Federal Judge Mark C. Scarsi on Tuesday issued a preliminary injunction ordering the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to allow Jewish students to participate in campus activities or to cease all activities.
The order is the latest development in a civil rights lawsuit filed against UCLA by students who were prevented from attending classes and activities this spring by a large pro-Palestinian “encampment” in the heart of campus.
Only students who denounced Zionism (the right of Jewish self-determination in the Land of Israel) could pass.
(I visited the “encampment” site in April and was assaulted by activists who appeared to have full authority from UCLA authorities to remove anyone, including members of the media.)
In response to the students’ lawsuit, UCLA acknowledged that it had erected metal barricades around the “encampment” but said it did so to prevent the protests from spreading. It has denied responsibility for any discriminatory actions.
Fierce decisionJudge Scalsi expressed horror at the exclusion of Jewish students (emphasis in original).
In 2024, in Los Angeles, California, Jewish students were barred from parts of the UCLA campus because they refused to renounce their faith. This is an unimaginable and flagrant violation of the religious freedom guaranteed by the Constitution, and it must be reiterated. Jewish students have been barred from parts of the UCLA campus because they refused to renounce their faith.UCLA has not contested this. It argues that it has no responsibility to protect the religious freedom of Jewish students because the exclusion was orchestrated by third-party protesters. But constitutional principles mean that UCLA may not allow service to some students if it knows that others are being excluded for religious reasons, regardless of who orchestrated the exclusion.
The judge concluded:
The court’s injunction allows UCLA flexibility to operate the university. Specifically, the injunction does not mandate any particular policies or procedures that UCLA must implement, nor does it dictate any particular action UCLA must take in response to protests on campus. Rather, the injunction merely requires that if some of UCLA’s normally available programs, activities, or campus areas become unavailable to particular Jewish students, UCLA must cease offering those normally available programs, activities, and campus areas to all students. It is up to UCLA’s discretion to determine how best to make the unavailable programs, activities, and campus areas available again.
Judge Scarce denied UCLA’s request to stay the order but allowed the case to be appealed to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals by Thursday, August 15.
Read the full ruling here.
UCLA Vice Chancellor Mary Osako Complained As The Times of Israel noted, the Israeli government said the ruling “will unfairly curtail our ability to respond to events on the ground and serve the needs of the Bruins community.”
This incident Frankel v. Regents of the University of CaliforniaWestern Chapter, Central District of California – Los Angeles, No. 2:24-CV-4702-MCS.
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