Professor John Strauss has been expelled from the University of Southern California (USC) for allegedly expressing anti-Hamas sentiments. A video in which a Jewish professor appears to wish Palestinians death has gone viral on the internet. This follows the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Some students are now calling for his dismissal from the university, while others are rallying behind him.
In the professor’s original, unedited video, John Strauss can be heard saying:
“People are ignorant.” “Hamas are murderers. That’s all they are. Everyone should be killed, and I hope they all are.”
However, an edited video of him has gone viral on the internet. His comments about Hamas were edited out, leaving him to say, “everyone should be killed, and I hope they all are.”
The edited video gave the impression that the professor wished to kill all Palestinians.
Professor John Strauss identified Hamas as the “problem” rather than Palestinian citizens
Over 13,714 people have signed a Change.org petition addressed to the University of Southern California. In the same vein, the petition’s creator stated:
The recent events around his forced administrative leave, barring him from campus, have not only raised serious questions about double standards in the application of free speech principles at USC but have exposed the disturbing pattern of misinformation and targeted harassment that continues to take place on our campus.”
The petition also claimed that Strauss identified Hamas as the “problem” rather than Palestinian citizens.
As previously stated, the professor became a topic of discussion online after passing by a ‘Shut it Down for Palestine’ protest on November 9. According to Reason, Strauss stepped on a poster listing Palestinians killed in Israeli airstrikes. Later, as he walked by the protest, he made the aforementioned remarks about Hamas.
Strauss addressed the video in an interview with Annenberg Media. He stated:
The video that was put out there by the pro-Palestinian students was doctored and claimed I said things that I never meant. I’ve asked the administration and the provost’s office to make a statement to that effect.”
In the interview, John Strauss also stated to stepping on a pro-Palestine sign after protesters yelled, “Shame on you, Professor Strauss.”