CALIFORNIA, USA, 22 Dec. - (ANA) - A University of California, Berkeley lecturer who was suspended following a hunger strike in support of Gaza is seeing a surge in support for his reinstatement.

 

Students, faculty, and staff have signed a letter urging the university administration to reinstate Peyrin Kao to his position as a computer science lecturer.

 

The open letter, in part, reads, "Last week, Peyrin was informed that he would be removed from teaching two classes next spring and suspended without pay for his hunger strike to protest the starvation in Gaza."

 

The letter continues, "The punishment for Peyrin's 38-day hunger strike is only the most recent example of the unequal repression of pro-Palestine speech within higher education."

 

It goes on to accuse the university of suppressing free speech, including through surveillance by large tech corporations, an issue Kao has repeatedly raised when linking his activism to his academic background.

 

By Friday, in one week of circulation, the letter had reached more than 1,200 signatures. That includes signatures from more than 20 organisations, about 500 undergraduate students (about half of whom are Kao's students), more than 70 Berkeley faculty and staff, 30 faculty from other universities, and 29 people who have previously worked with Kao.

 

Kao was notified that he was suspended earlier this month following a 38-day hunger strike that he decided to take to raise awareness of Israel's genocidal war on Gaza. Israeli attacks continue despite an official ceasefire.

 

The suspension letter states that his hunger strike was distracting and impeding his job performance. Some of his supporters have cited his high student-review ratings and his commitment to teaching outside the classroom, including teach-ins he has held on campus. -(ANA) -

 

AB/ANA/22 December 2025 - - -