In a ruling Tuesday, a federal judge ridiculed University of California, Los Angeles administrators for allowing an anti-Israel camp to block Jewish students from accessing campus, the first court rebuke of demonstrations that devolved into anti-Semitic threats and intimidation at many universities last spring.
U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi A preliminary injunction was granted The bill, which goes into effect Thursday, requires UCLA to maintain equal access to programs, activities and campus areas for both Jewish and non-Jewish students.
In a scathing 16-page order, Scalsi blasted the UCLA Board of Trustees for openly acknowledging in previous court proceedings that it has “no responsibility” to protect the religious freedom of Jewish students because the anti-Israel tent cities that have popped up on campuses across the country, including Columbia University, are “orchestrated by third-party protesters.”
“In 2024, in Los Angeles, California, United States, Jewish students have been barred from parts of the UCLA campus because they refused to renounce their faith.” he wrote, partially in italics.
“The facts are unimaginable and a flagrant violation of constitutional religious freedom, and it bears repeating that Jewish students were barred from parts of UCLA’s campus because they refused to renounce their faith,” the judge added.
Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications, said in a statement that the ruling “will unfairly impede our ability to respond to events on the ground and serve the needs of our student community.”
“UCLA is committed to fostering a campus culture where everyone feels welcome and free from intimidation, discrimination and harassment,” Osako added.
The Becket Fund for Religious Liberty represented Jewish students at UCLA who filed a complaint against the Board of Trustees and Chancellor Gene Block, who acknowledged in congressional testimony earlier this year that the university took no action against protesters who had blocked the campus.
“It is shameful that UCLA allowed anti-Semitic thugs to threaten Jewish people on campus,” said Becket University President Mark Rienzi, one of the defense lawyers in the case. “Today’s ruling demonstrates that UCLA’s policy of helping anti-Semitic activists target Jewish people is not only morally wrong, but a serious constitutional violation. UCLA should stop fighting the Constitution and start defending Jewish people on campus.”
“No student should have to fear being barred from campus because they are Jewish,” added Yitzchok Frankel, a third-year law student at UCLA and one of the students who filed the lawsuit. “We are grateful that the court has ordered UCLA to stop this shameful anti-Semitic behavior.”
Protesters established a “Jew-free zone” on the Westwood campus, which Frankel said meant students were barred from attending regular classes.
The law student and father of four also faced anti-Semitic harassment for wearing a kippah during the spring semester.
Notably, the ban on future protests also includes “excluding Jewish students based on their religious beliefs regarding the Jewish state of Israel.”
The UCLA encampment in late April was one of the few times that saw all-out clashes between anti-Israel protesters and counter-protesters, with pepper spray, firecrackers and fists.
It was quickly declared an illegal assembly and police arrested more than 200 anti-Israel demonstrators.
The protest and subsequent counterattack were one in a series that has highlighted divisions between Republicans and some Democrats over Israel’s war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip, a key issue in the 2024 election.
Republican lawmakers have launched investigations into Ivy League schools for fomenting anti-Semitism on their campuses, summoning presidents and university officials to public hearings and grilling them about violations of their university codes of conduct.
Meanwhile, Democrats have split between center and left wings of the party, with moderate lawmakers reaffirming support for the Jewish state and “Squad” members joining protesters’ calls for universities to withdraw from Israel and condemn its military operation in Gaza, which has killed many civilians.
The question was asked at a House Education and Labor Committee hearing in May. Video footage Responding to a video showing kefir-wearing protesters blocking UCLA undergraduates from entering campus, Bullock would only confirm that the incident was under investigation.
He added that blocking students’ access to campus based on race, religion or ethnicity “may be grounds for expulsion,” but did not provide details.
In a separate exchange with Squad member Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN), Bullock made it clear that “every part of campus is open to students, so it would be really inappropriate to block him.”
“This encampment is against policy and violates time, place and manner,” he said.
UCLA is currently considering appealing the decision to the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
The U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights is also currently investigating complaints of “common ancestry” discrimination. University of California, Los AngelesThe Anti-Defamation League has already given the university a “D” rating for its response to anti-Semitism on campus.
