Editor-in-chief of prominent science journal fired after sharing social media posts critical of Israel
The editor-in-chief of science journal "eLife" was after sharing social media posts critical of Israel's response to Hamas' attack against the country.
The editor-in-chief of prominent life science journal "eLife" was fired this week after sharing a satirical article ridiculing Israel’s treatment of the Palestinian people in its war against Hamas.
Michael Eisen announced on the social media platform X Monday that eLife had fired him for sharing an article from satire site The Onion and praising its criticism of Israel's military response to Hamas' terrorist attack.
Eisen, a geneticist at the University of California who is Jewish, wrote, "I have been informed that I am being replaced as the Editor in Chief of @eLife for retweeting a @TheOnion piece that calls out indifference to the lives of Palestinian civilians."
Eisen shared the article on Oct. 13, which featured the headline, "Dying Gazans Criticized For Not Using Last Words To Condemn Hamas."
In the same post, he commented, "The Onion speaks with more courage, insight and moral clarity than the leaders of every academic institution put together. I wish there were a @TheOnion university."
The next day, Eisen clarified his statement, noting how "horrified" he was over Hamas’ attack on Israel but also "horrified" by the resulting treatment against the Palestinian people.
He wrote, "Every sane person on Earth is horrified and traumatized by what Hamas did and wants it to never happen again. All the more so as a Jew with Israeli family. But I am also horrified by the collective punishment already being meted out on Gazans, and the worse that is about to come."
In a follow-up post, Eisen added, "The Onion is not making light of the situation. And nor am I. These articles are using satire to make a deadly serious point about this horrific tragedy."
However, multiple prominent scientists condemned Eisen’s words on social media.
Israeli-American scientist and CEO of Eleven Therapeutics Yaniv Erlich replied to Esien, stating, "Empty words. For 7 days you haven't tweeted a single time words of supports [sic] for Israeli researchers, some of which lost kids and friends. And now you dare to give us military advice from your privileged position of safety. What a moral bankruptcy."
Others demanded Eisen resign from his role at eLife. Less than ten days after his controversial X posts, Eisen shared the news about his termination.
The Cambridge, UK-based scientific journal confirmed the firing of Eisen to Fox News Digital on Tuesday, pointing to an official statement, which said, "The board of eLife, which governs the organisation, has made the decision to replace our Editor-in-Chief."
The publication did not point to a specific post that got the editor-in-chief fired but did include his social media activity as a factor in its decision.
eLife added, "Mike has been given clear feedback from the board that his approach to leadership, communication and social media has at key times been detrimental to the cohesion of the community we are trying to build and hence to eLife’s mission. It is against this background that a further incidence of this behaviour has contributed to the board’s decision."
Other members and supporters of eLife blasted the journal for its decision. Editor Lara Urban announced her resignation from the publication in solidarity with Eisen. In a post announcing her decision Monday, she wrote, "It is with great sadness that I have to resign as @eLife editor and early-career advisor after @mbeisen was fired as editor-in-chief for making use of his freedom of speech to stand up – once again – for the people who were silenced."
Her post also provided a brief statement she composed in response to the news, which accused the journal’s decision as validating "cyber-bullying as a successful and legitimate tool to get scientists with controversial opinions fired."
Eisen did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for comment.
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