USC Professor Cleared… And, Yes, Hamas Are Murderers

Over the past few years there have been a plethora of stories about the speech police on college campuses. But it appears at USC, at least, being able to express your opinion is okay – for now.

Economics Professor John Strauss was cleared by the school after a seven month investigation into a pair of incidents involving pro-Hamas demonstrators on campus.

While he’s been cleared and will face no disciplinary proceedings, the past months have been difficult for Strauss. He was barred from campus for more than a month, his story became international news, petitions for his termination were submitted, the investigation was undertaken, and he received actual death threats for simply speaking the truth: Hamas are murderers.

“It’s all been dismissed,” Strauss said. “Everything has been dropped.”

There were two incidents – on the same day last November – that sparked the investigation.  First, pro-Hamas demonstrators were chanting that tired old “From the river to the sea…” nonsense (do they really know that means ‘cleansing’ Israel completely?) and unfurling on the ground a long list of alleged victims of Israel’s response to the Hamas’ brutal sneak attack last October.

Straus is Jewish and describes himself as very “pro-Israel” and happened to walk by the demonstration on his way to teach a class, took issue with the protest, and yelled “Israel forever! Hamas are murderers.”

The protestors were enraged that someone had dared to contradict them and eventually alleged Strauss intentionally trod on the list.  This protestors said was an act of desecration, though CCTV footage of the incident did show that Strauss did not walk on the list.

After the class, Strauss walked by again and was shouted at by the demonstrators, saying things like “shame on you.”

Strauss responded by calling the protestors “ignorant” causing protestors to begin to move his way. Struss then said “Hamas are murderers. That’s all they are. Everyone should be killed, and I hope they all are killed.”

That was videoed by a protestor, a video that went viral very quickly.

The students filed formal complaints against Strauss, saying he made them feel unsafe and that he had created a hostile campus environment.

The allegations – unless you are a spoiled woke college kid  – are beyond absurd, but USC must actually look at every complaint it receives.

It could have done a quick review and said “nothing to see here” last fall.  Instead, an outside lawyer was brought in to conduct a formal investigation, interview students and Strauss, review footage, etc.

While he said he cannot be sure why the investigation – and his eventual clearance just ten days ago – took so long, he does think the timing was most likely related to the end of the school year.

“It’s hard to speculate, but (the administration) may have wanted to wait until the end of the year when most students are gone from campus to minimize” any potential reaction to the news of his being cleared, Strauss said. “They could have dismissed it any time they wanted to but they didn’t.”

When asked about the timing issues and if any of the students were disciplined as part of the process, USC released a very “boiler plate” statement that did not directly respond to the questions:

“USC takes allegations of harassment and discrimination seriously. We follow our university policies and processes when reviewing them, including our Nondiscrimination Statement, which prohibits harassment and discrimination, including on the basis of shared ancestry and ethnic characteristics, and our Policy on Prohibited Discrimination, Harassment, and Retaliation.

 We are unable to discuss any individual cases because of the confidential nature of personnel matters.”

Strauss is relieved the situation is behind him and looking forward to teaching a full slate of classes this fall.  But he is still deeply concerned by protestors’ mindsets and their open support for an international terrorist organization that has killed thousands of Jews over the past decades.

While USC did not see the same level of violence and antisemitic virulence that schools like UCLA and Columbia saw, Strauss said he was and is “surprised, saddened, and upset” by students openly standing with Hamas.

“I don’t think I did anything wrong,” said Strauss, adding that the protesters were driven by “pure antisemitism” no matter how they try to cloak and couch their statements.

Strauss hopes this fall will be calmer at USC and that the real feeling of “menace” many Jewish students felt on campus since last November will have dissipated by then.

“I hope it will all be more peaceful,” Strauss said.