I think Salaita is going to do fine. We'll see. But the belief of some around here is that he deliberately avoided taking another permanent position to maximize the apparent harm in the court case. If he took another permanent position, the University could say, look, he's fine, we haven't harmed him much at all, so don't impose a big penalty on us.
I'm not, obviously, attempting to minimize the harm that the University caused or could have caused. And, obviously, if this account is true, then it cost Salaita something personally to maintain this strategy, and he should get credit for that - he was volunteering for additional pain in order to make sure that the University endured additional pain as a consequence for its actions. Which, he absolutely succeeded in doing, so he should get credit for that too. But, I worry that overstating the harm has the perverse effect of contributing to the chilling of dissent. Lots of people are slamming Israel and keeping their jobs. Come on in, the water's fine. Slam away. :) Robert Naiman Policy Director Just Foreign Policy www.justforeignpolicy.org [email protected] (202) 448-2898 x1 On Thu, Nov 12, 2015 at 2:48 PM, raghu <[email protected]> wrote: > On Thu, Nov 12, 2015 at 11:57 AM, Robert Naiman < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> The widespread belief around here is that Salaita's insistence that he >> was looking to be reinstated was a negotiating tactic. >> > > > I didn't get that impression. Although I had a hard time imagining how he > could be reinstated, he did repatedly insist that that was his goal. In any > case, his career as an academic - at least in the US - is likely finished. > He won't starve, the settlement makes sure of that, but the forces that > wanted to silence him ultimately got what they wanted. > > > > >> 1. The case brought down Chancellor Wise, when it was exposed that she >> had deliberately used private email to conduct University business in the >> case in order to avoid scrutiny. The interim chancellor appointed in her >> stead has been a champion of resolving the dispute with Salaita. >> > > > Yes, but Wise's ouster is a small consolation considering that she is > still on the faculty, despite ebing disgraced, but Salaita is not. > > > > >> 2. The case showed the power of concerned academics in other institutions >> to exert real pressure on the University in a way that affected the >> University's calculus. The AAUP censure is perceived as a real thing here; >> one of the arguments given here for settling the case with Salaita is that >> this is a key step towards lifting the AAUP sanction. Also, the boycott was >> perceived as a real thing here, damaging the University's reputation, >> making it harder to recruit, making it easier for people to get hired away >> by other institutions. >> > > > I agree that the big silver lining in this whole thing is the show of > solidarity even from academics who disagreed with Salaita's BDS activities. > The AAUP censure is certainly a nightmare for prestige-obsessed > administrators. > > > > > >> 3. The University has been going out of its way on other fronts to prove >> that it is not anti-Palestinian. Salaita may not be on the UIUC faculty, >> but Sayed Kashua is. "It's an ill wind that blows no man good." :) >> > > > I hadn't heard about this one. Thanks for sharing. > -raghu. > > > > > >> >> An Exile in the Corn Belt >> Israel’s funniest Palestinian writer decamps to the Midwest. >> BY RUTH MARGALIT >> http://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/09/07/an-exile-in-the-corn-belt >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Robert Naiman >> Policy Director >> Just Foreign Policy >> www.justforeignpolicy.org >> [email protected] >> (202) 448-2898 x1 >> >> On Thu, Nov 12, 2015 at 11:32 AM, raghu <[email protected]> wrote: >> >>> On Fri, Aug 7, 2015 at 7:35 PM, raghu <[email protected]> wrote: >>> >>>> Sadly Salaita's reinstatement still seems highly unlikely, and perhaps >>>> even undesirable considering hostility and resentment he is likely to face >>>> there. But this may clear the way for some kind of resolution. >>>> >>> >>> >>> As I had commented earlier, despite his public pronouncements, it seemed >>> unlikely to me that Salaita would ever get his job back. And that's what >>> has happened. >>> >>> The size of the settlement may offer Salaita some vindication, but it is >>> hard to see this as a victory: >>> >>> https://electronicintifada.net/blogs/ali-abunimah/steven-salaita-wont-get-job-back-deal-univ-illinois >>> -----------------------------snip >>> >>> Steven Salaita <https://electronicintifada.net/tags/steven-salaita> >>> will not be reinstated under the terms of an out of court settlement with >>> the University of Illinois >>> <https://electronicintifada.net/tags/university-illinois>. >>> >>> The deal will pay Salaita $875,000 – about ten times the annual salary >>> he would have received as a tenured professor in the American Indian >>> Studies program at the university’s flagship Urbana-Champaign >>> <https://electronicintifada.net/tags/university-illinois-urbana-champaign> >>> campus. >>> >>> “This settlement is a vindication for me, but more importantly, it is a >>> victory for academic freedom and the First Amendment,” Salaita said in a >>> release >>> <https://ccrjustice.org/home/press-center/press-releases/settlement-reached-case-professor-fired-uncivil-tweets> >>> from his legal counsel, the Center for Constitutional Rights and the law >>> firm Loevy & Loevy. >>> >>> The settlement brings an end to Salaita’s breach of contract lawsuit >>> against university trustees and administrators over his August 2014 firing >>> because of his tweets excoriating Israel’s attack on Gaza. >>> >>> Salaita had sought reinstatement as well as financial damages. >>> >>> The terms of the deal will come as a surprise to some supporters. His >>> lawyers had said all along that Salaita was willing to settle, but that his >>> primary goal would be to get his job back. >>> The university has been adamant, however, that it would not allow him >>> into the classroom. >>> >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> pen-l mailing list >>> [email protected] >>> https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l >>> >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> pen-l mailing list >> [email protected] >> https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l >> >> > > _______________________________________________ > pen-l mailing list > [email protected] > https://lists.csuchico.edu/mailman/listinfo/pen-l > >
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