USC Shoah Foundation distances itself from pro-Palestinian valedictorian whose speech was canceled

• Published date: 17 April 2024
• Author: ANDREW LAPIN/JTA
• Publication title: Jerusalem Post, The: Web Edition Articles (Israel)

The USC Shoah Foundation is downplaying its role in the school's academics after the university's valedictorian, a pro-Palestinian student who earned a minor in "resistance to genocide," touted her ties to the center

After USC announced last week that Asna Tabassum would be the valedictorian, pro-Israel groups mounted a campaign against her, citing content on her Instagram page harshly criticizing Israel and Zionism. On Monday, USC's provost barred Tabassum from delivering a commencement address, a move the campus head of security said was related to specific threats that people would attempt to disrupt the event if she spoke.

In a statement decrying the decision, Tabassum, who majored in biomedical engineering, highlighted one specific aspect of her academic career.

"I am a student of history who chose to minor in resistance to genocide, anchored by the Shoah Foundation, and have learned that ordinary people are capable of unspeakable acts of violence when they are taught hate fueled by fear," she wrote. "And due to widespread fear, I was hoping to use my commencement speech to inspire my classmates with a message of hope. By canceling my speech, USC is only caving to fear and rewarding hatred."

The foundation says that it wasn't involved in her minor.

Campus controversies

"Despite suggestions to the contrary, our Institute is not an academic unit within the university and we do not play a formal role in the degree path of any student," a representative for the USC Shoah Foundation told the Jewish Telegraphic Agency in a statement Tuesday. "Recent claims of association with the USC Shoah Foundation are inaccurate and have led to confusion about our role, values, and mission."

The uproar at USC is the latest in a series of lightning-rod campus controversies related to the Israel-Hamas war that broke out on October 7. North America's biggest and most prominent universities have struggled to respond to inflamed tensions between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students and faculty. Critics have claimed that campus administrations have frequently buckled to pressure to silence speech on the topic. The president of Columbia University, whose responses to pro-Palestinian protests have frequently made headlines, will testify before Congress on Wednesday.

Now, with graduation season nearing and student honors events already serving as venues for disruptive pro-Palestinian protests, commencements are promising to be one final frontier for Israel debates as this...