California professor fired over Gaza protest reinstated, sues university

A tenured professor at San José State University, Sang Hea Kil, who was dismissed last year over her pro-Palestinian activism, has been reinstated to her position. An arbitrator ruled last week that the California State University system violated the law and ordered her reinstatement with backpay, reducing her termination to a one-month suspension.

Kil, a justice studies professor, was the first tenured faculty member at a US public university to be fired in connection with campus protests over the Israel-Gaza war. She had been accused of violating university policy by attending a protest where she witnessed a confrontation and by allegedly encouraging students to stage an encampment, which she later joined for three nights.

In a lawsuit filed in May, Kil and her attorneys argued that the university system violated employment law and the First Amendment. Her legal team described her firing as an extreme example of repression of pro-Palestine speech. Kil stated she was relieved by the arbitration outcome but remains determined to advocate for Palestinian rights and free speech, asserting that the First Amendment is not dead at her university.

The university's decision to terminate Kil went against the recommendation of a faculty committee that had reviewed the incidents. The arbitrator noted that the "propriety of imposing the ultimate sanction of employment termination for free-speech activity... is questionable."