University of Minnesota Settles $250,000 Claim After Rescinding Holocaust Center Directorship

On June 5 2024, the University of Minnesota offered historian Raz Segal the directorship of its Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies. After a public-records request exposed a coordinated donor and activist campaign, the university and Segal reached a $250,000 settlement in August 2026. The agreement contains no admission of liability.

Inside Higher Ed

Segal, a dual Israeli-American citizen and grandson of four Holocaust survivors, published an op-ed in *Jewish Currents* on October 13 2023 describing Israel’s Gaza campaign as “a textbook case of genocide.” The piece, released six days after the October 7 Hamas attacks, also called the assault a “mass murder” and a war crime. Critics accused him of justifying Hamas atrocities; Segal denied the charge.

The Guardian

Following the June 5 offer, two advisory-board professors—Karen Painter and Bruno Chaouat—resigned, and dozens of donors, legislators and pro-Israel groups sent nearly identical emails urging the university to reconsider.

The Guardian

• Settlement amount: $250,000.

Democracy Now

• Emails obtained by the Center for Constitutional Rights show hundreds of messages using the same template.

The Guardian

• 69 Republican legislators signed a letter on June 13 2024 praising the university’s pause on the hire.

The Guardian

• 40 leading Holocaust and genocide scholars warned that the university’s actions set a “dangerous precedent.”

Inside Higher Ed

Painter and Chaouat, in a joint letter, labeled Segal’s op-ed as “justifying Hamas atrocities” and argued that the search process had “circumvented” the Center’s founding requirement for broader Jewish-community consultation.

The Guardian

• “Because of the community-facing and leadership role that the Director holds, it is important that these voices are heard.” — Jeff Ettinger, interim university president

Sahan Journal

• “This settlement represents a successful refusal to accept the world of lies that blur an ongoing genocide, and a commitment to continue the intertwined struggles for truth, justice, and accountability—in Palestine and on our campuses.” — Raz Segal

Inside Higher Ed

• “Dr Segal had the courage to sound the alarm to try to prevent Israel’s genocide of Palestinians,” — Maria LaHood, deputy legal director, Center for Constitutional Rights

The Guardian

More than two years after the rescission, the director position remains vacant, and Segal says no comparable tenure-track offer has materialized. Faculty and the American Association of University Professors continue to call for a public acknowledgment that the university “violated its own principles” and for safeguards to protect academic hiring from external political pressure.

The Guardian