The U.S. Department of Justice has filed a sweeping lawsuit against University of California, Los Angeles, accusing the school of allowing violent antisemitic attacks against Jewish and Israeli students following the October 7 Hamas massacre while failing to intervene or protect students on campus.

According to the lawsuit, obtained by The California Post, Jewish students at UCLA were allegedly assaulted, beaten unconscious, attacked with sticks and pepper spray, and blocked from parts of campus by demonstrators enforcing what the complaint describes as “Jewish exclusion zones.”

“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 Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division alleged that tensions escalated dramatically in April 2024, when masked anti-Israel demonstrators established a large encampment outside Royce Hall.

According to the complaint, “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 lawsuit further alleges that demonstrators formed so-called “human phalanxes” designed to physically block Jewish students from accessing certain campus areas unless they publicly renounced Zionism before being allowed through makeshift checkpoints.

Federal officials claim UCLA violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by displaying deliberate indifference toward what the lawsuit describes as widespread and ongoing antisemitism targeting Jewish and Israeli students.

Among the incidents detailed in the complaint was one alleged attack in which a Jewish student suffered an open head wound and was left unconscious. Other students were reportedly kicked, beaten with sticks, and sprayed with pepper spray during violent confrontations. One victim allegedly heard the words, “Hitler missed one.”

According to the lawsuit, nearly 60% of Jewish students reported avoiding campus during the unrest, while more than 40% considered transferring or leaving UCLA entirely because of the atmosphere.

The DOJ also accused UCLA of violating federal grant and funding agreements by certifying compliance with Title VI protections while allegedly permitting discrimination and harassment against Jewish and Israeli students to continue unchecked.

“Earlier this year, we sued UCLA for subjecting its Jewish and Israeli employees to an antisemitic hostile work environment,” Assistant Attorney General Harmeet 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.”

Bill Essayli, First Assistant U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California and one of Los Angeles’ top federal prosecutors, said universities have a legal responsibility to ensure the safety of all students regardless of background or religion.

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

UCLA has faced mounting scrutiny for months over anti-Israel demonstrations, protest encampments, and campus unrest connected to Israel’s ongoing war against Hamas in Gaza.

{Matzav.com}