The administration of the School of the Art Institute of Chicago (SAIC) suspended the tenured lecturer and opened a formal investigation following a complaint by an Israeli student alleging anti-Israel and antisemitic content in academic assignments. The lecturer, Professor Savneet Talwar from the Art Therapy and Counseling program, asked students in a course to analyze a hypothetical patient case. The assignment described a queer Muslim woman living in the United States who “deeply identifies with demonstrations in support of Palestinians.”
The administrative decision was taken at the prestigious institution, considered one of the leading art schools in the United States, after repeated complaints by the same Israeli student about a hostile environment toward Jews in the department. Earlier complaints had already led to internal investigations and the adoption of mandatory workshops for faculty on cultural bias prevention.
The assignment at the center of the complaint was distributed to students in April as part of a course on the cultural dimensions of psychological treatment. Students were asked to develop an ethical treatment plan for the patient. The document focused on the patient’s family history, relationships and status as an immigrant. In one specific paragraph it stated that although she was not particularly politically active in her country of origin, demonstrations in support of Palestine “resonated with her on a personal level.” It also noted that she felt deeply affected by violence against Palestinian civilians and was “was critical of the home government’s limited response.”
Shortly after the assignment was distributed, Talwar received a phone call from the dean of the faculty who asked her directly whether she had given students reading material that included mention of Palestine. She was then summoned to an urgent meeting with a vice president of the institution and the class she was scheduled to teach the following day was cancelled. She later received an official notice placing her on paid leave. The institution’s administration barred her from speaking about the matter with students or colleagues and ordered the removal of the assignment from the online learning platform. In a formal letter, she was warned that distributing the assignment could be considered “discrimination, harassment and/or retaliation.”
According to the letter, the student was also involved in separate investigations “involving claims by her as a Jewish Israeli related to alleged conduct expressing an anti-Israeli, antisemitic, and/or pro-Palestine viewpoin.” The official who wrote the letter noted that despite Professor Talwar’s awareness of these sensitive investigations, she “gave an academic assignment that focused solely on the issues of a Muslim woman with strong sympathies for the Palestinian cause.”
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The official who wrote the letter noted that despite Professor Talwar’s awareness of these sensitive investigations
(Photo: SCOTT OLSON / GETTY IMAGES NORTH AMERICA / AFP)
The dean of the faculty added in a separate letter that he questioned the lecturer’s judgment, stating that “One of the reasons this issue raises such serious concerns is that there have been multiple, prior complaints alleging the creation of a hostile environment within your department.” At the end of 2023, another Israeli student in the same program filed a lawsuit against the institution alleging systemic antisemitism, but a federal judge dismissed it twice.
About a month later, the institution sent Professor Talwar a document detailing additional incidents between her and the Israeli student. It noted exchanges in which the lecturer described the terrorist attack at Bondi Beach in Australia as an act of “gun violence” without acknowledging its antisemitic background. It was also alleged that Professor Talwar suggested the Israeli student consider whether she should attend a guest lecture by an openly anti-Zionist activist.
Talwar’s attorney filed a formal complaint with the institution and said the lecturer intends to sue for employment discrimination. “Are SAIC faculty expected to ethnically cleanse Palestinians from their course materials?” the attorney wrote to administrators.
Talwar herself said in an interview with The Guardian that she felt the move was triggered solely by the mention of the word Palestine. “We call it the ‘P-word’ now,” she said, comparing it to the N word used against Black people. “There is no tolerance for the very word.”