The professor is suing San José State, saying he will take revenge for the protests in Gaza

A San José State professor has filed a civil rights lawsuit against the university after he was dismissed for his involvement in pro-Palestinian protests two years ago.

Sang Hae Kil, a professor of legal studies, accused the university and California State University, a system that oversees 23 colleges across the state, of civil rights violations, discrimination, retaliation and creating a hostile work environment, according to the lawsuit.

Court records show the case was filed in Santa Clara Superior Court in late May, but not until Monday.

A spokesperson for San José State University did not respond to The Times’ request for comment.

Kil began to be criticized two years ago amid widespread protests over the war in Gaza after the October 2023 attack on Israel by Hamas, a Palestinian terrorist group designated by the US as a terrorist group.

He was the second professor at the university at the time to be disciplined for the protests but the only one to be fired, according to the lawsuit.

Last week, an arbitrator overturned that decision and ordered the school to reinstate the hired professor. Kil’s lawyers said the university is in the process of reinstatement.

“I am relieved that this painful incident that has lasted for a long time has come to an end for me,” said Kil in a written statement announcing the case. “I’m glad the judge found in my favor, and I’m getting my job.”

The case stems from three protests that Kil attended since February 2024. That month, a protest was held outside a classroom in Sweeney Hall where a guest lecturer, Jeffrey Blutinger, was speaking about the war.

Blutinger, a professor of Jewish studies at Long Beach State University, argued that Israel was not committing genocide in Gaza and that the protests on university campuses appeared to support Hamas.

At the time, Kil, who at the time was working as a consultant for Students for Justice in Palestine, told The Times that students disagreed with Blutinger’s views.

According to the lawsuit, Kil attended the show in his personal capacity and not as a consultant for SJP, which did not organize or sponsor the show.

When Blutinger spoke, history professor Jonathan Roth tried to take a video of the protesters in the corridor and got into an argument with a female student who was trying to stop her from doing so.

The video of this incident showed the professor grabbing and twisting the arm of the pro-Palestine student. Roth was placed on administrative leave but returned to work soon after, according to the lawsuit.

In April, Kil received a letter from the university notifying him that he was being investigated for the February 19 protest. Officials accused him in the letter of violating the university’s Time, Place and Conduct Act, which sets rules regarding free speech activities on campus.

Kil’s lawyers said he asked for a copy of the policy before the protest but did not receive it until days later.

On May 14, a day after San José State University students built a camp in Gaza, university officials sent a letter to Kil informing him that he had been placed on administrative leave.

In the letter, the lawsuit says, university officials were amending their investigation to include the May 8 protest he attended where he urged students to violate university policies, among other allegations.

Kil’s lawyers said in the case that he spoke out against the time, place and behavior policy and its impact on free speech, and told students that if they were “thinking about making a camp” it was not too late.

“Dr. Kil did not instruct students to violate any institutional policies or engage in any specific conduct,” the lawsuit states.

In June, the university sent him a termination letter. He appealed the decision to the Faculty Hearing Committee, an independent board that investigates and adjudicates disputes involving faculty members.

In November, the committee found that Kil may have violated certain university policies but that the violations were not serious enough to warrant his dismissal.

But the university ignored the committee’s findings, prompting Kil to seek a settlement in March. Last week, an arbitrator overturned the university’s decision.

“SJSU’s unequal treatment of Dr. Kil clears any doubt: SJSU terminated Dr. Kil because she spoke out in support of Palestine as an Asian-American, queer woman,” said Rebecca Brown, an attorney at Hadsell Stormer Renick & Dai in a statement. “SJSU’s actions threaten the rights of free speech and academic freedom across the country.”

Lawyers said in the lawsuit that Kil’s treatment is in “sharp and alarming contrast to his treatment of other intelligence” who do not share his political views or ties to other groups, including the Palestinians.

“For example, Dr. Jonathan Roth — a white, heterosexual male professor at SJSU who publicly supports Israel and expresses anti-Arab, anti-Palestinian, and anti-Muslim sentiments — harassed a Palestinian protester at the same demonstration that prompted the investigation into Dr. Kil,” the lawsuit said. “SJSU did not seek his dismissal and allowed him to return to his teaching position.”

The shooting was not only a huge loss to his students and the community, but it also caused him psychological damage, including anxiety and depression, Kil’s lawyers argue in the lawsuit.

Advocates say Kil has spent years advocating for students and making sure the university is inclusive.

“When the opportunity arose to speak in support of Palestine and to hold solidarity with members of the Palestinian, Muslim and Arab communities on campus, Dr. Kil was compelled to attend,” the lawsuit said.

“Our public universities have an academic duty and a constitutional duty to protect free speech, but SJSU made a cowardly decision to fire its professor because he disagreed with his political views,” Brian Olney, Kil’s attorney, said in a statement. “The university tried to destroy Dr. Kil’s successful career but failed to silence him.