Michael B. Eisen, the editor-in-chief of open access journal eLife, has said he is being replaced from his role for resharing a satirical The Onion piece that called out the “indifference to the lives of Palestinian civilians”.

On October 14, Eisen had shared the piece, saying: “The Onion speaks with more courage, insight and moral clarity than the leaders of every academic institution put together.”

According to Science, “some Israeli researchers demanded that Eisen resign and that colleagues stop submitting papers to eLife as long as he remained in charge.”

Upset by the development, editor Graham Coop, senior editor Molly Przeworski and reviewing editor Guy Sella said they were resigning from their positions at eLife for how the matter was handled.