University rescinded professor's job offer over critical tweets on Gaza
The University of Illinois at Urbana–Champaign withdrew an approved tenured-faculty appointment to Steven Salaita in August 2014 after donor and trustee complaints about his profanity-laced tweets criticizing Israel during the Gaza war. After litigation, the university settled in 2015 for $875,000.
In October 2013, UIUC's American Indian Studies program hired Steven Salaita as a tenured associate professor, pending board approval. During Israel's 2014 Gaza operation, Salaita posted a series of critical tweets, some profane. Citing donor and trustee objections, Chancellor Phyllis Wise withdrew the offer in August 2014 before the formal board vote. The Center for Constitutional Rights sued on his behalf. In 2015, a federal judge allowed his First Amendment and breach-of-contract claims to proceed; UIUC settled in November 2015 for $875,000, plus an additional $275,000 in attorney's fees.