Robert Malley, the Biden administration’s former special envoy to Iran who was suspended and is currently under investigation by the FBI, is set to teach a course on Israel and Gaza at Yale University.
Malley was the subject of controversy and scrutiny last year when lawmakers expressed anger over the administration being evasive over the reason for his absence. As his investigation by the FBI continues, Malley landed a teaching gig at Yale, teaching a course called “Contending with Israel-Palestine,” the university’s student newspaper, Yale Daily News, said.
The syllabus says the class will take “an in-depth look at important questions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.”
“In the wake of Oct. 7, I questioned whether it still made sense or whether it would be best to wait,” Malley told the outlet, saying he had been planning the course since September. “Ultimately, I concluded, in coordination with the School, that it had become even more important to try to create an environment where students could learn more about this topic and engage with others in thoughtful, respectful conversations.”
The class is reportedly highly exclusive, with students being required to conduct a personal interview with Malley, and membership was capped at 18 students. It will feature 13 weekly discussions accompanied by readings. The readings include works from the founding father of modern Zionism, Theodor Herzl, Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish, professor John Mearsheimer, former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir, Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat, and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, among others.
“I will invite students to suggest other readings as the semester progresses,” Malley wrote of the course. “In this sense, I view the course very much as a co-creation between them and me.”
Malley was made a professor by Yale in August of last year, drawing outrage from Republican lawmakers.
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“Pitiful. Look who my alma mater just made a prof. Rob Malley was such a pro-Iran radical that he was FIRED from Biden admin & had his security clearance stripped for ‘mishandling classified docs’ (the details are still hidden),” Sen. Ted Cruz (R-TX) wrote in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter, in August.
Malley began his career during the Clinton administration and earned his name as the architect of former President Barack Obama’s 2015 Iran nuclear deal. He attempted to revive the deal starting in 2021 under Biden to no avail. He was suspended in 2023.
