Brooklyn College Fires Four Pro-Palestinian Professors
A woman waves the Palestine flag during protests in the U.S. X/ @AssangeNY
July 17, 2025 Hour: 11:49 am
Academic organizations condemned the decision as a serious violation of free speech in higher education.
On Tuesday, The Intercept publish an article showing that Brooklyn College, part of the City University of New York (CUNY), dismissed four adjunct professors without official explanation, amid mounting political pressure against pro-Palestinian voices in academic institutions.
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The Intercept interviewed one of the affected professors, who confirmed that the decision had nothing to do with job performance but was instead tied to activism in support of Palestine.
“The only reason we believe this is related to Palestine is because it’s the only thing we have in common,” said one professor, who requested anonymity due to fear of retaliation and harassment.
All four faculty members had already been approved by their departments to teach in the upcoming fall semester and had received assigned teaching schedules. However, they were later informed by the college’s Human Resources office that their contracts had been terminated without justification.
The university has not issued an official statement nor responded to The Intercept’s requests for information. The lack of a public explanation has raised suspicions of political censorship and ideological discrimination.
The Professional Staff Congress (PSC), the largest union representing CUNY faculty, denounced the firings as arbitrary and demanded an immediate response from university leadership.
In a letter addressed to CUNY Chancellor Felix F. Matos Rodriguez, PSC President James Davis described the dismissals as “highly irregular,” noting that none of the professors had records of misconduct or negative evaluations.
“We’ve sent at least four letters to the administration requesting a clear explanation, and we’ve received no response. The academic community deserves transparency and respect for due process,” Davis said.
The CUNY for Palestine Justice group also spoke out, stating that the dismissals reflect a growing trend of silencing dissenting voices on U.S. college campuses.
Political Pressure From U.S. Congress
The dismissals come amid growing political pressure on U.S. public universities. In recent weeks, Congress has ramped up investigations into various academic institutions, accusing them of being “hotbeds of antisemitism” and “spreading extremism.”
On Monday, former President Donald Trump’s administration announced a review of federal contracts and grants worth US$9 billion awarded to Harvard University, citing similar allegations.
These actions are part of a broader campaign aimed at conditioning public funding on the ideological alignment of universities, particularly regarding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
The firings at Brooklyn College are not isolated incidents but part of a broader wave of measures that criminalize pro-Palestinian activism in the United States. Several academics and students have faced investigations, disciplinary actions, and even surveillance by pro-Israel websites, as revealed in a separate investigation also published by The Intercept.
A prevailing narrative promoted by sectors of the Republican Party increasingly equates support for Palestine with antisemitism, contributing to an atmosphere of persecution and censorship in educational institutions.
CUNY — one of the largest and most diverse public university systems in the country, with more than 275,000 students — has frequently been the target of legislative probes over allegations of a “hostile environment toward Jewish students.” Those accusations have been rejected by faculty and students, who argue that they are part of an effort to silence criticism of Israeli policies.
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Sources: The Intercept – Al Mayadeen