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They are examples of the way the Israel-Hamas war, which is set
to become a campaign issue in the 2024 presidential race, is
entangling faculty members at U.S. universities who voice their
opinions on the conflict.
Israel has vowed to annihilate the Hamas militant group that
controls Gaza since its fighters killed 1,200 people and dragged
away 240 hostages on a deadly rampage on Oct. 7.
Since then, Israel has bombed much of Gaza to rubble, ordered
the depopulation of the entire northern half of the enclave and
made around two-thirds of Gazans homeless.
The University of Arizona said on Thursday it had temporarily
replaced Assistant Professor Rebecca Lopez and Community Liaison
Rebecca Zapien and were investigating them after a group called
the Israel War Room posted on X what it said were audio
recordings of classroom conversations involving the two.
The group called the recordings "biased, antisemitic, blatantly
false, and terrorism-supporting."
Among comments in the recordings, a woman can be heard saying
Hamas appeared to be an anti-Zionist group rather than an
antisemitic one, while another woman is heard comparing Hamas to
the African American revolutionary Black Panther Party in that
it was a "resistance group."
Neither Lopez nor Zapien immediately responded to requests for
comment.
"This suspension, which was enacted without due process, sends a
chilling message to UA students, staff and faculty who believe
in Palestinian freedom, dignity and human rights," said Maha
Nassar, associate professor of modern Middle East history at the
university.
The University of Southern California said on Friday economics
professor John Strauss was teaching classes remotely until the
end of the semester. According to a report by the university's
student newspaper, Strauss was videoed by a student protester
saying "every one should be killed and I hope they all are" as
he walked past pro-Palestinian protesters on the Los Angeles
campus.
Strauss told the newspaper he was referring to Hamas militants,
not Palestinians in general. He did not immediately respond to a
request for further comment.
"We cannot discuss the details of matters that are pending
investigation," the university said in a statement on the
incident.
(Reporting by Andrew Hay; editing by Donna Bryson and Rosalba
O'Brien)
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