Federal Judge Orders UCLA to Submit Plan to Protect Jewish Students

U.S. Judge Mark C. Scarsi ordered the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) Monday to come up with a plan to protect Jewish students from antisemitic encampments on campus, and to protect them from discrimination as well.

The order requires UCLA to work together with the lawyers for the Jewish plaintiffs in the case, who are represented by the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty and Clement & Murphy PLLC, and to submit the proposal by August 5.

As Breitbart News reported, UCLA tolerated a large encampment on campus in April, at which Jewish students and others had their civil rights violated when their access to public areas of campus, including classrooms, was blocked.

Jewish students sued UCLA to enforce their civil rights, and the university responded by admitting that it had erected steel barriers around the antisemitic, pro-Palestinian encampment, but claimed it did so to prevent their expansion.

In a press release, the Becket Fund reported:

“UCLA tried to force me to choose between being a student or being a Jew,” said Yitzchok Frankel, a rising third-year law student at UCLA. “I appreciate the chance to have my day in court, and I look forward to being able to return to campus safely next month.”

Yitzchok Frankel is a law student and father of four who faced antisemitic harassment last semester simply for wearing a kippah and who was forced to abandon his regular routes through campus because of the [so-called by the plaintiffs] Jew Exclusion Zone. Frankel detailed how UCLA’s continued failures have forced him to cancel plans on campus with his family and to forgo opportunities to mentor incoming Jewish students on campus during orientation week. Eden Shemuelian, another law student, has also had to avoid using campus facilities and participating in law school orientation events because of UCLA’s continuing failures to ensure the safety and equal access of Jewish students.

“It’s disgusting that a prestigious American university would aid and abet antisemitic agitators who harass and segregate Jewish students,” said Mark Rienzi, president of Becket and an attorney for the students. “UCLA’s behavior needs to change, and we look forward to working out an appropriate plan that protects Jewish students on campus.”

The case is Frankel v. Regents of the University of California, in the Central District of California Western Division – Los Angeles, No. 2:24-CV-4702-MCS.

Joel B. Pollak is Senior Editor-at-Large at Breitbart News and the host of Breitbart News Sunday on Sirius XM Patriot on Sunday evenings from 7 p.m. to 10 p.m. ET (4 p.m. to 7 p.m. PT). He is the author of “”The Agenda: What Trump Should Do in His First 100 Days,” available for pre-order on Amazon. He is also the author of “The Trumpian Virtues: The Lessons and Legacy of Donald Trump’s Presidency,” now available on Audible. He is a winner of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter at @joelpollak.