UC-Davis Offering $149K+ to Teach Anti-Israel “Palestine Studies”
The University of California-Davis is inviting DEI-aligned PhDs to apply for a tenure-track position to teach “Palestine Studies” courses in the school’s anthropology department over the next few years.
The school hopes to hire a professor by June 1. The chosen candidate will earn up to $149,000 annually—plus benefits—to teach “key topics in Palestine Studies.” But what exactly are those key topics?
UC Davis didn’t respond to our inquiry. However, based on my experience taking similar courses at Barnard College during my undergraduate studies, Palestine Studies professors typically focus on the Israel-Palestine conflict, the “occupation,” the BDS movement, ownership of Jerusalem, theories of oppression, and the “horrors of Zionism.”
While no syllabus has been released, it’s worth noting that one of the foundational texts in Palestine Studies in American academia is by Edward Said, a prominent anti-Zionist scholar who popularized the description of Israel as a “settler colonial” state. Perhaps his work will be on the required reading list. Who knows?
In fact, a search of the UC Davis website for “Said” yields numerous results—suggesting the university is quite comfortable with hosting Said’s anti-Israel sentiment. One archived syllabus even lists his work as required reading.
Meanwhile, more examples of campus antisemitism can be found in the school’s anthropology department, where noted professor Nora Abedelal teaches courses on “Colonialism, Violence, Dispossession, Palestinian Diaspora, [and] Subjectivity.” Abedel has been involved with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and other pro-Hamas activism, as documented by Canary Mission.
As of February 2020, Abdelal was listed as a member of the Americans Against Genocide in Gaza (AAGG) Facebook group—a public page she had reportedly joined in October 2015. The group continues to post anti-Israel and pro-Hamas agitprop. She remains on the faculty.
The hiring committee at UC Davis states: “We seek a scholar… whose work addresses key topics in Palestine Studies. This hire would complement existing departmental theoretical and methodological strengths, as well as work collaboratively with scholars doing research and teaching on the Middle East across the College of Letters and Science.”
All applicants are expected to submit a DEI statement. UC Davis explains the purpose of its DEI and affirmative action policies on its website: “The State of California has a compelling interest in making sure that people from all backgrounds perceive that access to the University is possible for talented students, staff, and faculty from all groups.”
Notably, UC Davis already has a track record of tolerating antisemitic professors.
Just three days after the October 7 Hamas massacre in Israel, UC Davis professor Jemma DeCristo made a post stating: “One group of ppl we have easy access to in the US is all these Zionist journalists who spread propaganda & misinformation / they have houses w addresses, kids in school / they can fear their bosses, but they should fear us more 🔪🪓🩸🩸🩸.”
The implication of violence—note the knife, axe, and blood emojis—against Zionist journalists is especially grotesque. Yet more than 18 months later, Jemma DeCristo remains on the school roster, continuing to earn $116,000 annually, plus benefits.
This article will be updated if UC Davis responds to our queries.
This piece was brought to you by Toni Airaksinen, Senior Editor of Liberty Affair and an independent journalist based in Boca Raton, Florida. Follow her on X @Toni_Airaksinen, and on Instagram.
