The San Francisco Bay Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-SFBA), the nation’s largest Muslim civil rights and advocacy organization, is calling on the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) to reinstate professor of medicine Dr. Rupa Marya and publicly affirm that it will safeguard academic freedom and free speech. Dr. Marya was terminated from UCSF in May 2025, which came after her medical privileges were suspended in September 2024 over social media posts in which she criticized Israel’s genocide in Gaza.

In an Ad Hoc Committee report cited by the university, officials claimed her posts created a “hostile environment,” relying largely on subjective and anonymous complaints. The report referenced potential patient harm but cited no evidence of threats, incitement, or safety incidents. Dr. Marya has worked at UCSF for 23 years without patient-safety issues.

“Public institutions cannot rebrand protected political speech as misconduct. Relying on vague standards and anonymous grievances to punish speech invites viewpoint discrimination, chills legitimate debate, and violates the constitutional and academic-freedom principles UCSF is obligated to uphold," CAIR-SFBA Civil Rights Managing Attorney Jeffrey Wang said in a statement.

These concerns echo broader trends across the UC system. In Aug. 2025, CAIR-SFBA designated UC Berkeley a “Hostile Campus” for policies and practices that chilled speech and targeted Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, and allied students and faculty. Earlier, in March 2025, CAIR-CA filed suit against UCLA and multiple law-enforcement agencies after the violent overnight attack on the campus anti-genocide encampment and the university’s failure to protect pro-Palestinian activists.

CAIR-SFBA Calls on UCSF to Reinstate Dr. Rupa Marya, Safeguard Academic Freedom and Free Speech | A Doctor Said Israel is Causing Health Crises in Gaza. UCSF Fired Her. | UCSF Dr. Rupa Marya Fired for Opposing Genocide in Palestine by UC Bosses | The Attacks on UCSF Dr. Marya Rupa & SJSU CFA Member Sang Hea Kil & Working Class

See Also: CAIR Designates UC Berkeley a ‘Hostile Campus’ for Systematic Suppression of Anti-Genocide Speech