Temple U. board chair: Tenured prof Marc Lamont Hill would be 'fired immediately' at private company
Temple University's board chair expressed outrage over Temple University professor Marc Lamont Hill's recent Israel comments.
While CNN fired Hill, his tenure at Temple University is making it difficult for the college to take any disciplinary action.
Just days after CNN fired commentator Marc Lamont Hill over anti-Israel comments he made during a speech at the United Nations, the chairman of the board at Temple University also appears to want to give Hill the ax. Hill’s tenure, however, makes such a move much more difficult.
Temple University board chairman Patrick O’Connor said that if Hill worked at a private company, they would have tried to “fire him immediately,” according to the Philadelphia Inquirer newspaper. O’Connor noted that he has asked the university’s legal staff to explore available options.
”I’m not happy. The board’s not happy. The administration’s not happy. People wanted to fire him right away. We’re going to look at what remedies we have,” O’Connor said following Hill’s comments, according to the Inquirer.
[RELATED: EXCLUSIVE: Temple U confirms Marc Lamont Hill still employed after Israel remarks]
”Marc Lamont Hill has been quoted extensively over the last 24 hours,” a Temple University spokeswoman previously told Campus Reform. “Marc Lamont Hill does not represent Temple University and his views are his own. However, we acknowledge that he has a constitutionally protected right to express his opinion as a private citizen.”
O’Connor, however, disagreed with the university’s statement, telling the Inquirer that “free speech is one thing. Hate speech is entirely different.” And O’Connor isn’t the only Temple board member outraged by Hill’s comments.
Temple University trustee and major donor Leonard Barrack also expressed his disapproval.
”He called for the destruction of the State of Israel in code words. I am very upset about it. I think it was anti-Semitic,” Barrack said, according to the Inquirer.
[RELATED: Alumni group calls on Columbia to discipline anti-Semitic prof]
Hill, however, disputed that his U.N. comments were anti-Semitic.
“I support Palestinian freedom. I support Palestinian self-determination. I am deeply critical of Israeli policy and practice. I do not support anti-Semitism, killing Jewish people, or any of the other things attributed to my speech. I have spent my life fighting these things,” Hill said in a tweet following his comments.
Follow the author of this article on Facebook: @JonStreetDC and Twitter: @JonStreet
