The University of Southern California has placed economics professor John Strauss on paid administrative leave, with an additional ban from setting foot on campus, following comments he made about Hamas terrorists during a student protest.
On November 9, amidst a sea of students advocating for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip and commemorating Palestinian civilian casualties, the 72-year-old scholar reportedly lost his academic poise and exclaimed, “Hamas are murderers. That’s all they are. Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are killed.”
His video immediately went viral online. The digital uproar led to administrative action, with Strauss being placed on paid administrative leave and barred from campus.
.@USC is forcing tenured Prof John Strauss to teach his classes remotely for the rest of the semester after a doctored video circulated that made it seem like he had wished death on all Palestinians. In actuality, Strauss said, “Hamas are murderers. That’s all they are. Every one… pic.twitter.com/Lru9CpAUKw
— Canary Mission (@canarymission) November 22, 2023
According to the LA Times, a petition demanding Strauss’s dismissal has garnered over 6,500 signatures, while a counter-petition defending him as a victim of misinformation has attracted more than 9,000 supporters.
It comes as no surprise to many that USC is defending a terrorist organization, considering that US universities are influenced by extreme left-wing ideologies, which are indoctrinating the youths.
Hamas is widely recognized as a terrorist organization by various countries and international bodies. The US State Department designated HAMAS as a foreign terrorist organization in October 1997 due to its history of violence and attacks targeting civilians.
Hamas terrorists have ruled Gaza since 2007. In 2007, Hamas militants dug a tunnel under the Fatah headquarters and blew it up and then took over the territory.
And Hamas did this while they were holding “peace talks” with Fatah! Since 2007, Hamas has had 100% control of the Gaza Strip. That means when funds are donated to the Gaza Strip, they go through Hamas.
On October 7, 2023, Hamas, the Palestinian Islamist militant group, initiated a series of coordinated attacks against Israel. This offensive, which included an unprecedented land, sea, and air assault launched from the Gaza Strip, targeted various areas in Israel. The attack commenced on a Sabbath day, coinciding with several Jewish holidays.
The Hamas terrorists massacred over 1,400 Israelis and took over 200 people hostage on October 7, committed mass rape, Arutz Sheva reports, according to survivor testimony and interrogation of captured terrorists gathered by the Israel Police’s special Lahav 433 unit.
Over 700 testimonies have been collected from massacre survivors. Police called it “the largest investigation case since the founding of the state of Israel.”
The police have more than 50,000 videos from the terrorist attack and are using facial recognition software to identify which terrorists committed which specific crimes, Arutz Sheva writes. The police also have hundreds of cell phones which belonged to terrorists from Gaza.
A USC professor told protesters, “Hamas are murderers. That’s all they are. Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are killed.” He was then suspended and barred from campus. @MattHjourno https://t.co/nuBuENhV1i
— Peter Baker (@peterbakernyt) November 26, 2023