A message to media from the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, sometimes abbreviated FIRE, reports that Ramsi Woodcock, the UK professor trying to return to the classroom, has obtained legal counsel with them.
On his website called the “Antizionist Legal Studies Movement," Woodcock had posted a petition demanding "every country in the world make war on Israel immediately until such time as Israel has submitted permanently and unconditionally to the government of Palestine."
Woodcock identified his posts as his own views and "not those of any university or organization." UK took the professor off teaching duties and launched an investigation, sending out a campus-wide email describing Woodcock's views as "repugnant."
UK President Eli Capilouto said Title VI of the federal Civil Rights Act of 1964 raises serious concerns about whether the employees actions may create a "hostile environment" on campus.
Graham Piro, FIRE’s Faculty Legal Defense Fund fellow, said Woodcock’s arguments about Israel are "clearly protected speech on a matter of public concern."