Professor alleges retaliation over Gaza protests

A San José State professor has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the university after her termination over pro-Palestinian protests two years ago was recently overturned.

- RUBEN VIVES

STUDENTS at San José State protest in 2024.

Sang Hae Kil, a justice studies professor, accused the university and California State University, the system that oversees 22 colleges across the state, of civil rights violations, discrimination, retaliation and creating a hostile work environaccording to the ment, lawsuit.

Court records show the lawsuit was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court in May, but it was not announced until Monday.

A San José State spokesperson said in a Tuesday statement that the university "strongly disputes the allegations and will respond and defend itself through the judicial process." Kil came under fire two years ago amid widespread protests over Israel's war in Gaza, sparked by the attack in October 2023 by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group the U.S. has designated as a terrorist group.

She was the second professor at the university at the time to face disciplinary actions in connection to the protests but was the only one fired, according to the lawsuit.

Last week, an arbitrator overturned that decision and ordered the school to reinstate the tenured professor. Attorneys for Kil said the university was in the process of reinstating her.

"I am relieved that this long, grueling ordeal has come to an end for me," Kil said in a written statement announcing the lawsuit. "I am happy the arbitrator found in my favor, and I get my job back." Although Kil's lawsuit alleges the university's discipline in the case amounted to repression of her pro-Palestinian views, the university contends that the arbitrator reduced the level of discipline imposed but made no finding that she was disciplined over her speech.

The lawsuit stems from three demonstrations that Kil attended beginning in February 2024. That month, a protest was held outside a classroom in Sweeney Hall where a guest lecturer, Jeffrey Blutinger, was speaking about the war.