An economics professor from the University of Southern California has been banished from the campus after demonstrators shared edited footage of him condemning Hamas.
John Strauss, who is Jewish, will ‘be teaching his two classes remotely for the rest of the semester,’ USC told The College Fix after video circulated of him engaging with protestors at a pro-Palestinian march in November.
In longer footage, the professor was heard saying: ‘People are ignorant… Hamas are murderers. That’s all they are. Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are.’
But Instagram accounts purporting to represent students and graduates of USC then shared a shorter version with just the line, ‘Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are’.
The line was shared on a change.org petition, calling for his ‘termination’ and claiming his remarks ‘are not only offensive but also promote and incite violence’.
Strauss has since claimed that his comments were misrepresented. ‘Every one of them, of course, referred to Hamas,’ he told Annenberg Media, a USC-focused news outlet. ‘Then that later was changed to, in the video that was released publicly that was heavily doctored, to Palestinians should be murdered. And that’s not what I said at all.’
Annenberg Media reported that Strauss was later put on administrative leave with full pay, allowed to continue teaching his PhD and undergraduate classes via Zoom only. It was not exactly clear from the report what led to Strauss being put on leave.
Strauss was pictured in footage engaging with pro-Palestinian protestors at the USC campus
Professor John Strauss from USC was told he could teach classes via Zoom after the incident
Strauss was seen in the video engaging with pro-Palestine supporters during a march earlier this month.
Students had organized a temporary installation with the names of Palestinian civilians killed during Israel’s ongoing bombardment of the Gaza Strip, which follows Hamas’ October 7 incursion into Israel, claiming the lives of some 1,200 civilians.
READ MORE: Outrage as UPenn Junior passionately endorses Hamas’ vile Oct 7 terror attack against Israel during Philadelphia rally saying: ‘I remember feeling so empowered and happy’
Strauss said he was provoked by what he felt were anti-Semitic and anti-Israel sentiments overheard while walking to class.
‘I’m Jewish, I’m very pro-Israel,’ he told USC Annenberg Media. ‘And so I yelled out ‘Israel forever. Hamas are murderers.’
A change.org petition set up by USC Trojans slammed the lecturer for ‘his racist, xenophobic behavior, including stepping on names during a memorial service at USC for over 10k innocent civilians that lost their lives in Palestine’.
Strauss maintains stepping on the list was accidental and that he was only trying to get closer to the protestors to speak to them.
In a now-edited post published on Instagram and dated November 11, @uscgraduatesforpalestine wrote: ‘Yesterday at the event a USC Professor in the department of Economics came to the event honoring the 10k + martyrs who have been murdered and stepped on their names.’
The post claimed Strauss said: ‘People are ignorant, really ignorant. *inaudible* Hamas are terrorists *indiscernible muttering*’
A USC student replied: ‘It’s just to pay respects to those who have been killed.’
To which Strauss said: ‘Hamas are murders, that’s all they are.’
A student again stressed the march was about paying respects to civilians caught in the conflict as Strauss continued, ‘Everyone should be killed, and I hope they all are.’
Shocked, students said they had caught the interaction on camera as Strauss walked away.
USC Trojans said after the incident: ‘As members of the University of Southern California (USC) community, we are deeply disturbed and appalled by the actions and remarks made by tenured Economics Professor who also served as Director of Graduate Studies in the Economics Department…’
‘We would be ashamed to associate ourselves to an esteemed educational institute such as USC if USC leadership is unable to condemn and effective immediately terminate Professor John Strauss,’ they continued.
The petition has collected 6,653 signatures at the time of writing.
Other accounts referencing the university on Instagram shared posts calling for students to report the professor.
The demonstrators said the protest was to respect fallen civilians caught up in Israel’s bombardment of the Gaza Strip. Strauss said he was provoked by antisemitic comments
In a post on November 11, Instagram account @uscscale wrote: ‘Y’all please report this professor, the more complaints USC has on their database, the more likely it will be reviewed!
‘Report anonymously to protect your identity… I don’t know how effective this will be. But at least we have record proof that it was sent to the university and they know about the violence occurring on campus by their OWN facility.’
USC later made a statement, claiming there were ‘aware of a social media post showing a faculty member engaging with demonstrators on our campus [and] are looking into this.’
More than 14,000 Gazans have been killed, about 40 per cent of them children, mostly in ongoing Israeli bombardments, according to the Palestinian Health Ministry.
More than 1,200 Israelis have been killed, mostly during Hamas’ initial October 7 assault, in which some 240 hostages were taken back into Gaza.
DailyMail.com contacted the University of Southern California for comment.