October 20th, 2023

Dear USC President Folt,
Dear USC Academic Deans,
Dear USC Faculty Members,

My name is Idel Judanin, I grew up in Germany and like so many other kids around the world, had a dream to study at my dream university, University of Southern California. When my dream became reality, the feeling of becoming a Trojan was more than just an accomplishment, it was a feeling of true pride for myself and for my family who is still living in Germany. After graduating in 2015, being a USC Alumni has not only become a header on my resume, it has become the intrinsic DNA of who I was an am to this day. I have formed many lifelong friendships many years after graduating due to this one connecting tissue we shared, being proud USC Alumni.

Beyond the Cardinal and Gold colors, what has connected us has always been the value of what it means to be a Trojan: 

We will act with integrity in the pursuit of excellence. Embrace diversity, equity, and inclusion, and promote well-being. Engage in open communication and be accountable for living our values.

I am writing you today in addition of the support of over 10,000 USC alumni and current students, because for the first time our pride of being a Trojan or USC Alumni has not only been damaged, but it has been fully attacked and that during one of the most horrific terrorist attacks against humanity.

Besides being a proud USC Alumni, I am also the grandson of a Holocaust survivor, and I myself am a refugee from the Soviet Union whose family was welcomed to Germany to help us rebuild a Jewish life. But most of all I am a proud Jew. 

My name is Daniella Newman, I am a double Trojan who received both my BA and MBA from USC. I grew up in Los Angeles California to Persian Jewish parents, who fled Iran for a better life in the United States. Growing up, my parents would tell me about how they left their home as refugees persecuted because of their religion, and forced to start a new. This motivated me to study history and write my graduate thesis on nonviolent resistance to mass oppression. I remember my time on campus, and not once in those six years did I ever feel threatened. However, kids like me, Persian Jews, and many other Jews are currently afraid to be Jewish on campus at USC.

We together with 1,000 alumni and current students write you this letter because of this very issue. The safety of Jewish students on campus.

After the horrific October 7th massacre against Israeli civilians, which included the killing of over 260 festival goers, among them teenagers, people with disabilities, women, children and young men who attended a peaceful festival. Innocent teenage girls and young women were brutally raped and their dismembered bodies were paraded on the streets by the terrorists like prizes. These terrorists also killed and be agreed innocent babies and took over 199 civilians as hostages into Gaza (which at least 14 have been confirmed to be American Citizens). The global Jewish community has been hurt like they haven’t been hurt since the Shoah. Over 1400 civilians have been killed with over 199 people still missing las hostages, in what is now known as the 9/11 of Israel.

The Jewish community around the world has had their hearts shattered in pieces, but even more so the events and the perpetrators of these events include a terrorist organization Hamas, who has called upon global attacks against Jews all around the world. As you can imagine for a German Jew, this all sounds painfully too familiar.

And yet, one of the most painful events has been watching the call for antisemitism across our homes, our kids’ schools and places that we have only connected to some of the most positive times of our lives, our beloved universities. 

So we are writing to you, as on October 17th there has been a “Free Palestine” rally on our own USC campus. The so called “rally” has been lead by loud microphones calling for an Intifada against Jews and Israel. Intifada is an Arabic word literally meaning, as a noun, "tremor", "shivering", "shuddering.” The same people walking throughout our campuses, hiding behind masks were also celebrating the events of October 7th and even showed up with flags and Palestinian scarfs, the same ones that were worn by Hamas terrorists during a vigil on campus, to commemorate the victims, of the horrific terrorist attack. Imagine what that felt like for Jewish students, who were just sent the horror images from the sites in Israel, by their friends and their families and lost ones. 

This is not an issue around freedom of speech, but an outcry to carry out attacks against Jews around the world, the State of Israel and openly supporting the terrorist organization Hamas.

Idel's little brother is currently a senior at USC and every day I have to hear from him how Jewish students are scared to wear their Jewish necklaces out in the open. How some students are even taking down the Mezuzah’s, a prayer that Jews hang on their door. Thankfully Idel's brother knows how to defend himself and is helping to make sure that his friends never have to walk alone.

So today we are asking you when did we lose our values? When did we lose our integrity and started celebrating the death and raping of civilians? When did we stop embracing diversity, inclusion and promote the well being of all of our students and alumni? 

With this letter we are urging you to help reinstate the safety for our Jewish and non-Jewish students, Israeli and non-Israeli students equally. I hope that my Alma Mater, that I feel so lucky and proud to be apart of will take a stance, condemn and forbit student organizations, rallys and individuals to call upon attacks against the Jewish people or Israel or to openly celebrate a terrorist attack, let alone a terrorist organization like Hamas. I hope USC will take a stance and forbid the inciting of violence against Jews and any other minority. I hope USC will stand for its values and act with integrity in the pursuit of excellence.

We have a lot of work to do and ourselves as well as the co-signers of this letter and many others will be happy to make time to help you solve this issue. But we demand for the University of Southern California to act upon this immediately and provide the safety, support and condemnation for our current, future and former students alike.

 

With broken heart and in Trojan Spirit,

Daniella Newman ( 2014 BA, 2022 MBA)

Idel Judanin (2015, BA School of Cinematic Arts)