UCLA Settles Antisemitism Lawsuit for $6M Over Pro-Palestine Protests

UCLA Settles Discrimination Complaints for Over $6 Million

UCLA has agreed to pay over $6 million to resolve discrimination complaints that arose from last year’s pro-Palestinian demonstrations. During these events, Jewish students and faculty were reportedly prevented from accessing classrooms, the library, and other key campus locations.

The settlement came after a lawsuit was filed in June 2024 by two law students and an undergraduate. They claimed that the university allowed a group of students and outsiders to set up a pro-Palestinian encampment that forcibly kept Jewish individuals from entering parts of the campus. According to the lawsuit, UCLA allegedly reinforced these areas by providing metal barriers and sending away Jewish students and faculty, while taking no effective action to ensure their safe passage.

Initially, the university disavowed any responsibility to protect its Jewish community. However, the settlement now requires UCLA to pay $6.13 million, which includes damages to each of the plaintiffs, $2.33 million in charitable contributions to eight organizations supporting the Jewish community, and attorneys’ fees and costs.

As part of the agreement, UCLA also agreed to a permanent court order that prevents it from facilitating efforts to exclude Jewish students and faculty from campus. The plaintiffs’ attorneys described this as the largest private settlement in a campus antisemitism case.

“We are pleased with the terms of today’s settlement,” said a joint statement from the parties. “The injunction and other terms UCLA has agreed to demonstrate real progress in the fight against antisemitism.”

In a separate statement, UC Board of Regents Chair Janet Reilly acknowledged where the university had fallen short. She emphasized that antisemitism, harassment, and intimidation have no place at the University of California. Reilly stated that the university is committed to fostering a safe, secure, and inclusive environment for all members of the community.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles federal court, alleged that the so-called pro-Palestinian zones violated civil rights laws and discriminated against Jewish students. Following the Hamas attacks on Israel on October 7, 2023, pro-Palestinian demonstrations emerged on college campuses nationwide. The plaintiffs argued that by allowing the encampment on the Westwood campus, UCLA caused Jewish students and faculty to be barred from accessing parts of the campus unless they agreed to disavow Israel’s right to exist.

According to the plaintiffs, activists used checkpoints, issued wristbands, built barriers, and often locked arms to prevent Jewish students from passing through. For a week, the lawsuit said, UCLA’s administration was aware of these practices and chose to let them persist. Instead of clearing the encampment, the university instructed security staff to discourage unapproved students from attempting to cross through the blocked areas.

Yitzchok Frankel, a recent UCLA Law graduate and plaintiff, criticized the university for protecting the agitators instead of ensuring safe passage for Jewish students. He stated that the settlement brings justice back to the campus and ensures Jews will be safe and treated equally once again.

The settlement comes nearly a year after U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi ordered UCLA to stop assisting antisemitic agitators who set up a “Jew Exclusion Zone” on campus. An attorney for the students noted that UCLA’s actions were documented in a report by the university’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias. The report admitted that the university fostered an antisemitic environment and condemned its behavior as “de facto or structural antisemitism.”

Supporters of the demonstrators have accused officials of ignoring a violent attack on the encampment by counterprotesters while being quick to arrest those sympathetic to the Palestinians.

The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles welcomed the settlement, emphasizing the importance of protecting Jewish students and ensuring they can learn in a secure environment. While no settlement can erase the sense of isolation and fear that many Jewish students continue to feel, the agreement affirms that antisemitism has no place at UCLA or on any campus.

The agreement, which would be in effect for 15 years, is awaiting approval by Scarsi.