. In the new complaint, Salaita’s lawyers argue that school administrators hid or deleted emails that constituted as evidence related to his termination. The lawyers are also anticipating the disclosure of more information about the impact of donor pressure on his termination during the forthcoming discovery phase of the case.
Meanwhile, Salaita says his efforts to get back to the university have been built on the principle of free speech. In addition, he also hope his case will serve as a deterrent to other universities who think they can use their power to encroach on the fundamental rights of other people.
“The response to my firing has really emboldened a lot of people there, and I’ve gotten almost unanimous support from faculty at the school. On some level, to be honest, it would be a little weird coming to work at a campus where I’ve been the source of so much controversy. But ultimately, I’d see it as a victorious moment, not just personally, but for the principle of free speech in American academia,” Salaita said. We will continue to follow the lawsuit and bring you the latest updates.
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