Uploaded April 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
In 2014, Steven Salaita's career was derailed after a series of tweets about the Israel-Gaza conflict went viral. A right-wing outlet highlighted his most controversial posts — and the University of Illinois rescinded his job offer.
Salaita later said: "The firing made me a free-speech darling — or the world's most violent person since Stalin, depending on your perspective."
He eventually settled with the university for $600,000 — and the debate over academic freedom, activism, and the so-called "Palestine exception" continues. Read more: chronicle.com/article/confessions-of-a-campus-radical
In 2014, Steven Salaita's career was derailed after a series of tweets about the Israel-Gaza conflict went viral. A right-wing outlet highlighted his most controversial posts — and the University of Illinois rescinded his job offer.
Salaita later said: "The firing made me a free-speech darling — or the world's most violent person since Stalin, depending on your perspective."
He eventually settled with the university for $600,000 — and the debate over academic freedom, activism, and the so-called "Palestine exception" continues. Read more: chronicle.com/article/confessions-of-a-campus-radical
