Texas Ranch House
After completing her master's degree,Finkelstein participated in a PBS reality TV show called Texas Ranch House (2006). The participants spent three summer months on a remote ranch in the Chihuahuan Desert in conditions designed to mimic life in 1867. [1] [9] They dealt with cattle rustlers,food shortages,rudimentary tools,extreme weather,and other harsh living conditions. [7] [2] [9] Participants included a family of five from California,cowboys,and other staff. [7] A common theme of the show is conflict regarding gender roles. [9] Finkelstein criticized her male co-stars for having sexist attitudes. [1] [7] [6] Disappointed to be cast as a maid, [9] Finkelstein successfully lobbied to be a ranch hand,citing historical examples of female cowboys . [10] [11] In 2023,Finkelstein reported that she was working on a memoir about her experiences on the show. [4]
Gaza war
Vocal about her pro-Palestine views,Finkelstein visited Palestine in 2018 and had a sign on her office door that said "Long live Palestine" in Arabic. [13] [20] [3] Soon after the October 7 attacks,Finkelstein held class discussions based on student questions,including questions about Hamas. After a student alleged that Finkelstein had made pro-Hamas remarks,Finkelstein told the Muhlenberg administration that she would not talk about the Gaza war in her classes anymore. [3] [21] In late October,a group of anonymous school alumni started a petition advocating for Finkelstein's dismissal due to her social media posts. For example,the petition highlighted a post in which she said that a student fundraiser for "the various war efforts in Israel" was "raising money for genocide" and called for a ceasefire. [3] [13] [21] Another post featured a photo of Finkelstein wearing a keffiyeh and a shirt that said:"Anti-Zionist Vibes Only." [3] The petition accrued more than 8,000 signatures. [12] [22] According to Finkelstein,she received anonymous threats,including rape threats. [13]
In January 2024,Muhlenberg informed Finkelstein that the school was being investigated for discrimination by the US Department of Education,most likely because of her. [12] [13] [21] That evening,Finkelstein shared a post by Remi Kanazi to her Instagram stories. The post stated:“Do not cower to Zionists. Shame them. Do not welcome them in your spaces. Do not make them feel comfortable. Why should those genocide-loving fascists be treated any different than any other flat-out racist. Don’t normalize Zionism. Don’t normalize Zionists taking up space.” [3] [21] A student filed a complaint about the post, [3] [13] [23] and Finkelstein was put on leave shortly thereafter. [12]
An independent investigation found that Finkelstein's Instagram post was not harassment but might be considered discrimination. [13] [3] It also criticized the way that the student complaint was initiated:a Muhlenberg dean had shared the Instagram post with the school's Hillel director. The director asked one of the Hillel fellows to find a student to file a complaint. A student who had never met Finkelstein or taken one of her classes then filed a complaint about the post. [3] After the investigation concluded,Muhlenberg fired Finkelstein in May 2024,stating that the Instagram post had violated their anti-discrimination policy. [13] Finkelstein appealed the decision. [3] In July,the email accounts of Muhlenberg administrators and local politicians were spammed with hundreds of e-mails in one day calling for Finkelstein's dismissal for anti-semitism. [13] [22] [23] In September,Finkelstein was informed that her appeal had been denied,and she publicly announced that she had been fired. [3] Soon afterwards,the Department of Education finished its investigation,concluding that Muhlenberg had inadequately investigated student complaints against Finkelstein by failing to determine if she had created a hostile environment for Jewish students. [3] [21] [24]
Both the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) and a panel of Muhlenberg faculty found that Muhlenberg had violated Finkelstein's academic freedom, [3] [25] [26] a claim the college has disputed. [3] [25] According to The Intercept and several academic freedom advocacy groups,Finkelstein is the first tenured professor to lose their position for criticizing Israel. [23] [13] [12] She has been compared to Steven Salaita,a Palestinian-American professor whose offer of tenure was withdrawn for pro-Palestine speech. Finkelstein has also been contrasted with Amy Wax,an American professor who was temporarily suspended but ultimately kept her job after making statements considered by some to be racist. [13] [3] Finkelstein has given multiple talks entitled:“Academic Freedom in Times of Crisis.” [3]
