Was a University of Illinois Architecture Professor Denied Tenure because He Is a Zionist? UPDATED

Moving to the front with the correct link.

So submits my friend and co-author Cary Nelson, emeritus professor at UIUC and former president of the AAUP, in the case of Dr. Benjamin Bross. Writing on behalf of Faculty for Academic Freedom and against Antisemitism:

Other than Dr. Bross having published several more essays and having received enthusiastic reviews of his teaching, the only other notable feature in his tenure profile came in the wake of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, assault. Bross, who had kept quiet about his Zionist sympathies, now made them public. Before October 2023, Bross received a glowing third-year evaluation, a nomination for a scholarly prize, and an invitation by his school’s director to write a second book; in 2024, his tenure review committee suddenly went against the department’s prior endorsements of Bross and recommended denying him tenure through a one-sentence notice that his publications and teaching were inadequate. Meanwhile, other faculty were expressing their rage at Israel’s conduct of the war in Gaza.

Now procedural negligence gave committed anti-Zionists an opportunity to act: first, when they were appointed to a Zionist’s tenure review committee and apparently saw no cause to recuse themselves; second, when they recommended outside reviewers instead of the senior faculty member in the candidate’s field of urban studies (as the School of Architecture requires); and third, when it came to an up-or-down vote on tenure.

As the letters attest, one of Benjamin Bross’s tenure review committee members apparently expressly told another person in the program that Dr. Bross’s Zionism was unacceptable. 

Another one of Bross's tenure review committee members signed a “Call for Immediate Action” letter tht condemned Israel for its role i the current Gaza war. In any case, the UI rules are clear:"Any faculty member with a conflict of interest, or the appearance of a conrflict of interest, should not participte (e.g., review, evaluate, advoacte, or vote) in a candadte's promotion and tenure review."

You can read the entire article here.