Reporting by Annenberg Media that was first published last year exposed the sale of bodies from the University of Southern California and University of California schools to the United States Navy. The Navy used some of these bodies to train Israeli military medical personnel.
AJ+ — a youth-focused, digital-only outlet part of Al Jazeera — released the documentary “Israeli Military Medics Are Training On Dead Americans” on Monday. Collaborating with Peabody-Award-winning AJ+ show Direct From with Dena Takruri, it follows the story of two college newsrooms.
Annenberg Media and the UC San Diego Guardian teamed up for one of the stories that followed the reaction of families whose relatives were donated to the program. The documentary looks at the series of stories and provides follow-up reporting.
“The lack of transparency and informed consent for donors and their families is at the heart of this story and something we felt demanded deeper scrutiny,” wrote Takruri, the AJ+ senior presenter, to Annenberg Media. “What made this investigation especially important was revealing how a war many Americans perceive as distant is directly connected to institutions here in the United States.”
USC’s sale of bodies to the Israeli military was first discovered by a USC-affiliated physician in 2024.
“Every answer I found was more horrific than what I had imagined,” said the physician, who requested anonymity out of fear of retaliation, in an interview with AJ+.
When 101-year-old Jeanette Volpin died, her body was donated to USC’s Anatomical Gift Program — but she was never informed of the possibility that it could be used to teach Israeli military medics. Her daughter Miriam said she was “furious” after reading the article.
“It really has destroyed any trust,” Miriam said.
Dr. Mohamad Raad, a USC-affiliated physician, talked about the lack of trust that arose in the aftermath of the reporting.
“Even during the genocide, even when the Israeli army was bombing schools and hospitals and kidnapping physicians, these contracts were being renewed,” Raad said. “What happens when these institutions lose moral legitimacy?”
UC Health only recently added to its FAQ page that donated bodies may be “shared” with other institutions and used to train military personnel.
In a letter sent to Wendy Smith, who revoked her donation to UCSD after the Annenberg Media story broke, the school stated: “We will not be responding to factually inaccurate reporting by student reporters who have an agenda.”
USC issued a statement to AJ+ through the Keck School of Medicine: “Our mission is to advance the highest standards of medical education and care for all people, and in the divided world we live in, it is even more important for us to carry out that mission irrespective of political ideology, social status, or creed.”
The student journalists involved have said they hope the investigation would pave the way for more transparency between the schools and those who choose to donate their bodies.
“We see the connections to our own university. I think just consistently our reporting reminds us that we’re a part of something much bigger than just our campus,” said Sasha Ryu, one of Annenberg Media’s investigative reporters.
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