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The president of Sonoma State University was placed on leave Wednesday, a day after he released a controversial campuswide message on the Israel-Hamas war that said the university would pursue \u201cdivestment strategies\u201d and endorsed an academic boycott of Israeli universities.<\/p>\n
California State University Chancellor Mildred Garc\u00eda<\/a> announced the decision in a statement<\/a> posted to the CSU website, saying that Sonoma State President Mike Lee was taken off the job for his \u201cinsubordination\u201d in making the statement without \u201cappropriate approvals.\u201d<\/p>\n Pro-Palestinian student encampment protesters celebrated when Lee released a letter to the roughly 6,000-student member Rohnert Park campus on Tuesday that met enough of their requests for activists to agree to dismantle their camp by Wednesday evening. <\/p>\n \u201cSSU Demands Met!\u201d said a post on the SSU Students for Justice in Palestine Instagram with the caption \u201cbrick by brick, wall by wall\u201d that showed screenshots of Lee\u2019s letter.<\/p>\n In his letter, Lee promised to pursue \u201cdivestment strategies that include seeking ethical alternatives\u201d in consultation with pro-Palestinian activists and said he supported an academic boycott of Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cSSU will not pursue or engage in any study abroad programs, faculty exchanges, or other formal collaborations that are sponsored by, or represent, the Israeli state academic and research institutions,\u201d Lee\u2019s Tuesday letter said.<\/p>\n Lee\u2019s statement stood out. While other universities have recently said they will look into divesting from weapons companies, including UC Berkeley and UC Riverside, nearly all in the U.S. have rejected calls to target Israel specifically or to boycott formal exchange or research partnerships with Israeli universities.<\/p>\n In opposing such calls, the universities have cited their support of academic freedom and anti-discrimination policies. Some have also noted that a 2016 state law signed by then Gov. Jerry Brown banned giving state grants or contracts worth more than $100,000 to state universities that targeted Israel in endorsing the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions movement.<\/p>\n Lee\u2019s statement immediately drew criticism from Jewish students, parents and community groups.<\/p>\n Speaking at a Jewish Public Affairs Committee of California conference in Sacramento on Wednesday, California Lt. Gov. Eleni Kounalakis, who serves on the CSU Board of Trustees, slammed campuses for moving forward with agreements to quell protests.<\/p>\n \u201cEach campus is handling these situations in their own way with inconsistencies and frankly, sometimes coming up with agreements that they really don\u2019t have the authority to come up with,\u201d said Kounalakis, who spoke before Lee was put on leave. <\/p>\n Kounalakis, a Democrat, said campuses were \u201cwoefully unprepared\u201d for the recent protests.<\/p>\n