Jewish USC professor, 78, will RETURN to campus after being kicked off when pro-Palestine students aired EDITED video of him calling Hamas murderers and saying ‘I hope they all are killed’

A Jewish professor at the University of Southern California returns to campus as the school continues to investigate his comments about Hamas.

John Strauss, 78, called the terror group “murderers” and expressed his wish for them to be “killed” during a strike on November 9 where students called for a ceasefire in the Gaza Strip.

After the comments were captured on video, he was placed on paid administrative leave and banned from campus.

“People are ignorant,” Strauss said in the viral footage. 'Hamas are murderers. That's all they are. Everyone should be killed and I hope they all do.”

Doctored versions of the video spread on social media, stripped of its context and pushing the narrative that he was calling for the death of all Palestinians.

One report from a so-called student read: “My favorite part of yesterday was a USC professor heckling us all at the end of the memorial, shouting that he thought all Palestinians should be killed!”

Strauss received widespread support when Internet users learned that the video had been manipulated. Supporters launched a campaign called 'Stand With Strauss', complete with a website and Instagram page.

“USC Jewish Professor Strauss, who was previously banned from campus for his comments about Hamas, is now allowed to return!” reads the group's latest statement.

“Thank you all for the collective expression of support, and we look forward to Professor Strauss passing on his knowledge to USC students in the years to come!”

A petition on change.org titled “Demand USC to Bring Back Jewish Professor John Strauss on Campus” gathered more than 21,000 signatures.

“The full video proves that Professor Strauss only called for the death of HAMAS. He has never called for the death of Palestinian civilians or their supporters. It is incorrect for others to lump his mention of Hamas with all Palestinians,” the petition reads.

A conflicting campaign, titled “Demand the Termination of USC Economics Professor John Strauss for Racist and Xenophobic Behavior,” reached more than 7,000 signatures

It deems his behavior “racist” and “xenophobic” and accuses him of appearing on a list of names of civilians killed in Palestine – an action Strauss later admitted but denied was intentional.

USC's Muslim Student Union was criticized after claiming that Strauss “repeatedly” called for “the murder of all Palestine” and “expressed a desire for the death of those who supported Palestine.”

One of the professor's main backers was the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression, an organization that supports freedom of expression.

On November 20, FIRE wrote a letter to the university, calling on it to allow Strauss to resume his personal teaching duties.

“As a private university, USC is not directly bound by the First Amendment, but it is legally and morally bound by its own commendable commitment to faculty freedom of expression,” the letter said in part.

“The fact that some protesters characterized Strauss' comments as hateful or even threatening to students does not deprive Strauss' speech of protection. None of his comments rise to the level of harassment.”

In a subsequent interview with Annenberg Media, USC's student-run publication, Strauss described himself as “very pro-Israel.”

“And as I walked through it, I kept hearing 'down with Israel,'” he said. 'And so I shouted: 'Israel forever, Hamas are murderers.'

In response to the comments captured on video, Strauss added: “I was walking back to Kaprielian (Hall) and one of them, a woman, I don't know who, shouted, shame on you, Professor Strauss, shame on you. .

'And I immediately shouted back: no, shame on you. You knew nothing about Hamas. Hamas are murderers. That's all they are. They should all die, all of them. Of course, they all referred to Hamas.”

He added that the doctored video gave the impression that he was calling for the death of all Palestinians and “that is not what I said at all.”

The 78-year-old is a professor at the Dornsife School of Letters, Arts and Sciences. According to his biography, he specializes in issues of 'development economics' and 'home economics'.

Strauss earlier has taught at Michigan State University, Yale University and the University of Virginia and has worked at USC for almost twenty years.

USC issued its own statement on the suspension, saying, “These measures are intended to minimize classroom disruption and ensure a safe environment for both him and the students.”

It reiterated that Strauss “was not disciplined or punished in any way for engaging in protected speech.”

Later, the school released another statement to announce that all restrictions placed on the professor had been lifted.

The Israel-Hamas conflict began on October 7, when Hamas militants crossed the border a security fence on the border separating Gaza from Israel, shooting Israeli civilians and soldiers.

After a four-day ceasefire in which Hamas handed over a number of hostages in exchange for Palestinian prisoners and humanitarian aid, Israel resumed its bombardment of Gaza, attacking hospitals and detaining 34 medics.

According to the Palestinian Ministry of Health, more than 14,000 Palestinians have been killed since the start of the conflict.

More than 1,200 Israelis have been killed, most in the first ambush that took some 240 prisoners back to Gaza.

Even as it tries to retrieve hostages, Israel has declared some of those missing dead in custody, including six civilians and a colonel.