This page is subject to the extended confirmed restriction related to the Arab-Israeli conflict.Steven Salaita (born (1975 -09-15)September 15, 1975) is an American scholar, author and public speaker.

He became the center of a controversy when the University of Illinois did not hire him as a professor of American Indian Studies[2][3][4] following objections to a series of tweets critical of Israel's bombardment of Gaza in 2014.

Miriam Cooke, professor at Duke University, described the book as "a sobering analysis of anti-Arab racism, from neo-conservative to liberal, rooted in America's settler colonial past and seeping into every corner of our lives.

Written with passion, this lucid account of the dangers of American imperialism paints a dark picture of the agenda of the Bush administration not only in the Arab world but also for people of color at home.

"[13] Sinan Antoon, assistant professor at New York University, reviewed Salaita's book, The Holy Land in Transit: Colonialism and the Quest for Canaan, published in 2006.

He found the strongest chapter to be the one devoted to Salaita's personal experience of spending the summer of 2002 in the Shatila refugee camp, where he introduced Native American studies to the residents and developed perspectives on how "alternative narratives can broaden the consciousness of decolonial advocates.

[17][18] Though he appeared in the news in February 2019 working as a school bus driver in suburban Washington, D.C.,[19] he has since returned to academia as a Professor in the English and Comparative Literature department at The American University in Cairo.

[23][24] Salaita stated that "In recent years I've grown fatigued of appeals on behalf of the troops, which intensify in proportion to the belligerence or potential unpopularity of the imperial adventure du jour".

"[25] Commenting on Salaita's views and the surrounding controversy, Greg Scholtz, of the American Association of University Professors, noted that "[u]pholding academic freedom can be a difficult and even embarrassing," but "the most reputable institutions give the most latitude.

Some of the tweets angered pro-Israel students, faculty, and financial donors, who accused Salaita of anti-Semitism for rhetoric including Zionists: transforming 'anti-Semitism' from something horrible into something honorable since 1948.

During the legal proceedings, the university was forced to release hundreds of emails relating to his case which revealed that Wise had come under immense pressure to rescind Salaita's offer from wealthy donors.

Students and supporters had begun circulating an anonymous petition following Khuri's decision stating that "given Professor Salaita's recent termination from a tenure-track position at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign for his pro-Palestinian political views, we fear that AUB is reproducing the trend of persecuting scholars who condemn the injustices committed in Palestine.