An Open Letter to the Leadership of USC

December 1, 2021

Dear President Folt, Provost Zukoski, and Chairman Caruso,

We, the undersigned faculty, wish to register our dismay about ongoing open expressions of anti-Semitism and Zionophobia on our campus that go unrebuked. The silence of our leadership on this matter is alienating, hurtful, and depressing. It amounts to tacit acceptance of a toxic atmosphere of hatred and hostility.

In the Spring and Summer of 2021, USC student Yasmeen Mashayekh in the Viterbi School of Engineering, posted multiple statements on Twitter and other social media outlets including:

  • "I want to kill every motherf**cking Zionist,"
  • "Death to Israel and its b**tch the U.S.,"
  • "Israel has no history just a criminal record,"
  • "yel3an el yahood [curse the Jews]."
Screenshots, dates, and links to these and other public expressions by Ms. Mashayekh are documented here and here [1, 2].

We refrain from judging whether this student's speech is protected by the First Amendment and whether her behavior requires disciplinary action. Likewise, School officials should determine what to do about her appropriation of the title: "DEI Senator for the Engineering School." We leave it to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion to determine whether such views fit into USC culture and its stated commitment to build a diverse and inclusive environment.

We write this letter to call on USC leadership to publicly and explicitly rebuke Yasmeen Mashayekh for her offensive behavior and to distance USC from her hateful statements. Repeated threats of murder and harm based on race, religion, ethnicity, country of origin, gender, sexual orientation, etc. are not acceptable discourse, even in the context of heated debates on difficult political issues. The absence of explicit condemnation amounts to tacit endorsement. This is a slap in the face to USC students, staff, and faculty who are Jewish and to anyone who supports the right of the State of Israel to exist. A public statement is needed immediately given the continuing instances of anti-Semitism and Zionophobia on our campus.

In August 2020, several of us signed an Open Letter concerning personal attacks against Rose Ritch, a USC undergraduate. She resigned as vice president of USC’s undergraduate student government because of intense abuse she endured due to her Jewish-Zionist identity [3]. In August 2021, another Open Letter called your attention to an inflammatory and misleading online "Statement," that USC’s Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies publicly endorsed [4]. This endorsement has not been rescinded. We await action.

We ask you to voice a public, explicit and specific condemnation of Ms. Mashayekh’s statements. The campus community needs to know the name of the offender and the essence of the offence. We urge you to condemn the hateful content of these statements and to reaffirm that such views are contrary to USC’s values. Most importantly, Jewish, Zionist, and Israeli students, as well as those who support the right of the State of Israel to exist need to hear from our leaders that they are welcome on our campus. Such a statement would not infringe on free speech or take sides in political dispute. It is a call for character and dignity. It is overdue.

