The Texas Tech University professor who posted “hateful, antisemitic, and unacceptable” social media remarks about Israel and related matters has been placed on (paid) leave.
In a statement, the university said Jairo Fúnez-Flores’ comments were “antithetical to our values including those found in System Regulation 01.05,” Texas Scorecard reports.
While noting respect for the First Amendment, TTU said it is “committed to providing a safe learning and working environment that is free from harassment, including antisemitic harassment.”
“[We] will not tolerate behavior that crosses the line into harassment and interferes with or limits the ability of an individual to participate in the educational activities,” it added.
Mere hours after Hamas’ Oct. 7 assault against Israel, Fúnez-Flores (pictured) wrote on X that “decolonization is not a metaphor. It’s about a free Palestine.”
He also wrote “PALESTINIAN MEN, WOMEN, AND CHILDREN HAVE THE RIGHT TO LIVE IN PEACE AND WITH DIGNITY IN THEIR OWN LAND. THIS WILL NEVER HAPPEN AS LONG AS THE SETTLER COLONIAL STATE OF ISRAEL EXISTS” (caps in the original).
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Fúnez-Flores referred to Hamas’ actions as “resisting dehumanization, ethnic cleansing and genocide” and said such resistance “is not terrorism — it’s justice.” He also told numerous entities (Israel, the U.S., Joe Biden among others) to go “fuck” themselves:
Fuck Israel & its supporters! Fuck those who remain silent! Fuck academia! Fuck colonial apologists. Fuck those who stop humanitarian aid! Fuck the liberal “nuances”! Fuck Biden! Fuck everyone who says it’s not a genocide! Fuck those who disregard the suffering of Palestinians!
— Jairo I Fúnez-Flores (@Jairo_I_Funez) January 30, 2024
The Texas Tech University System Office of Equal Opportunity is looking into whether Fúnez-Flores expressed the sentiments of his social media posts in any of his classes.
“If it is determined by OEO that discriminatory harassment has occurred, TTU will take prompt and effective action,” the university statement said.
On Tuesday, Fúnez-Flores thanked “everyone for their solidarity” regarding his predicament. He added “my suspension will not silence me about what’s happening in Gaza. The least we can do during these times is speak up, no matter the consequences.”
He also retweeted myriad responses to his suspension announcement:
We're seeing this repeatedly now- punishment of academics by universities for criticism of Israel for massacring thousands of civilians and starving children. We're literally at a point where decrying a genocide and starvation of children is reason for suspension of academics. https://t.co/URiYhROqun
— Dr. Deepti Gurdasani (@dgurdasani1) March 5, 2024
Imagine hiring a professor to research/teach decolonial theory and then suspending them for literally doing their job when they critique a settler colonial state for its genocidal practices. https://t.co/865Zx8s0e5
— Dr. Merciless NDN Savage 🔥 (@ecohugger) March 5, 2024
According to his faculty page, Fúnez-Flores is a professor of curriculum studies and teacher education with specializations in the “intersections of sociocultural studies in education, curriculum studies, decolonial theory, and qualitative methodology.”
MORE: FSU group suspended for yelling ‘free, free Palestine’ during board meeting
IMAGE: Jairo Fúnez-Flores/X
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