UC Faces Lawsuit from Jewish Groups Alleging Unaddressed Antisemitism

(DailyVantage.com) – The University of California system and UC Berkeley are facing a lawsuit filed by several Jewish groups that are claiming that UC Berkeley allowed antisemitic sentiment to run rampant on their campuses for a long time.

The 36-page complaint was filed recently by the Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education (JAFE) and the Louis D. Brandeis Center at the Northern District Court of California, which claims that school officials have ignored antisemitic acts, including acts of violence, against Jewish students for years and especially in recent months.

The suit points to the pro-Palestinian protests the school allowed in the aftermath of Hamas’ devastating October 7 attacks against Israel as examples of discrimination. During these protests, the suit claims, many Jewish students were harassed and physically assaulted, but university officials did nothing.

The suit also cites practices by several organizations in the university that essentially force Jewish students to throw away a “central part of their cultural and ancestral heritage” as well as “a fundamental tenet of their faith” in order to participate in these groups and their activities. The suit cites examples where Jewish students who want to become members of the Berkeley Law Legal Services are required to attend a “Palestine 101” seminar that is focused on the “illegitimacy of the State of Israel.”

Other organizations, such as the Asian Pacific American Law Students Association, Women of Berkeley Law, and the Queer Caucus at Berkeley, require members to pledge to the Boycott Divestment and Sanctions movement, which in turn has the goal of “dismantling” the Jewish state. Other practices the suit calls into question include bans on speakers and students who organizations deem to have “Zionist” views, which the suit claims violate several sections of the U.S. Constitution.

Speaking to Fox News, Kenneth L. Marcus, who founded and currently chairs the Brandeis Center, said that such practices are a “direct result” of years of inaction by UC Berkeley officials on “unfettered Jew hatred.” Marcus is also a graduate of UC Berkeley’s law school and was a former U.S. assistant secretary of education.