An arbitrator has ruled that a San Jose State University professor who was fired in 2023 for her involvement in campus protests against Israel’s war on Gaza must be reinstated, according to the California Faculty Association. 

The union, which represented Sang Hea Kil for nearly two years, called the decision a victory for academic freedom and free speech for faculty within the California State University system.

Kil, a justice studies professor, was fired following her involvement in pro-Palestinian activism and student protests, serving as a liaison between students and school administrators. According to CFA, the arbitrator found that her dismissal was excessive. The ruling followed an earlier decision by a Faculty Hearing Committee, which determined in November 2025 that no disciplinary action was warranted.

Despite the committee’s recommendation, the SJSU president declined to accept its conclusion, leading CFA and Kil to pursue arbitration. The arbitrator ultimately found that the punishment should be reduced from termination to a one-month unpaid suspension.

The arbitrator’s decision to impose any punishment was due to Kil’s “interference with another faculty member’s delivery of a lecture” that she and others found objectionable and her “misadvising students about a rule she could or should have known about,” the CFA said. But the arbitrator found that those actions did not justify her firing. 

“We have never seen such an overreach in punishing faculty, and that’s why we agreed without hesitation to represent Dr. Kill in the faculty committee and the arbitration,” the CFA said. “At arbitration, the CSU spent days putting on a horrible case, trying to dress up its suppression of free speech and academic freedom as irredeemable misconduct.”

The ruling is part of a wider trend of faculty members facing repercussions for their political speech. 

“We have witnessed a disturbing pattern of faculty across the country, in California, Pennsylvania, Texas, Kentucky, Arkansas, and Washington, facing consequences for pro-Palestinian speech,” the CFA said in a statement.

Despite the ruling, the union said it has also been challenging CSU policies related to campus protests and faculty privacy. CFA is also backing Assembly Bill 2551, which seeks to strengthen student participation rights and require review of how campus protest policies affect students.

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This article originally published at San Jose State professor fired over Gaza protest must be reinstated, arbitrator rules.