The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA), Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization, today welcomed the University of Southern California (USC)’s statement announcing that the school will end its contract selling human cadavers to the U.S. Navy for Israeli military training.
SEE: USC will stop selling dead bodies to the U.S. Navy for Israeli military training
In October 2024, the USC Annenberg Media revealed that USC received more than $860,000 from the U.S. Navy to provide at least 89 human cadavers, including 32 specifically used for medical training for Israeli forces at Los Angeles General Medical Center.
The training courses reportedly used “fresh cadaver bodies” and “perfused cadavers”—bodies pumped with artificial blood to simulate living patients—to prepare Israeli surgical teams for battlefield scenarios. Many of these cadavers are believed to have come from unclaimed bodies, raising serious ethical concerns about consent, dignity, and respect for the deceased.
In a statement to Annenberg Media earlier this week, the Keck School of Medicine wrote that it is ending the contract because the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) will no longer provide bodies for the program. UCSD reportedly decided to stop supplying cadavers due to the surgical skills laboratory not meeting standards outlined by UC’s policies for courses involving human remains.
CAIR-LA previously condemned the partnership as a profound moral and ethical violation, especially amid Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
In a statement, CAIR-LA Executive Director Hussam Ayloush said:
“We welcome USC’s announcement that the university will end its human cadaver contract with the U.S. Navy. While this decision may not be driven by a change in the administration’s conscience or ethics, it is an important first step toward granting assurance to our communities that their loved ones’ remains are not being treated as a disposable tool of occupation and war.
“Although the contract is ending, it does not erase the profoundly disturbing and unethical treatment of at least 89 unclaimed bodies that were previously sold under the contract. USC and the U.S. Navy must still be held accountable for their gross violations of human dignity and for their complicity in genocide by partnering with the Israeli military.”
CAIR-LA is calling on USC to commit to preventing practices in the future that undermine public trust in academic and medical institutions.
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851 or [email protected]; CAIR-LA Senior Communications Coordinator Madi Hameed, [email protected]