What exactly was the offence of computational biologist Michael Eisen that led to him being sacked as editor of eLife, a prestigious peer-reviewed scientific journal for biomedical and life sciences? This Jewish-American with Israeli family shared a post from satirical website the Onion, headlined “Dying Gazans criticized for not using last words to condemn Hamas”.
The dark humour spoke to an indisputable truth: Palestinians have died due to the logic of collective guilt, as endorsed by the Israeli president, Isaac Herzog, who declared “It is an entire nation out there that is responsible.” Eisen praised the Onion for having “more courage, insight and moral clarity than the leaders of every academic institution” and also condemned Hamas. Ten days later, he was fired.
