On March 12, 2024, Shalhoub-Kevorkian was suspended from the HUJI Faculty of Law following her remarks on
Israel's Channel 14 news, where she accused Israel of
genocide in Gaza and cast doubt on reports of
sexual violence perpetrated by Hamas on October 7. The
American Anthropological Association described an earlier letter, sent by the university in December 2023, as a threat to
academic freedom and asked the university to retract. Philosopher and gender studies scholar
Judith Butler wrote to the university leadership in support of Shalhoub-Kevorkian. Butler argued that it was the university's right to disagree with Shalhoub-Kevorkian on her
view that the 2023 Israeli attack on Gaza constitutes genocide, but that the university leaders had an "obligation as representatives of a major
research university to engage the debate, and to make room for an informed discussion of the matter free of threats". In a letter to Hebrew University, the
Association for Civil Rights in Israel argued that Shalhoub-Kevorkian's comments: "while contentious, are protected under the right to freedom of expression, rendering her suspension an intolerable infringement upon academic freedom and constitutional rights." After Shalhoub-Kevorkian walked back her statements expressing doubts over the extent of Hamas' sexual assaults on October 7, the Hebrew University rescinded her suspension. On April 18, 2024, Shalhoub-Kevorkian was arrested following an interview, where she raised doubts about
sexual and gender crimes committed by Hamas on
October 7, 2023. Police confiscated books and posters from her home and questioned her on previous academic publications. According to her lawyer, Shalhoub-Kevorkian was
strip-searched and held in painful conditions without access to food, water, or medications, in a cold cell without adequate clothing or blankets. She was released on bail the next day after it was ruled that she did not pose a threat. More than 100 faculty members from Hebrew University published an open letter backing her and criticizing the university for not offering their support, describing the arrest as a political act against
freedom of expression. The university later condemned the arrest, emphasizing that in a democratic country, there is no place to arrest a person for their remarks, regardless of their controversial nature. More than 250 academics at Queen Mary University of London also signed a letter in support of Shalhoub-Kevorkian and called on the university to stand by her.
Minister of National Security Itamar Ben-Gvir celebrated her arrest and in June the
Knesset whip Ofir Katz introduced a proposal for a law which would terminate the careers of lecturers who expressed
anti-Zionist views, which in Shalhoub-Kevorkian's case would, if approved, cancel her rights to her earned pension, savings, and salary. In late August 2024, Shalhoub-Kevorkian was reported to have resigned her position at
Hebrew University without making a public statement about the reasons for her decision. In May 2025, the Program in Gender and Sexuality Studies announced that they had awarded the Stanley Kelley Jr. Visiting Professorship for Distinguished Teaching to Shalhoub-Kevorkian for the 2025-2026 academic school year. Since October 2024, Shalhoub-Kevorkian's scholarship has focused on the concept of ( 'dismembered body parts') in her theoretical critique of
Zionism as a metaphor for
fragmentation in the Palestinian condition, arguing that Zionism seeks not only to eliminate Palestinians but to "evict the already dead from humanity" and "prevent both Palestinians and Palestine from being whole." At Princeton, she teaches courses in the Program in
Gender and Sexuality Studies, including the Spring 2025-2026 course, "Gender, Reproduction, and Genocide," which examines
genocide through
feminist and
decolonial frameworks with a focus on
Gaza. The appointment and course received substantial media coverage from multiple outlets including
Fox News and
Turning Point USA. Commenting on the scandal, Princeton referred Fox News Digital to a letter by its president,
Christopher L. Eisgruber, about the school's commitment to
academic freedom and stated that her
visiting professor appointment is scheduled to conclude in July 2026. ==Prizes and honors==