Jewish Editor Of eLife Fired For Reposting Article From The Onion On Gaza Siege
Michael Eisen / Screengrab via eLife Youtube
Michael Eisen was dismissed from his position as editor-in-chief of Cambridge-based science journal eLife after sharing an article from online satire website The Onion that “calls out indifference to the lives of Palestinian civilians.”
Eisen, also a geneticist at the University of California, announced his firing on Monday on social platform X.
He 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.”
The scientist had faced criticism from within the publication’s masthead for sharing an article:
Michael Eisen’s retweet of The Onion / Screengrab via @mbeisen
Expressing his admiration for The Onion: “The Onion speaks with more courage, insight and moral clarity than the leaders of every academic institution put together. I wish there was a @TheOnion university.”
Facing criticism, Eisen clarified his position, stating, “Every sane person on Earth is horrified and traumatised by what Hamas did and wants it to never happen again.”
He continued: “…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.”
The controversy led some researchers to demand Eisen’s resignation and advocate for a boycott of eLife.
In a countering move, a petition urged eLife’s publisher, the Howard Hughes Medical Institute (HHMI), not to penalise Eisen. Petitioners stated, “Our stance is not based on the merits of Eisen’s views. Rather, we believe that penalising Eisen would establish a discouraging precedent for freedom of expression in academia.”
In protest of Eisen’s firing, fellow editor Lara Urban has also resigned.
Following a request for comment, eLife’s Press Office directed Mediaite UK to a since published public statement:
“The board of eLife, which governs the organisation, has made the decision to replace our Editor-in-Chief.
We thank Mike Eisen for his creativity and vision in building eLife’s transformative new publishing model. 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.
The board remains committed to eLife’s ‘Publish – Review – Curate’ model and to the important role that early-career scientists play in making it a success.
Following this decision, the board has asked two long-serving eLife Deputy Editors, Detlef Weigel and Tim Behrens, to serve as co-Editors-in-Chief until the end of 2024. We plan to conduct a search for a new Editor-in-Chief in the second half of 2024.”
