Professor Fired for Israel Criticism (article)

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Why should college professors have greater freedom of speech than ordinary people? Most people who have jobs representing an organization have to be careful of speaking contrary to the opinions of that organization.

Privately professors ought to be able to speak their minds, but not as a representative of the University.

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Not a freedom of speech issue.

This is a matter of employer and employee contract. If your employer is going to put limits on your freedom of expression the individual should then weigh up whether or not to take up that position.

No news here.

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What's with the insults?

It doesn't matter if he was critising Israel or Pizza Hut pizzas. That is not the issue here. This is a matter between him and his employers.

Frankly if his views are so at odds with those of his employers why would he even want to continue to work there, should have shown some balls and resigned.

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The professor has every right to speak his mind. That may also cost him his job. There is no guarantee that speaking your mind either gets you an audience, nor that you keep your high profile job despite the opinion expressed.

In America, he can probably find a University that shares his opinions.

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Carl Cannon explains, "Salaita reveals himself to be a foul-mouthed fanatic whose antipathy for Israel is so thorough that he calls for the country's destruction, fantasizes about the mass murder of Jewish settlers [and] blames Jews themselves for anti-Semitism ... ."

Ever nasty, Salaita also suggested that a pro-Israel reporter's story "should have ended at the pointy end of a shiv."

Writing in Inside Higher Ed, Professor Cary Nelson, former president of the American Association of University Professors, noted how Salaita's "mix of deadly seriousness, vehemence, and low comedy in this appeal to students is genuinely unsettling. Will Jewish students in his classes feel comfortable after they read 'Let's cut to the chase: If you're defending Israel right now you're an awful human being'?"

And yet the only reason Salaita is unemployed is because he resigned one job before fully securing another. Otherwise he could have continued his public campaign of vituperation in utter safety for the rest of his career.

http://www.denverpost.com/carroll/ci_26324536/carroll-should-tenure-protect-unhinged-fanatics-like-steven

I find myself wondering how duchess64 felt about James Watson being forced to resign after making comments that many people found offensive.

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People are fired all the time because of public statements that other people find offensive, why is this professor worthy of special attention? The people who give money to the place he works didn't like what he had to say so they got him fired. I'll bet it happens all the time. I saw a guy get fired at McDonald's for being rude to a customer, and that's only a loss of like 5 dollars.

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I think the University made the wrong decision. Schools should not fire teachers for stating political opinions unless they are truly hateful. These comments, while not very nice (the thing about the necklace of children's teeth was a bit over the top), were not hateful.

Originally posted by sh76
I think the University made the wrong decision. Schools should not fire teachers for stating political opinions unless they are truly hateful. These comments, while not very nice (the thing about the necklace of children's teeth was a bit over the top), were not hateful.

Wait. Was he fired, or did he just have a job offer rescinded because of his stupid online comments? If they guy was a loon I don't blame the university for not wanting to bring him on.

Wasn't Ilian Pappe fired from the Hebron university as well?

Those crazy Israeli's! They don't like their PR being intervened with!!!