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Portland State University president Ann Cudd placed a faculty member on administrative leave who was shown in a video saying, “I am Hamas. We are all Hamas.”
In the Friday statement, Cudd condemned the remarks and said the university is actively investigating the incident.
“PSU stands unequivocally against antisemitism, terrorism, and hate of any kind, including the statements made in this video,” Cudd wrote. “Our university community has been working hard to create a welcoming and supportive environment for all, including our Jewish students, faculty and staff. The statements made in this video are absolutely unacceptable.”
WW has not yet been able to independently confirm the identity of the professor. PSU did not immediately respond to a request for more information.
The video, obtained by WW, has been circulating online since at least Wednesday. It appears to have been taken at a rally to support a Beaverton School Board member, who is under investigation after posting on her personal social media account that Israel should “stop the genocide” in Gaza.
In the seven-second video clip, an interviewer asks a woman at the rally if she is familiar with Hamas. “I am Hamas,” she replies. He repeats her statement back to her: “You are Hamas. Great.”
“We are all Hamas,” she says, gesturing to the assembled crowd.
Any further context to that remark is not part of the circulated clip.
The confirmation that the woman is a PSU faculty member comes amid an ongoing federal investigation of antisemitism at PSU, among four other universities. The order issued by the U.S. Department of Education, under a directive from President Donald Trump, specifically points to antisemitism on college campuses, apparently in regards to nationwide college protests in spring 2024 demanding a ceasefire in Gaza. During that time, activists—some of them PSU students—seized the Millar Library and did more than $1 million in damage.
Cudd wrote the university has taken a “number of steps” to improve the safety of its campus, and adds that “events like this one indicate the need for additional education.” This term, she wrote, PSU offered a free, one-credit class on antisemitism that had more than 100 students enrolled. “We are committed to providing a campus environment free from hate,” she wrote.