US President Joe Biden’s embattled former US special envoy for Iran, Robert Malley, is slated to teach a course about the Israel-Palestinian Arab conflict at Yale, Fox News reported.
Malley will teach a class called "Contending with Israel-Palestine" this semester, which will take "an in-depth look at important questions surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict," according to a report from Yale Daily News.
The class is limited to 18 students, according to the outlet, and is available to both undergraduate and graduate students. Students reportedly had to arrange a meeting with Malley and take part in an interview prior to their enrollment for the course, which will consist of 13 weekly discussions and assigned readings.
"In the wake of Oct. 7, I questioned whether it still made sense or whether it would be best to wait," Malley was quoted as having said. "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."
Malley was placed on leave without pay last year after his security clearance was suspended amid an investigation into his handling of classified material.
It was later reported that the FBI is looking into Malley's handling of classified material.
Asked about the status of the investigation, a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital in an October statement that "Rob Malley remains on leave, and we have no further comment. The Department does not comment on individual security clearances."
Malley played a significant role in the Biden administration's efforts to revive the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement, from which then-President Donald Trump withdrew in 2018.
Fox News also noted that Malley has a history of being sympathetic to the way certain terrorist groups — including Hamas and Hezbollah — operate, and encouraged the US to engage in talks with the groups.
After working in the Clinton administration, and prior to his service with Biden, Malley spoke with officials from Hamas and also penned a 2006 Time Magazine piece, "The US's policy in the Middle East is flawed. Here's how to fix it," in which he wrote, "Today the US does not talk to Iran, Syria, Hamas, the elected Palestinian government or Hezbollah. . . . The result has been a policy with all the appeal of a moral principle and all the effectiveness of a tired harangue."
In a 2009 documentary interview, Malley said that it was "a mistake to only think of them in terms of their terrorist violence dimension," referring to Hamas, Hezbollah and the Sadrist Movement in Iraq, noting that they "are social and political movements, probably the most rooted movements in their respective societies."