UC Berkeley settles antisemitism lawsuit, Jewish group says

The University of California, Berkeley, has settled an antisemitism lawsuit filed in 2023, a Jewish legal group says.

Berkeley has agreed to rescind bylaws that were deemed discriminatory against Jews, ensure that student groups cannot exclude “Zionists,” use the IHRA definition of antisemitism, implement antisemitism training, and take several other measures, according to the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law, a prominent legal advocacy group.

The lawsuit, filed in November 2023, said that nine student groups had instated bylaws that excluded “Zionist” speakers, even if their speech was in an unrelated field.

The case also cited intimidation, assaults and threats against Jewish students and faculty.

Examples included a Jewish student struck by a metal water bottle by protesters, emails to Jewish students urging their gassing and murder, protesters chanting “intifada” at an Israeli and shattering a glass door, and protesters blocking Jewish students from moving around the campus.