Reinstated professor sues California university, alleging retaliation over pro-Palestinian protests

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Set us as preferred 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.Sang Hae Kil, a justice studies professor, accused the university and California State University, the system that oversees 23 colleges across the state, of civil rights violations, discrimination, retaliation and creating a hostile work environment, according to the lawsuit.Court records show the lawsuit was filed in Santa Clara County Superior Court in late May, but it was not announced until Monday.A San José State University spokesperson did not respond to The Times’ request for comment.Kil came under fire two years ago amid widespread protests over the war in Gaza after the attack against Israel in October 2023 by Hamas, the Palestinian militant group that 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.”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.Blutinger, a Jewish studies professor at Long Beach State University, had argued that Israel was not committing genocide in Gaza and that the protests on u...