The University of Southern California determined this week that a Jewish professor who confronted a group of anti-Israel students on campus last fall will face no formal discipline following a seven-month investigation.
Economics professor John Strauss fiercely criticized Hamas terrorists while walking past anti-Israel protesters for the second time on November 9, mere weeks after October 7. “Hamas are murderers,” he told the crowd. “That’s all they are. Every one should be killed, and I hope they all are killed.”
His remarks went viral on video, prompting more than ten students to file complaints against Strauss for alleged discrimination and harassment. Strauss was also accused of fostering an unsafe environment.
The complaints levied against Strauss were ultimately dismissed, as USC administrators closed the case. The university informed Strauss of its decision on Tuesday.
“I’m relieved,” Strauss told the Los Angeles Times. “As far as I’m concerned, I’ve been fully exonerated and they’re not doing anything to punish me, and it’s over.”
The professor was initially barred from teaching on campus for the rest of the fall semester. He was allowed to return in December and continued teaching during the spring semester.
“I don’t have any regrets about what I did or said at all,” Strauss said. “I think it was perfectly reasonable.”
The viral confrontation was preceded by another moment that day when protesters, who held an on-campus rally as part of the global “Shut it Down for Palestine” movement, accused Strauss of stepping on a printed list of names of Palestinians who were killed in Israeli airstrikes. Strauss maintained he didn’t step on the list of names intentionally.
While on his way to class, Strauss shouted, “Israel forever. Hamas are murderers.” He repeated the latter half of that statement later that day after students started yelling, “Professor Strauss, shame on you.” He responded, “No, shame on you,” adding, “You people are ignorant, really ignorant.”
Despite students’ claims that he was deliberately threatening them, USC determined it had insufficient evidence to make that conclusion. Administrators closed the case after reviewing the video footage and interviewing students who filed the complaints, witnesses of the confrontation, and Strauss.
Declining to comment on the specifics of the personnel matter, USC said it “takes allegations of harassment and discrimination seriously.”
His lawyer, Samantha Harris, said the incident, in which opinions were exchanged on a public area of campus, should have risen “nowhere near to the level of conduct that constitutes harassment.”
Though relieved with USC’s decision to drop the charges, she remains frustrated with how long the investigation took and the negative impact it could have on free speech in higher education.
“Living under a cloud for seven months is not nothing, and it has a chilling effect broadly speaking on faculty’s willingness to express themselves on matters of public concern,” Harris told the Times.
The Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE) celebrated the news, while also criticizing USC’s prolonged probe into Strauss.
“We’re thrilled that the complaints against Professor Strauss were finally dismissed and he has been cleared of any misconduct,” FIRE program officer Jessie Appleby said in a statement obtained by National Review. “But USC’s actions—barring a professor from campus and subjecting him to a 7-month investigation for clearly protected political speech—clearly violated its express commitment to protect faculty speech.”
Like many other educational institutions across the nation, USC has been the subject of anti-Israel protests. In the weeks after the private university canceled a Muslim valedictorian’s graduation speech due to unspecified safety concerns, angry protesters set up at least two pro-Palestinian encampments. Police officers dismantled both encampments and arrested nearly 100 protesters during the first protest. No arrests were made during the second.
As a result of increased tensions on campus, USC canceled its main commencement ceremony and replaced it with smaller celebrations for its 23 schools and academic units in May.