Salaita v. Kennedy, et al. was a lawsuit on behalf of Steven Salaita, a Palestinian-American professor of indigenous studies who was fired from a tenured position at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign following pressure from donors who did not like some of his personal tweets criticizing the Israeli government’s assault on Gaza in 2014. The lawsuit alleged that Professor Salaita's termination in retaliation for his protected speech on an issue of public concern violated the First Amendment and principles of academic freedom as well as his due process rights. The case was part of the Center for Constitutional Rights' longstanding support for the struggle for Palestinian human rights and the effort to ensure that those engaged in that struggle in the U.S. are not silenced or punished for it.

Professor Salaita is a nationally recognized scholar of the effects of colonization on indigenous people and a prolific academic. He was a tenured English professor at Virginia Tech University when UIUC's College of Liberal Arts and Sciences offered him a tenured position in its American Indian Studies Program. Based on the contract Professor Salaita had with the University of Illinois, he and his wife resigned their jobs at Virginia Tech University and prepared to move their family to Illinois. Two weeks before Professor Salaita was due to start teaching, he received a letter from Chancellor Phyllis Wise and Vice President Christophe Pierre summarily informing him that his appointment had been terminated. It offered no explanation.

University officials later acknowledged that their decision was based on Professor Salaita’s tweets critical of Israeli government atrocities in Gaza that they deemed “uncivil.” Yet Professor Salaita consistently received stellar student evaluations, including in the category of “concern and respect for students.” Documents obtained through FOIA requests revealed pressure from donors who threatened to withdraw financial support from the university if it did not fire Salaita. This pressure was consistent with broader efforts by outside groups to silence Palestinian human rights activists on campuses across the country.

Prior to filing the case, attorneys filed a separate Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit against the University of Illinois on behalf of Professor Salaita seeking email correspondence to and from administrators and trustees regarding his firing.

Professor Salaita’s termination gathered national and international attention and drew widespread criticism. More than 5,000 academics from around the country pledged to boycott the institution, resulting in the cancellation of more than three dozen scheduled talks and conferences at the school. Sixteen academic departments of the university voted no confidence in the university administration, and prominent academic organizations, including the American Association of University Professors, the Modern Language Association, and the Society of American Law Teachers, publicly condemned the university’s actions. A public petition for Professor Salaita's reinstatement garnered thousands of signatures. For more information, see Professor Salaita's op-ed in the Chicago Tribune, "U. of I. destroyed my career," and the factsheet on this case.