Jewish professor John Strauss is booted from USC campus after pro-Palestine students released EDITED video of him condemning Hamas as murderers and calling it hate speech

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 walks past the demonstration as protestors say not to interact with him. He says: 'People are ignorant. Really ignorant.'

Turning to face the students, he says: '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 an edited version with the line, 'Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are', cutting prior comments on Hamas. 

It was unclear from the redacted version who Strauss was talking about. 

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 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 invasion into Israel and slaughter of more than 1,200 civilians. 

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 - a football team at the university - 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.

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.'

The university said in a statement today: 'Professor Strauss is teaching his classes remotely through the end of the semester.

'We cannot discuss the details of matters that are pending investigation. With that said, USC takes allegations of harassment or threatened violence seriously, and we follow our university policies and processes in investigating them, including our Nondiscrimination Statement, which prohibits discrimination, including on the basis of shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics, and our Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation, which is administered by the Office for Equity, Equal Opportunity, and Title IX (EEO-TIX).

'In response to all reports of discrimination or harassment, EEO-TIX conducts an initial assessment of the available facts and information, offers supportive measures, and evaluates the appropriate resolution path. In cases that involve threats of violence, the university also engages its threat assessment team and law enforcement to evaluate potential risk.

'In investigating allegations of this nature, the university must also abide by its Policy on Free Speech, as well as the broad First Amendment protections accorded to students under the California Leonard Law. As a general matter, while an investigation is pending, the university may impose interim measures to minimize disruption to the educational environment and ensure a safe environment for all members of our community.

'For more information about resources available to our community members, please visit USC's Network of Informational and Support Resources in Times of Conflict.'

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' October 7 assault, in which some 240 hostages were taken back into Gaza.