UCLA faces DOJ lawsuit over alleged antisemitic harassment of Jewish students

A group of antisemitic UCLA students beat their Jewish classmates unconscious, attacked them with sticks and pepper spray and created Jewish exclusion zones — all while the school did nothing to stop it — according to a new lawsuit against the University of California.

The school allowed for vile antisemitic attacks on Jewish students on the campus following the Hamas attacks on October 7, the Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division said in the suit, obtained by The California Post.

“Antisemitic hatred against UCLA’s Jewish and Israeli students reached a point where students were physically assaulted, injured, excluded from campus, and deprived of educational opportunities because of their perceived Jewish or Israeli heritage,” the lawsuit said.

The DOJ said that the hatred against Jewish and Israeli students reached a point in April 2024, when “masked demonstrators erected an encampment outside of Royce Hall and slapped, kicked, beat with sticks, doused with pepper spray, and knocked unconscious Jewish and Israeli students.”

The vile students also allegedly set up “human phalanxes” to stop access for Jewish students for some areas — demanding students renounce Zionism to pass through checkpoints.

The complaint alleges UCLA violated Title VI by showing deliberate indifference to pervasive antisemitism on campus.

The lawsuit alleges one Jewish student was left unconscious with an open head wound, while others were kicked, beaten with sticks and sprayed with pepper spray during violent confrontations on campus. Another victim was allegedly told, “Hitler missed one.”

Nearly 60% of Jewish students said they avoided campus at the time, while more than 40% considered leaving UCLA altogether, according to the lawsuit.

The DOJ also alleged UCLA breached its federal funding contracts and grants by claiming it complied with its Title VI obligations while allowing discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students to persist on campus.

“Earlier this year, we sued UCLA for subjecting its Jewish and Israeli employees to an antisemitic hostile work environment,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division said.

“Now, the Department of Justice calls UCLA to account for its toleration of the equally appalling hostile educational environment against its Jewish and Israeli students.”

Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutor Bill Essayli, First Assistant US Attorney for the Central District of California, said that universities “have an obligation to maintain safe and inclusive campuses for all students.”

“Universities that violate our nation’s civil rights laws by repeatedly failing to shield Jewish students from antisemitism will be held accountable.”

UCLA has been under increased scrutiny following months of protests and encampments over Israel’s war in Gaza.

The Post reached out to UCLA and the University of California for further comment.

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