Respectfully,

  • ROBERT ADLER, MD, MS.Ed., Chief Medical Officer, CHLA Health System, Senior Advisor to the Chair of Pediatrics
  • LISA AZIZ-ZADEH, Associate Professor of Psychology and Occupational Science and Occupational Therapy
  • ITZHAK BARS, Professor of Physics and Astronomy
  • EYAL BEN-ISAAC, MD, Associate Professor of Clinical Pediatrics, Keck School of Medicine and CHLA
  • YEHUDA BEN-ZION, Professor of Earth Sciences, Director of Southern California Earthquake Center
  • BERENICE A. BENAYOUN, Assistant Professor of Gerontology, Biological Sciences, Biochemistry and Molecular Medicine
  • JACK M. BERGER, MS, MD, Ph.D, Professor Emeritus of Clinical Anesthesiology
  • LISA M. BITEL, Dean's Professor of Religion and Professor of History
  • RICHARD L. BRUTCHEY, Professor of Chemistry
  • IRENE CHIOLO, Gabilan Associate Professor of Biological Sciences
  • URI ELKAYAM, MD, Professor of Medicine and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Director of Maternal Cardiology
  • SUSAN R. ESTRICH, Robert Kingsley Professor of Law and Political Science
  • JAHAN M. DAWLATY, Associate Professor of Chemistry
  • DION DICKMAN, Associate Professor of Biological Sciences
  • ROSA DI FELICE, Associate Professor of Physics and Astronomy and Quantitative and Computational Biology
  • DONALD FEINSTEIN, MD, MACP, Professor of Medicine Emeritus
  • HENRYK FLASHNER, Professor, Department of Aerospace and Mechanical Engineering
  • ERIC M. FRIEDLANDER, Dean’s Professor and Chair of Mathematics
  • SUSAN FRIEDLANDER, Professor of Mathematics and Director of the Center for Applied Mathematical Sciences
  • PHILIPPE FRIEDLICH, Professor of Pediatrics & Surgery, USC Keck School of Medicine
  • LEANA GOLUBCHIK, Stephen and Etta Varra Professor of Computer Science and Electrical and Computer Engineering
  • MYRON F. GOODMAN, Professor of Biological Sciences and Chemistry
  • MIKE GRUNTMAN, Professor of Astronautics
  • LARRY HARRIS, Fred V. Keenan Chair in Finance, Marshall School of Business
  • JEFFREY B. HIRSCH, Adjunct Professor, Annenberg School for Communications & Journalism
  • JUDITH A. HIRSCH, Gabilan Distinguished Professor in Science and Engineering and Professor of Biological Sciences
  • ELLIS HOROWITZ, Professor of Computer Science & Electrical Engineering
  • VITALY V. KRESIN, Professor of Physics and Astronomy
  • ANNA I. KRYLOV, Professor of Chemistry, Member, International Academy of Quantum Molecular Science, Foreign Member, Academia Europaea
  • CLIVE LENNOX, USC Accounting Associates Professor of Accounting, Marshall School of Business, Leventhal School of Accounting
  • PAT LEVITT, PhD, Chief Scientific Officer, Vice President and Director, The Saban Research Institute, Simms/Mann Chair in Developmental Neurogenetics, Children’s Hospital Los Angeles, WM Keck Provost Professor of Neurogenetic, Keck School of Medicine
  • DANIEL LIDAR, Viterbi Professor of Engineering and Professor of Electrical Engineering, Chemistry, and Physics
  • EMILY R. LIMAN, Professor of Neurobiology
  • RICHARD LUBMAN, MD, Associate Professor of Medicine
  • CHI MAK, Professor of Chemistry
  • GERARD MEDIONI, Professor Emeritus of Computer Science
  • JERRY MENDEL, Emeritus Professor of Electrical Engineering
  • M. SUSAN MONTGOMERY, Gabilan Distinguished Professor in Science and Engineering and Professor of Mathematics
  • ALAN L. NAGER, Director, Emergency & Transport Medicine, Children's Hospital Los Angeles, Professor of Pediatrics
  • SHRI NARAYANAN, University Professor, Niki and Max Nikias Chair in Engineering and Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Computer Science, Linguistics, Psychology, Pediatrics, and Otolaryngology
  • JANET OLDAK, Professor of Dentistry, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry
  • DAPHNA OYSERMAN, Dean’s Professor of Psychology
  • RICHARD S. PANUSH, MD, Master, American College of Physicians, Master, American College of Rheumatology, Professor of Medicine
  • DANIEL POLLACK, Professor of Keyboard Studies, Thornton School of Music
  • STEFAN POLLACK, Adjunct Professor, Annenberg School of Communications
  • G. K. SURYA PRAKASH, Professor and George and Judith Olah Nobel Laureate Chair in Hydrocarbon Chemistry
  • HANNA REISLER, Lloyd Armstrong Jr. Chair in Science and Engineering and Professor of Chemistry, Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences
  • STEVEN RICHEIMER, MD, Chief, Division of Pain Medicine, Professor of Anesthesiology & Psychiatry
  • REMO ROHS, Professor and Department Chair, Quantitative and Computational Biology
  • ILAN ROTSTEIN, Professor, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry
  • LUCILLE ROTSTEIN, Clinical Associate Professor, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry
  • DAN SCHNUR, Adjunct Professor, Annenberg School of Communications
  • NORBERT SCHWARZ, Provost Professor, Department of Psychology & Marshall School of Business, Co-director, USC Dornsife Mind & Society Center
  • HAROLD SLAVKIN, Professor and Dean Emeritus, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry; Member, National Academy of Medicine; Member, International and American College of Dentistry; previous Director, National Institute of Dental Research, NIH (1995-2000)
  • DOUGLAS C. SOLOW, DDS, MBA, G. Donald Montgomery Professor of Dentistry, Associate Dean of Clinical Affairs, Director, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry Faculty Practice
  • WILLIAM STOHL, MD, PhD, Master, American College of Rheumatology, Professor of Medicine
  • MARK E. THOMPSON, Ray R. Irani Chair of Chemistry, Fellow of the National Academy of Engineering
  • ANDREW VITERBI, Presidential Chair Professor of Electrical Engineering, Member, National Academy of Engineering, Member, National Academy of Sciences
  • CHERYL WAKSLAK, Associate Professor of Management and Organization & McAlister Associate Professor in Business Administration
  • ARIEH WARSHEL, Nobel Laureate, Dana and David Dornsife Chair in Chemistry, Member, National Academy of Sciences
  • MICHAEL WATERMAN, University Professor Emeritus, Member, National Academy of Sciences, Member, National Academy of Engineering
  • MARK WEINSTEIN, Associate Professor of Finance and Business Economics Emeritus
  • RUTH WEISBERG, Professor, Roski School of Art and Design
  • REGINA WITTENBERG MOERMAN, Accounting Circle Professor of Business Administration
  • CURT WITTIG, Paul A. Miller Professor of Letters, Arts and Sciences
  • VLADIMIR ZELMAN, MD, PhD, Clinical Professor of Anesthesiology, Foreign Member, Russian Academy of Science

