University of Illinois trustees voted 8-1 Thursday not to reinstate Steven Salaita, who had accepted a tenured professorship last fall to teach in the school’s American Indian Studies program. That offer was revoked this August after Salaita posted several tweets denouncing Israel’s military strikes in Gaza.
Dozens of students staged a walkout earlier this week in support of Salaita and shouted “Shame on you” after the trustees’ vote today.
Protesters shout, "Shame on you," after 8-1 vote to reject controversial professor Salaita http://t.co/5mBLzijs87 pic.twitter.com/vOhonBtih0
— Chicago Tribune (@chicagotribune) September 11, 2014
@chicagotribune @buberzionist what is that, like ten people? How ironically shameless.
— Ron Bassilian (R) (@Ron4California) September 11, 2014
https://twitter.com/KayEilers/status/510125021738856448
https://twitter.com/RandomHero30/status/510143421571690496
@chicagotribune @ProgsToday Some1 needs 2 tell these "brain trust" applicants that Free Speech isn't w/o consequences.
— Dena (@SquareDiscoBox) September 11, 2014
#UI Student Hamdan: "Unless Professor #Salaita is reinstated, the world-wide boycott and on-campus protests will only escalate exponentially
— Chris desGarennes (@ChrisDGS) September 11, 2014
Many of the Twitter messages were inflammatory and in justifying its decision not to give him a job, the university said they were demeaning and uncivil.
In a statement released before the vote, university President Robert Easter said Salaita’s social media activity “indicates that he would be incapable of fostering a classroom environment where conflicting opinions could be given equal consideration, regardless of the issue being discussed.”
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So, what exactly did Salaita tweet? Here’s just a selection of his tweets since July.
Fuck you, #Israel. And while I'm at it, fuck you, too, PA, Sisi, Arab monarchs, Obama, UK, EU, Canada, US Senate, corporate media, and ISIS.
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) July 20, 2014
#Israel sends soldiers into #Gaza, gets pissy when some die, then slaughters more civilians. To grasp this logic, think like a sociopath.
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) July 20, 2014
I have no clue what "telegenically dead" means. All I know is that Netanyahu is still alive and he's really fucking ugly.#Gaza
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) July 21, 2014
When frustrated, I remember that, despite the cigarettes and fatty food, I have a decent chance of outliving #Israel.#Gaza #FreePalestine
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) July 21, 2014
#Israel and #ISIS are but two prongs of the same violent ethnonationalism.
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) July 22, 2014
Why would Hamas even try to use children as human shields? #Israel has proved for decades that it has no problem shooting them.#Gaza
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) July 23, 2014
Dear Outraged Right Wingers:
You should know that in addition to opposing Zionism, I fully support the decolonization of North America.
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) July 25, 2014
The only line I will use henceforth when arguing w/Zionists: Dude, your government BOMBED A SCHOOL BEING USED AS A SHELTER. #Gaza #48kmarch
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) July 25, 2014
Here's the deal: state violence against minorities is a necessary condition of ethnocracy. Either embrace it or don't be a Zionist. #Gaza
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) July 26, 2014
#Israel's attack on #Gaza is a "war" in the same way that cannibalism is "dining with a friend."
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) July 28, 2014
If you haven't recently been called a terror-loving anti-Semite, then I'm sorry to say that your critique of #Israel is totally weak. #Gaza
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) July 29, 2014
#Israel is rounding up people and murdering them at point-blank range. The word "genocide" is more germane the more news we hear. #Gaza
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) August 2, 2014
#Israel reportedly bombs the Islamic University in #Gaza.
This is intolerable. American professors have no excuse to remain silent.
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) August 2, 2014
Perhaps #Obama can melt down his Nobel Prize and recast it as body armor for the children of #Gaza.
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) August 2, 2014
It's a senseless world: a colonial power bombs people in hospitals and shelters and somehow the dead are called "terrorists." #Gaza
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) August 2, 2014
Republicans are such tough guys, eager to kill 4 God and country. #Israel slaps around the US of A, though, and all they do is ask for more.
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) August 2, 2014
Rednecks need a new slogan. Instead of "kick their ass and take their gas," how about "#Gaza is a disaster, but Netanyahu is my master"?
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) August 2, 2014
#Israel gets billions in aid, arms, and financial subsidies from the US, yet most Americans condemn imaginary Black women for welfare.
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) August 2, 2014
"Hamas" is the biggest red herring in American political discourse since Saddam's "weapons of mass destruction."#Gaza #GazaUnderAttack
— Steven Salaita (@stevesalaita) August 2, 2014
The Center for Constitutional Rights and attorney Anand Swaminathan, which are representing Salaita, note that he has the backing of the Modern Language Association, the American Association of University Professors, and the American Studies Association.
https://twitter.com/buberzionist/status/510196426060865536
https://twitter.com/buberzionist/status/510196784053104640
https://twitter.com/buberzionist/status/510202836513472512
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