A San José State University professor has been suspended for her involvement with pro-Palestinian groups on campus.
Sang Hea Kil, a justice studies professor and faculty advisor for Students for Justice in Palestine, was placed on a temporary suspension Friday, according multiple reports. According to a letter reviewed by the San Francisco Chronicle, which originally reported the story, Kil’s suspension comes because she violated Article 17 of a collective bargaining agreement between the California State University system and the faculty's union.
The university also claimed Kil was “unprofessional and exploitative” and directed students to violate university policies. Additionally, the university said she engaged in “harassing and offensive conduct and comments directed towards colleagues individually and as a group.”
“Per Article 17, you are suspended for reasons related to the disruption of programs and/or operations, the safety of persons or property, and investigation for formal notice of disciplinary action,” read the letter.
Kil is also the chair of the Anti-Racism, Social Justice Transformation Committee and former co-chair of the Palestine, Arab, and Muslim Caucus of the California Faculty Association.
An Instagram post appearing to belong to Kil said “SJSU suspended me from my job for my Palestine work. The fight for academic freedom continues!!!” The post also included the university's letter outlining suspension.
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As of Friday, Kil no longer has access to campus and cannot perform professor-related duties. Her suspension will either end in 60 days or notified if there will be any disciplinary action taken, whichever comes first, per the letter.
Kill said Tuesday that all accusations SJSU made are "completely false."
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"I believe that my temporary suspension is part of an academic freedom suppression campaign against me," she said in a press release. "I have been an outspoken critic of the genocide in Gaza as well as an advocate for faculty rights as a CFA union member and leader. At SJSU, the administration has been completely silent and complicit on the matter of genocide in Gaza. Outcries for some accountability have been called upon by SJSU students. In my capacity as the Faculty Advisor for the Students for Justice in Palestine chapter at SJSU, I felt it was within my duties to support them in their campaign to bring greater awareness to the university community."
San José State University spokesperson Michelle McDonald said the university "does not comment on personnel matters."
Kil is the latest professor the university has taken action against over their supposed actions with pro-Palestinian demonstrations and protests on campus.
History professor Jonathan Roth was placed on leave in February after he got into a physical altercation with a student, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Roth grabbed and twisted a student's arm after they had attempted to block him from recording protestors on his phone, the Los Angeles Time reported, citing video reviewed.
Members of Students for Justice in Palestine were protesting Long Beach State University Jewish studies professor Jeffrey Blutinger's presence on campus as he spoke to a class about war. Students were outside Sweeney Hall protesting Blutinger’s “problematic” views over the war in Gaza, Kil told the LA Times in February.
Kil said she reported Roth – who is credited with reviving the Jewish Studies program at SJSU – to the university’s and statewide California Faculty Association for disparaging students in November.
“I have not heard from either CFA statewide or CFA-SJSU about Roth’s assault on a Palestinian protestor,” she wrote on LinkedIn. “Their silence is complicity with genocide and genocide deniers!’
Following the February incident, Kil called on the university to fire Roth, according to the LA Times.
