Palestine protest fallout: US professors under fire question academic freedom

When he began his visiting professorship at Columbia University last winter, Dr Mohamed Abdou was eager to join some of the most prominent scholars of Muslim, Middle Eastern, South Asian and African studies.

Among them were Joseph Massad, Rashid Khalidi, Lila Abu Lughod, Mahmood Mamdani. “The list is quite extensive,” he told The National on a video call.

But only months into his temporary appointment, Dr Abdou found himself under an unwanted national spotlight because of what Columbia called his termination – announced not privately, but during a congressional hearing broadcast on live TV.

“I was at the encampment, watching my students get arrested”, he told The National, referring to the clampdown on sit-in protests at campuses across the US earlier this year. “I was stunned.”

Dr Abdou, who has since filed a lawsuit against Columbia University and its president at the time Minouche Shafik, alleging defamation among other complaints, is one of several faculty who have said they faced disciplinary action for their activism or stances on Palestine since Israel launched its war on Gaza, following the Hamas-led attack on southern Israel, on October 7 last year.

Palestine Legal, a legal aid organisation focusing on Palestine-related issues in the US, said it has received 2,900 requests related to the suppression of Palestinian rights advocacy on US campuses since October 7, 2023.

A series of US Congress hearings on anti-Semitism at college campuses, meant to rein in protests, seemed to fan the flames. On the morning of Ms Shafik’s scheduled appearance on Capitol Hill, Columbia students set up what would become the first ‘Gaza solidarity encampment’. It was a time of tension and frustration, but for many, sharing meals, music, and messages of solidarity, students created a sense of community.

The protests, particularly encampment-style demonstrations, garnered global attention in spring 2024 following Ms Shafik’s permission of what would be the first of two mass arrests of protesters on Columbia’s private campus.

As a visiting academic in the Department of Muslim Societies, Dr Abdou said, he supported his students’ efforts out on the lawn.

Days after the Hamas attacks on southern Israel, he posted on Facebook, expressing his alignment with “the muqawamah [resistance],” while clarifying his strategic differences with groups such as Hamas and Hezbollah.

A portion of Dr Abdou’s post was cited during an April congressional hearing by Representative Elise Stefanik, who accused him of supporting terrorism. Ms Shafik, responded: “He will never work at Columbia again.”

Dr Abdou told The National he was never formally notified of his so-called termination.

“To this moment, I have not received a single correspondence from Columbia University regarding any investigation or termination,” he said.

Columbia University representatives declined to comment, citing pending litigation. Defence attorneys representing both the University and Ms Shafik did not immediately respond to requests for comment. The defence has moved to dismiss the case, which now awaits assignment of a judge.

At Northwestern University in Illinois, librarian Josh Honn was among a group of university employees who faced charges of obstructing a peace officer after joining a student protest on campus. The charges were filed as Class A misdemeanours, the highest in the state, carrying penalties including fines of up to $2,500. Mr Honn and his attorney maintain that he was off duty.

The charges were later dropped on account of the overseeing Cook County’s policy not to prosecute peaceful protesters. But Mr Honn was issued a final written warning from the university following an internal investigation, which threatened further disciplinary action in the case of breaches.

Rima Kapitan, an employment lawyer representing Mr Honn, highlighted the timing of the charges and investigation.

“These disciplinary cases were in reaction to Congress being upset about Palestine activism on campus, rather than genuine concerns about violations of university policies,” she said.

Northwestern University told The National it would not comment on personnel matters.

Ms Kapitan told The National the hearings conflate protest with bigotry. “A lot of the activism it targets has nothing to do with anti-Semitism,” she said. “It’s clearly about political viewpoints, not discrimination.”

For scholars like Dr Abdou, the stakes extend into livelihood.

“The most important thing is clearing my name,” he said. “What do I hope to gain out of it? To be able to do what I've been trained to do, what I love doing.”