The campus of the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign. Photo: Herbert J. Brant via Wikimedia Commons.

JNS.org – A professor who was set to begin a position at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign had his job offer rescinded due to controversial tweets he posted about Israel.

Steven Salaita, a former associate professor of English at Virginia Polytechnic Institute, tweeted on Aug. 2, “When will the attack on #Gaza end? What is left for #Israel to prove? Who is left for Israel to kill? This is the logic of genocide.”

“#Israel is rounding up people and murdering them at point-blank range. The word ‘genocide’ is more germane the more news we hear,” he also tweeted.

Inside Higher Ed reported that due to concern over the tweets, Salaita was informed by University of Illinois Chancellor Phyllis Wise that his appointment would not be submitted to the school’s board of directors for approval.