U. Arkansas professor fired over anti-Israel social media sues to overturn state antisemitism law– www.thecollegefix.com
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EXCERPT:
Suit claims law ‘imposes a limitation on the ability to criticize the state of Israel’s actions’
A former University of Arkansas professor terminated from her position after praising Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and calling for Israel’s destruction is now suing in federal court — in part to overturn the state’s antisemitism law.
Prof. Shirin Saeidi also had shared a post in late 2025 calling for a “dagger” to be “thrust […] into the throats of the Zionists,” and allegedly used official university letterhead in support of Hamid Nouri, accused of collaborating in Iranian mass executions, YNet News reports.
Saeidi had been the head of UA’s King Fahd Center for Middle East Studies. Following her dismissal, she demanded a hearing regarding alleged violation of her “academic freedom and free speech rights.”
U.Arkansas System President Jay Silveria ultimately rejected a faculty committee’s recommendation to reinstate Saeidi, citing “concerns over lost funding due to insufficient responses to antisemitism under Title VI.”
Groups such as the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, aka FIRE, and the American Association of University Professors opposed Silveria’s decision on free expression grounds.
According to The Intercept, Saeidi’s lawsuit filed on October 6 accuses the “Iranian exile group” Alliance Against Islamic Regime of Iran Apologists of colluding with UA officials to get her fired.
It also seeks to overturn Arkansas’ Act 721 which uses the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of “antisemitism” and states “each institution of higher education shall incorporate [the definition] into its student and employee codes of conduct.”