Prof. booted for anti-Israel tweets threatens to sue school

A professor whose offer of a position at University of Illinois was rescinded following his controversial anti-Israel tweets has demanded that the offer be reinstated, with his lawyer threatening to take the matter to court.

In his first public remarks since his job offer was revoked in August, Prof. Steven Salaita on Tuesday expressed his desire to teach at the university, and demanded at a press conference that he be reinstated on the grounds of free speech and academic freedom.

“My comments were not made in a classroom or on campus; they were made through my personal Twitter account. The university’s policing and judgment of those messages places any faculty member at risk of termination if university administrators deem the tone or content of his or her speech ‘uncivil’ without regard to the forum or medium in which the speech is made,” he said.

During the height of Israel’s operation in Gaza, Salaita took to Twitter to express harsh and sometimes vulgar criticism of Israel. One tweet he posted following the abduction and killing of three Israelis in June read: “You may be too refined to say it, but I’m not: I wish all the [expletive] West Bank settlers would go missing.”

Salaita’s attorney Anand Swaminathan told the Chicago Tribune Tuesday that the professor is prepared to sue if his offer is not reinstated. “He will ask a court to require the university to complete the employment process and reinstate him,” Swaminathan told the Tribune. “Professor Salaita’s goal is not to go down that road, but he is prepared to do so.”

In an interview with the Jewish Daily Forward on Tuesday, Salaita defended his tweets, explaining that he posted them during “moments of dismay.” Salaita, who did not apologize for his remarks, did express his regret that his posts were misunderstood, saying that they were “pulled out of a much larger history of tweeting and general political commentary that indicates quite strongly and clearly that I’m deeply opposed to all forms of bigotry and racism including anti-Semitism.”

Chancellor Phyllis Wise said that it was Salaita’s “uncivil” tweets that prompted her to withdraw the job offer and not his criticism of Israeli policies. University trustees immediately and fully backed Wise’s decision, calling his statements disrespectful and demeaning speech.

Wise has faced backlash for her decision by faculty members, academic organizations and students at the Champaign-Urbana campus, who have accused the university of censoring free speech and stifling academic freedom.

Salaita’s call to be reinstated appears to be directed to the university’s board of trustees, who are scheduled to meet Thursday, the first time since the offer was revoked. Although the board could vote on his reinstatement, it seems unlikely that the administration will reverse its decision.

A statement issued ahead of the board meeting by a spokesperson said the university stood by its decision not to hire Salaita and “remains devoted to fostering a campus-wide dialogue on the most uncomfortable issues that are vital to our very foundation and will continue to work closely with our students, faculty and staff to nurture an environment where all issues, including the most complicated ones, can be discussed.”

During the hour-long press conference, Salaita criticized the involvement of wealthy donors in university policies, whom he alleged pressured the administration to rescind his job offer. “The ability of wealthy donors and the politically powerful to create exceptions to bedrock principles should be worrying to all scholars and teachers,” he said.

Salaita told the 150 students, faculty members and reporters who attended the press conference that the controversy surrounding his appointment was a “teaching moment.”