Judge rules that UCLA must ensure that Jewish students are not blocked from access to campus
The decision came in the wake of antisemitic protests at the institution when Jewish students were barred from campus. "This fact is as unimaginable as it is abhorrent to our constitutional guarantee of religious freedom," the judge said.
Pro-Hamas demonstration at UCLA
A California federal court ruled Wednesday that the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) cannot allow pro-Hamas demonstrators to prevent Jewish students from accessing different areas of campus.
Judge Mark C. Scarsi's decision came after three Jewish students filed a complaint against UCLA regents in June following the antisemitic protests that erupted last April, in which they claimed the institution had become a "hotbed of antisemitism" in the context of the war between Israel and Hamas. They also noted that the university did not guarantee the safety of Jewish students or full access to campus facilities.
"Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith. This fact is so unimaginable and so abhorrent to our constitutional guarantee of religious freedom," Scarsi wrote in the ruling.
The judge further ruled that the university is legally prohibited from using classrooms and teaching classeson campus if Jewish students cannot gain access to the site.
"If any part of UCLA’s ordinarily available programs, activities, and campus areas become unavailable to certain Jewish students, UCLA must stop providing those ordinarily available programs, activities, and campus areas to any students," the judge stated in the ruling.
One of the plaintiffs, Isaac Frankel, welcomed Scarsi's decision. "No student should ever have to fear being blocked from their campus because they are Jewish. … I am grateful that the court has ordered UCLA to put a stop to this shameful anti-Jewish conduct," Frenkel said in a brief statement.
UCLA defends itself
Following the massive antisemitic protests, which included the establishment of an encampment at UCLA, the university claimed it had no legal responsibility in the matter, noting that it was the protesters, not the institution, who blocked Jewish students from entering the campus.
UCLA added in its defense that it had even collaborated with the police to prevent further protests from taking place.
The judge further stated that while the university has implemented corrective measures, such as the creation of a new Office of Campus Safety and transferred day-to-day responsibility for security to an Emergency Operations Center, it is not enough to solve the problem, as they do not "minimize the risk" of a similar event happening again.
Speaking to the Associated Press, UCLA spokeswoman Mary Osako said the failure would "would improperly hamstring our ability to respond to events on the ground." She added that the institution "is committed to fostering a campus culture where everyone feels welcome and free from intimidation, discrimination, and harassment."
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