The University of Southern California campus. Photo: Padsquad19 via Wikimedia Commons.

A group of faculty at the University of Southern California (USC) has lined up in support of a Jewish student whose experience of antisemitism led to her resignation as University of Southern California student vice president earlier this month.

In an “open letter to the USC community on supporting Zionist students” that was posted on Monday, the scholars emphasized that Rose Ritch was “subjected to vicious online harassment, and her qualification to hold elected office was questioned on the basis of her professed Zionism.”

The letter, signed by nearly 40 academics at USC, followed a similar communication last week from a group of progressive American scholars who sprang to Ritch’s defense.

The USC letter identified its signers as “supporters of the Zionist idea ‐‐ the right of the Jewish people to a homeland and self-determination” who “stand by the rights of all people, including Israelis and Palestinians, to freedom, dignity and peaceful coexistence, and to advocate for their causes with fairness and respect on our campus and in the world.”

“As dedicated members of the USC faculty, we are concerned about the long-term impact of Rose Ritch’s resignation on the morale and well-being of supporters, or presumed supporters, of the State of Israel,” the letter noted. “We call on our university’s leadership to uphold the values of open and civilized debate, so that USC can continue its mission of fostering excellence in education and advancing knowledge in a civil and respectful manner.”