Three Jewish UCLA students Federal lawsuit filed A complaint was filed Wednesday against the UC Regents and several university officials, alleging that anti-Israel protesters prevented them from accessing key parts of campus.
In a 74-page filing, the plaintiffs — two second-year law students and a second-year history student — describe UCLA as a “hotbed of anti-Semitism,” where activists walk around carrying signs with threatening messages, chant “Death to Jews” and block roads leading into campus facilities.
Lawyers for the students said pro-Palestinian protesters have set up checkpoints at their camp on Royce Quad, and only those who condemn Israel are being allowed entry.
“With the knowledge and consent of UCLA officials, the activists effectively enforced a ‘Jewish exclusion zone,’ isolating Jewish students and preventing them from accessing the heart of campus, including classroom buildings and the main undergraduate library,” the lawsuit states. “In several cases, the activists set up roadblocks and blocked by arm restraints those who refused to denounce Israel.”
The lawsuit against the University of California comes nearly six weeks after protesters set up an encampment at UCLA demanding that the university sever ties with Israel because of the war in the Gaza Strip.
Some Jewish students Expressed disappointment at check postsHe said he was excluded from the camp because he supported the existence of Israel. Other students defended him, telling the Times that he was needed to prevent “agitators” from entering and endangering protesters.
Lawyers for the three students said that because of the way UCLA handled the situation, their clients were denied the rights to freedom of speech, freedom to practice religion, and equal access to educational facilities, among other things.
“If maskless protesters had excluded any other marginalized group at UCLA, Governor Newsom would have immediately sent in the National Guard,” said Mark Rienzi, the nonprofit’s president and CEO. Becket Fund for Religious Libertywhich provided some legal representation in the case.
In a statement, UCLA officials said they were aware of the lawsuit but had not yet been notified of it.
“We will review and respond when the time comes,” said Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications. “UCLA is committed to supporting the safety and well-being of the entire Bruin community.”
Yogita Goel, a professor of English and African American studies at UCLA, rejected the claims in the lawsuit, calling them “categorically false”.
“I spent several days walking throughout the area and never saw anyone outside the camp, unless they came with the clear intent to harass and harm the students inside,” he said in an email. “No students were prevented from taking classes or entering the library. It was campus security that set up alternate routes.”
Goyal, whose office is near Royce Quad, said protesters at the camp were being “constantly intimidated by outsiders and miscreants.” He said it takes an extra two or three minutes of walking just to move around the camp.
The lawsuit names several university officials as defendants, including UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, who was recently summoned. Testifying before members of Congress about the demonstrations. Lawyers for the three students have noted some of Block’s statements, including that at one point, he Publicly acknowledged When going to class, students shouldPhysically blocked” Access to parts of the complex was blocked.
On April 30, counter-protesters attacked the camp, Fireworks and crude weapons were used, and for several hours law enforcement agencies did not intervene. The following night police demolished the initial pro-Palestinian camp, More than 200 people were arrested,
The Los Angeles chapter of the Council on American-Islamic Relations, a civil rights and advocacy organization, condemned the arrests and criticized UCLA for what it said was a “militarized police action” on an “anti-genocide camp.” The organization also condemned police for failing to protect protesters from violence.
In mid-May, a pro-Israel counter-protester was arrested in connection with the attacks.
Jewish students make up about 8% of UCLA’s undergraduate student body. In the wake of the protests, dozens of UCLA Jewish faculty and staff signed an open letter demanding apologies for the arrested protesters and arguing that criticism of Israel is not “potentially anti-Semitic,” Goel said.
“Although the signatories have profound differences of opinion about the State of Israel, we agree that it is dangerous to characterize all criticism of the State of Israel or government, or all criticism of Zionism, as anti-Semitic,” the letter states.
