Maura Finkelstein is an

anthropologist An anthropologist is a scientist engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropologists study aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms, values ...

thought to be the first tenured professor to lose their job for pro-Palestine speech in the United States. After completing her PhD in cultural anthropology at Stanford, she became a professor at

Muhlenberg College Muhlenberg College is a private liberal arts college in Allentown, Pennsylvania, United States. Founded in 1848, Muhlenberg College is affiliated with the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and is named for Henry Muhlenberg, the German pat ...

, receiving tenure in 2021. Specializing in urban India, she wrote ''The Archive of Loss: Lively Ruination in Mill Land Mumbai'' (2019), an ethnography of Mumbai mill workers. In 2024, Finkelstein was fired after Muhlenberg determined that she had violated their anti-discrimination policy by sharing a post by Remi Kanazi on her

Instagram Instagram is an American photo sharing, photo and Short-form content, short-form video sharing social networking service owned by Meta Platforms. It allows users to upload media that can be edited with Social media camera filter, filters, be ...

story that stated: "Do not cower to

Zionists Zionism is an ethnocultural nationalist movement that emerged in Europe in the late 19th century that aimed to establish and maintain a national home for the Jewish people, pursued through the colonization of Palestine, a region roughly cor ...

. Shame them. Do not welcome them in your spaces." Finkelstein's firing was criticized by the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) as a violation of her academic freedom. Finkelstein participated in '' Texas Ranch House'' (2006), a PBS

reality TV Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 199 ...

show about life in 1867 rural

Texas Texas ( , ; or ) is the most populous U.S. state, state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. It borders Louisiana to the east, Arkansas to the northeast, Oklahoma to the north, New Mexico to the we ...

Early life and personal life

Born around 1980, Finkelstein was raised in

Chevy Chase, Maryland Chevy Chase () is the colloquial name of an area that includes a town, several incorporated villages, and an unincorporated census-designated place in southern Montgomery County, Maryland; and one adjoining neighborhood in northwest Washington, D ...

. In her final year of high school, she learned about the

Israeli-Palestinian conflict Israelis (; ) are the citizens and nationals of the State of Israel. The country's populace is composed primarily of Jews and Arabs, who respectively account for 75 percent and 20 percent of the national figure, followed by other ethnic and ...

and eventually began identifying as

anti-Zionist Anti-Zionism is opposition to Zionism. Although anti-Zionism is a heterogeneous phenomenon, all its proponents agree that the creation of the State of Israel in 1948, and the movement to create a sovereign Jewish state in the Palestine (region) ...

. She is

queer ''Queer'' is an umbrella term for people who are non-heterosexual or non- cisgender. Originally meaning or , ''queer'' came to be used pejoratively against LGBTQ people in the late 19th century. From the late 1980s, queer activists began to ...

, Jewish, and an

equestrian The word equestrian is a reference to equestrianism, or horseback riding, derived from Latin ' and ', "horse". Horseback riding (or riding in British English) Examples of this are: *Equestrian sports *Equestrian order, one of the upper classes in ...

''Texas Ranch House''

After completing her master's degree, Finkelstein participated in a

PBS The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcaster and non-commercial, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly funded nonprofit organization and the most prominent provider of educat ...

reality TV show called '' Texas Ranch House'' (2006)''.'' The participants spent 3 summer months on a remote ranch in the Chihuahuan Desert in conditions designed to mimic life in 1867. They dealt with cattle rustlers, food shortages, rudimentary tools, extreme weather, and other harsh living conditions. Participants included a family of five from California, cowboys, and other staff. A common theme of the show is conflict regarding

gender roles A gender role, or sex role, is a social norm deemed appropriate or desirable for individuals based on their gender or sex. Gender roles are usually centered on conceptions of masculinity and femininity. The specifics regarding these gende ...

. Finkelstein criticized her male co-stars for having sexist attitudes. Disappointed to be cast as a maid, Finkelstein successfully lobbied to be a ranch hand, citing historical examples of female cowboys''.'' In 2023, Finkelstein reported that she was working on a memoir about her experiences on the show.

Academic career

Finkelstein obtained her master's degree in

anthropology Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, society, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including archaic humans. Social anthropology studies patterns of behav ...

from

Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...

and her PhD in

cultural anthropology Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The term ...

from

Stanford Leland Stanford Junior University, commonly referred to as Stanford University, is a private research university in Stanford, California, United States. It was founded in 1885 by railroad magnate Leland Stanford (the eighth governor of and th ...

