Professor John Strauss Is Placed on Leave From USC After Edited Video Is Made To Look Like He Supported Murder of Palestinians

If you’re tired of censorship and dystopian threats against civil liberties, subscribe to Reclaim The Net. In November 2023, USC Economics professor John Strauss found himself at the center of a controversy that resulted from his public condemnation of Hamas, a Palestinian group widely recognized as a terrorist organization. Strauss, who is Jewish, was caught in a storm created by edited video footage that was circulated by students. Consequently, the professor was barred from teaching on campus, necessitating his shift to online teaching for the rest of the semester. In the full-length video, Strauss can be heard criticizing Hamas and its supporters, claiming, “People are ignorant…Hamas are murderers; that’s all they are. Every one should be killed and I hope they all are.” However, the video was edited and was shared on various USC student and alumni Instagram accounts and a community petition only contained the latter part of his statement, implying a broader desire for violence against Palestinians when it was, in fact, only Hamas. As a result of the edited video being shared, the professor found himself facing allegations of promoting and inciting violence against Palestinians. Strauss, however, fervently rejects these claims, citing gross misrepresentation of his remarks. He argues that his comments, intended to be solely about Hamas, were manipulated to sound like a call for the murder of all Palestinians. USC’s Annenberg Media, in its reporting on the incident, noted that the professor was subsequently placed on administrative leave with full pay and permitted to continue…Professor John Strauss Is Placed on Leave From USC After Edited Video Is Made To Look Like He Supported Murder of Palestinians