Many scholars committed to Palestinian liberation can no longer do their jobs. That’s because many of the professors most supportive of Palestine don’t have jobs anymore.

Since the beginning of Israel’s war on Gaza, academics in fields including politics, sociology, Japanese literature, public health, Latin American and Caribbean studies, Middle East and African studies, mathematics, education, and more have been fired, suspended, or removed from the classroom for pro-Palestine, anti-Israel speech.

The Intercept spoke with more than a dozen professors, both adjuncts and those with tenure, whose employment has been imperiled by their pro-Palestine speech. Of the professors I talked to, all were at one point under investigation since October 7; some of the probes closed without findings of wrongdoing. Several faced varying degrees of suspensions, and four of the professors lost their jobs or expect to lose them next week when the semester ends without the renewal of their contracts.

The interviews, including those with campus labor activists and academic associations, revealed a pattern of politically motivated repression where campaigns by pro-Israel advocates can mar the careers of academics because of comments that express outrage at Israel’s ongoing occupation and its war in Gaza.

  • Rottcodd@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    No surprise there.

    Israel’s actions in Gaza are morally indefensible.

    So its defenders cannot, and for the most part don’t even bother to try to, sincerely engage with criticism.

    Instead, they rely on diversions, misrepresentations, character assassination, censorship, intimidation, harassment and violence, simply because that’s all they have.

    • ghostdoggtv@lemmy.world
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      6 months ago

      Can we just call it terrorism, because that’s what it is. If they can’t beat you with rhetoric they’ll undermine your actual position.

      I’m in the market for a gun rack because of the type of disgusting shit they’re willing to say and do. They murder innocent Palestineans, they’ll certainly murder American political opponents if they think it’ll help their genocidal cause

  • Infynis@midwest.social
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    6 months ago

    Imagine firing your professors of Middle Eastern studies for talking about current events in the Middle East

  • otp
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    6 months ago

    Yet right-wingers have been complaining about how left-wing and “woke” universities are…

  • Coasting0942@reddthat.com
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    6 months ago

    Many scholars committed to Palestinian liberation can no longer do their jobs. That’s because many of the professors most supportive of Palestine don’t have jobs anymore.

    This feels like lazy writing. But I’m not sure how to phrase it better.

    • Transient Punk
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      6 months ago

      Alas, forsooth, many Scholars who embrace the cause of Palestine now find themselves in dire straits. Prithee, how can one believe that the scholars who formerly had employment, now have none?

      An AI Shakespeare rewrite at least makes it interesting

  • stoly@lemmy.world
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    6 months ago

    This is pretty much exactly the same thing: a group of people observing the world change around them can’t handle it so they are going to destroy as many lives as possible on their way to irrelevancy.