. She worked for two years at

Mills College Mills College at Northeastern University in Oakland, California is part of Northeastern University's global university system. Mills College was founded as the Young Ladies Seminary in 1852 in Benicia, California; it was relocated to Oakland in ...

before starting a position at Muhlenberg College in 2015. There she taught about urban India as well as

Palestine Palestine, officially the State of Palestine, is a country in West Asia. Recognized by International recognition of Palestine, 147 of the UN's 193 member states, it encompasses the Israeli-occupied West Bank, including East Jerusalem, and th ...

and achieved tenure in 2021. In 2024, she became an associate editor for the ''

American Anthropologist ''American Anthropologist'' is the flagship journal of the American Anthropological Association The American Anthropological Association (AAA) is an American organization of scholars and practitioners in the field of anthropology. With 10,000 m ...

''.

Duke University Press Duke University Press is an academic publisher and university press affiliated with Duke University. It was founded in 1921 by William T. Laprade as The Trinity College Press. (Duke University was initially called Trinity College). In 1926 ...

published Finkelstein's ''The Archive of Loss: Lively Ruination in Mill Land Mumbai'' in 2019''.'' The book is an

ethnography Ethnography is a branch of anthropology and the systematic study of individual cultures. It explores cultural phenomena from the point of view of the subject of the study. Ethnography is also a type of social research that involves examining ...

of Dhanraj Spinning and Weaving, a textile mill in

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. Finkelstein draws on several years of her

field research Field research, field studies, or fieldwork is the collection of raw data outside a laboratory, library, or workplace setting. The approaches and methods used in field research vary across disciplines. For example, biologists who conduct fi ...

to describe the mill's workers in the context of

deindustrialization Deindustrialization is a process of social and economic change caused by the removal or reduction of industrial capacity or activity in a country or region, especially of heavy industry or manufacturing industry. There are different interpr ...

, including the impact of their labor on their bodies, their residences in the Bombay Development Department (BDD) chawls, and their differing perspectives of the 1982 Great Bombay textile strike. A review in ''

Anthropological Quarterly Anthropological Quarterly is a widely read peer-reviewed journal covering topics in social and cultural anthropology. It is housed at the George Washington University Institute for Ethnographic Research. ''Anthropological Quarterly'' was founded ...

'' stated that Finkelstein: "delicately and patiently unearths how these deteriorating spaces and bodies remain lively while also sustaining other, post-industrial activities around them". Other reviewers like Hans Schenk praised the book as innovative but questioned Finkelstein's methodology of basing her argument on the accounts of only 5 workers.

Gaza war

Vocal about her pro-Palestine views, Finkelstein visited Palestine in 2018 and had a sign on her office door that said "Long live Palestine" in Arabic. Soon after the

October 7 attacks On October 7, 2023, Hamas and several other Palestinian militant groups launched coordinated armed incursions from the Gaza Strip into the Gaza envelope of southern Israel, the first invasion of Israeli territory since the 1948 Arab–Israeli ...

, Finkelstein held class discussions based on student questions, including questions about

Hamas The Islamic Resistance Movement, abbreviated Hamas (the Arabic acronym from ), is a Palestinian nationalist Sunni Islam, Sunni Islamism, Islamist political organisation with a military wing, the Qassam Brigades. It has Gaza Strip under Hama ...

. After a student alleged that Finkelstein had made pro-Hamas remarks, Finkelstein told the Muhlenberg administration that she would not talk about the

Gaza war The Gaza war is an armed conflict in the Gaza Strip and southern Israel fought since 7 October 2023. A part of the unresolved Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israeli–Palestinian and Gaza–Israel conflict, Gaza–Israel conflicts dating ...

in her classes anymore. In late October, a group of anonymous school alumni started a petition advocating for Finkelstein's dismissal due to her social media posts. For example, the petition highlighted a post in which she said that a student fundraiser for "the various war efforts in Israel" was "raising money for

genocide Genocide is violence that targets individuals because of their membership of a group and aims at the destruction of a people. Raphael Lemkin, who first coined the term, defined genocide as "the destruction of a nation or of an ethnic group" by ...