References

  1. CanaryMission profile of Yasmeen Mashayekh:  https://canarymission.org/individual/Yasmeen_Mashayekh
  2. https://www.stopantisemitism.org/antisemite-of-the-week-6/antisemite-of-the-week-yasmeen-mashayekh-thirst-to-kill
  3. USC Open Letter about Rose Ritch's case (2020):  https://usc-faaz.org
  4. USC Open Letter about an inflammatory and misleading online "Statement" endorsed by USC’s Department of Gender and Sexuality Studies (2021):  https://usc-faaz-2021.org

Reactions

Additional support for the Open Letter from USC community:

  • KEN ALEXANDER, Professor of Mathematics
  • NISSIM BENBASSAT, DDS, USC Alumnus
  • BETH FISHER PhD, PT, FAPTA, Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy; Director, Neuroplasticity and Imaging Laboratory; Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy
  • RICHARD GREEN, DDS; Adjunct Professor of Clinical Dentistry, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry
  • STUART J. HOFFMAN, D.M.D., M.S., F.I.C.D., F.A.C.D, Board Certified Specialist Exclusively Orthodontics & Dentofacial Orthopedics, Adjunct Clinical Professor, Division of Orthodontics, Ostrow School of Dentistry, Fellow, International College of Dentists, Fellow, American College of Dentists; Fellow, Pierre Fauchard Academy
  • ROBERT ISRAEL, MD; Professor of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Keck School of Medicine
  • DAVID E. JAMES, Professor Emeritus, School of Cinematic Arts, Department of East Asian Studies
  • RICHARD KAHN Emeritus Associate Professor, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry; Inductee to the Hall of Fame, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry
  • ALEXANDRA M. LEVINE, Distinguished Professor of Medicine (former); Medical Director (former), USC/Norris Cancer Hospital
  • MORRIS LEVY, Associate Professor of Political Science and International Relations
  • STANLEY MALAMED, Dentist Anesthesiologist, Emeritus Professor of Dentistry Ostrow School of Dentistry
  • FEDOR MALIKOV, Professor of Mathematics
  • CHERYL RESNIK, PT, DPT, FNAP, FAPTA; Professor of Clinical Physical Therapy; Director, Community Outreach; USC Division of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy at the Ostrow School of Dentistry
  • ROBERT SALEHRABI, DDS, Alumnus Ostrow School of Dentistry
  • SUSAN SEGAL, Professor of Teaching, Department of English
  • DANIEL S. SCHECHTER, D.D.S.; Assistant Clinical Professor, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry
  • ANATOLY SEDLER, owner of Burbank dental lab on campus
  • M. BEN SHALOM, D.D.S.; USC Alumnus
  • ADRIAN SILBERMAN, DDS, Alumnus Ostrow School of Dentistry
  • ARNOLD TIBER, Associate Professor, Herman Ostrow School of Dentistry
  • CAROL WISE, Professor of International Relations