UCLA Agrees to a $6 Million Settlement over Allegations of Discrimination, Including the Presence of a 'Jew Exclusion Zone' on Campus
UCLA Settles Discrimination Lawsuit for $6.13 Million
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has agreed to pay over $6.13 million to settle a discrimination lawsuit brought by Jewish faculty and students. The lawsuit, which was filed after the university admitted it had taken no action against demonstrators who blockaded campus, alleged that Jewish students and faculty were subjected to antisemitic harassment and exclusion.
The encampment in question was one of several that appeared at US universities and colleges in spring 2024 and descended into a violent clash between anti-Israel demonstrators and law enforcement. The settlement's resources will support Hillel at UCLA, the central address for Jewish life on campus, in making UCLA a great environment for Jewish students.
More than $2 million will be donated to organizations combating antisemitism on campus and in Los Angeles. The organizations receiving donations include the campus Hillel chapter, the Anti-Defamation League, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles, the Jewish Graduate Organization, and the Orthodox Union.
In a House Education and Workforce Committee hearing, Chancellor Gene Block admitted that preventing students' access to university grounds based on their race, religion, or ethnicity could be an expellable offense. Block also stated that the encampment was against policy and violated time, place, and manner.
Last August, a Los Angeles federal judge granted a preliminary injunction to Jewish students at UCLA, requiring equal access to the school's programs and activities. This past March, the US Department of Justice issued a statement of interest in the case.
Tuesday's consent judgment states that all references to the exclusion of Jewish students, faculty, and staff include exclusion based on religious beliefs concerning the Jewish state of Israel. More than 200 were arrested after the declaration of an unlawful assembly.
Security officers stationed around the tent city barred Jewish UCLA community members from entering without an approved wristband and allowed bike racks to be used to seal the demonstrators off from the rest of campus. If approved by a federal judge, the settlement will be in effect for the next 15 years.
In October 2024, UCLA's interim chancellor released a report confirming that antisemitism had been allowed to fester on campus. The Anti-Defamation League gave UCLA a "D" letter grade for its handling of antisemitism on campus.
Yitzchok Frankel, a third-year law student at UCLA, was one of several plaintiffs who faced antisemitic harassment for wearing his kippah. Daniel Gold, Executive Director of Hillel at UCLA, called the settlement "an important and meaningful step forward in addressing the challenges that Jewish students have faced at UCLA."
US District Judge Mark Scarsi wrote a scathing, 16-page order stating that Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith. Mary Osako, UCLA Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications, stated that the university is working to eliminate antisemitism from its community and has taken concrete action to enhance campus safety.
The settlement marks a significant step in addressing the issue of antisemitism on college campuses and sends a clear message that discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated.
