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An Israeli professor lost a prestigious US job offer after speaking out on Gaza
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An Israeli professor’s job offer to lead the University of Minnesota’s Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies was withdrawn after a backlash over his Gaza commentary, resulting in a $250,000 settlement.
The case illustrates how external pressure from donors and activists can override faculty hiring decisions at public universities. It raises concerns about the protection of scholarly speech on politically charged topics, especially when such speech is alleged to constitute protected expression. The settlement may encourage other academics facing similar reprisals to seek legal redress and assert their academic freedom rights.
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The University of Minnesota withdrew its job offer to Raz Segal five days after extending it, citing community perspective following criticism of his October 2023 op-ed labeling Gaza actions a textbook case of genocide.
Segal obtained emails showing a coordinated pressure campaign by donors, legislators, and pro-Israel activists that influenced the university’s reversal.
After more than two years, Segal settled for $250,000, with the university maintaining the payment is not an admission of wrongdoing, while his legal team argued the withdrawal violated the First Amendment.
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The University of Minnesota initially offered Raz Segal the directorship of its Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies based on a near-unanimous committee recommendation after a rigorous search. Committee members had praised his work, with one describing his presentation as breathtaking. This indicates that the academic merit of his candidacy was strongly endorsed by peers before any external interference.
Five days after the offer, the university withdrew it, stating it had received perspective from members of the community. The withdrawal followed public backlash to Segal’s October 2023 op-ed in Jewish Currents where he characterized Israel’s actions in Gaza as a textbook case of genocide. Critics accused him of justifying Hamas crimes, a claim Segal rejected and said the article does not support.
Segal later secured a public records request that revealed dozens of emails from donors, legislators, and pro-Israel activists urging the university to rescind the offer. One donor wrote that they could not allow someone they described as a blatant anti-Zionist to head the Holocaust studies department. Hundreds of similar emails indicated a coordinated campaign that shifted the university’s stance from defending Segal to walking back the hire.
The Center for Constitutional Rights represented Segal, arguing that the university’s action constituted unconstitutional retaliation against protected speech. A deputy legal director from the center said Segal had sounded the alarm on a possible genocide and that the administration overruled faculty will, violating First Amendment principles and academic freedom. Segal, who is a dual Israeli-US citizen and grandson of Holocaust survivors, remains a tenured professor at Stockton University where he directs a master’s program in Holocaust and genocide studies.
Although Segal’s early characterization of Gaza actions as genocide was initially controversial, the material notes that his position has since been endorsed by scores of scholars, human rights groups, governments, and United Nations officials. Segal expressed regret that his assessment proved correct, stating he wished he had been wrong but was not. Two days after the original offer on 5 June 2024, two UMN professors on the advisory board resigned in protest, accusing him of justifying Hamas atrocities and blaming Israel for the 7 October attacks.
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