SAIC Suspends Professor Savneet Talwar Over 2-Page Palestine Case Study
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 5
SAIC Suspends Professor Savneet Talwar Over 2-Page Palestine Case Study
1 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 5
Summary
17 April, SAIC put tenured art therapy professor Savneet Talwar on paid leave and opened an investigation after a student complained about a two-page case study mentioning violence against Palestinians.
The April assignment asked students to design an ethical treatment plan for a hypothetical queer, Muslim immigrant woman in the US; it mentioned Palestine once and did not mention Israel.
School letters said the assignment could amount to discrimination, harassment or retaliation, citing multiple prior complaints in the department and separate investigations involving the same Jewish Israeli student.
13 May, SAIC also raised earlier interactions with that student, including Talwar's comments about the Bondi beach attack and a suggestion she consider skipping a lecture by an anti-Zionist guest.
Talwar, who denies antisemitism and plans an employment discrimination complaint, said the case shows growing pressure on US campuses over even mentioning Palestine.
With courts defending campus speech, why was a professor suspended for a case study mentioning Palestine?
When does a classroom assignment on Mideast conflict cross from academic freedom to student harassment?
Academic Freedom on Trial: The 2026 Suspension of Professor Talwar at SAIC Amid 127 Israel-Palestine Speech Complaints
Overview
In April 2026, Professor Savneet Talwar was suspended from SAIC's art therapy and counseling program after a controversy erupted over a two-page case study assignment in her class that referenced violence against Palestinian civilians. This assignment quickly led to a student complaint, which triggered an immediate university investigation. The complaint was not the first; it followed earlier warnings from student Shiran Canel, who had threatened legal action if the material was not retracted. Despite SAIC's directive to remove part of the assignment, tensions escalated, resulting in Professor Talwar's suspension and highlighting ongoing concerns about academic freedom, discrimination, and campus climate.