" and called for a ceasefire. Another post featured a photo of Finkelstein wearing a

keffiyeh The keffiyeh (), also regionally known as a hattah (), ghutrah (), or shemagh (), is a traditional headdress worn by men from parts of the Middle East. It is fashioned from a square scarf, and is usually made of cotton. The keffiyeh is commonly ...

and a shirt that said: "Anti-Zionist Vibes Only." The petition accrued more than 8,000 signatures. According to Finkelstein, she received anonymous threats, including rape threats. In January 2024, Muhlenberg informed Finkelstein that the school was being investigated for discrimination by the

US Department of Education US or Us most often refers to: * ''Us'' (pronoun), the objective case of the English first-person plural pronoun ''we'' * US, an abbreviation for the United States US, U.S., Us, us, or u.s. may also refer to: Arts and entertainment Albums * ...

, most likely because of her. That evening, Finkelstein shared a post by Remi Kanazi to her

stories. The post stated: “Do not cower to Zionists. Shame them. Do not welcome them in your spaces. Do not make them feel comfortable. Why should those genocide-loving fascists be treated any different than any other flat-out racist. Don’t normalize Zionism. Don’t normalize Zionists taking up space.” A student filed a complaint about the post, and Finkelstein was put on leave shortly thereafter. An independent investigation found that Finkelstein's Instagram post was not harassment but might be considered discrimination. It also criticized the way that the student complaint was initiated: a Muhlenberg dean had shared the Instagram post with the school's Hillel director. The director asked one of the Hillel fellows to find a student to file a complaint. A student who had never met Finkelstein or taken one of her classes then filed a complaint about the post. After the investigation concluded, Muhlenberg fired Finkelstein in May 2024, stating that the Instagram post had violated their anti-discrimination policy. Finkelstein appealed the decision. In July, the email accounts of Muhlenberg administrators and local politicians were spammed with hundreds of e-mails in one day calling for Finkelstein's dismissal for anti-semitism. In September, Finkelstein was informed that her appeal had been denied, and she publicly announced that she had been fired. Soon afterwards, the Department of Education finished its investigation, concluding that Muhlenberg had inadequately investigated student complaints against Finkelstein by failing to determine if she had created a hostile environment for Jewish students. Both the

American Association of University Professors The American Association of University Professors (AAUP) is an organization of professors and other academics in the United States that was founded in 1915 in New York City and is currently headquartered in Washington, D.C. AAUP membership inc ...

(AAUP) and a panel of Muhlenberg faculty found that Muhlenberg had violated Finkelstein's

academic freedom Academic freedom is the right of a teacher to instruct and the right of a student to learn in an academic setting unhampered by outside interference. It may also include the right of academics to engage in social and political criticism. Academic ...

, a claim the college has disputed. According to ''The Intercept'' and several academic freedom advocacy groups, Finkelstein is the first tenured professor to lose their position for criticizing Israel. She has been compared to

Steven Salaita Steven Salaita (born ) 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 following objections to a series of tweets ...

, a Palestinian-American professor whose offer of tenure was withdrawn for pro-Palestine speech. Finkelstein has also been contrasted with Amy Wax, an American professor who was temporarily suspended but ultimately kept her job after making statements considered by some to be

racist Racism is the belief that groups of humans possess different behavioral traits corresponding to inherited attributes and can be divided based on the superiority of one Race (human categorization), race or ethnicity over another. It may also me ...

. Finkelstein has given multiple talks entitled: “Academic Freedom in Times of Crisis.”

Selected publications

* "Landscapes of Invisibility: Anachronistic Subjects and Allochronous Spaces in Mill Land Mumbai". ''City & Society''. vol. 27 no. 3, 2016. * "Ghosts in the Gallery: The Vitality of Anachronism in a Mumbai Chawl". ''Anthropological Quarterly''. vol. 91 no. 3, 2018. * ''The Archive of Loss: Lively Ruination in Mill Land Mumbai.'' Durham: Duke University Press, 2019. * "Reframing Hamas". Allegra Lab. December 2023. * "Work Cannot Save Us but Let's Still Try: Labor, Utopias, and Futurity at an Equine Therapy Farm". ''Anthropology of Work Review''. 2025. * "Where language does not live". ''American Anthropologist'', vol. 127 no. 1, 2025.

References