UCLA settles antisemitism suit with $6.13m payout, as feds allege discrimination

Plaintiffs, who alleged that protesters created ‘Jew Exclusion Zone’ during 2024 demos over Gaza war, welcome settlement that includes court order ensuring access to public spaces

The University of California has agreed to a sweeping settlement in a high-profile lawsuit that accused UCLA, one of 10 campuses in the UC system, of enabling antisemitic discrimination during campus protests in 2024.

The settlement came the same day the US Justice Department accused the university of discriminating against Jewish students, in violation of the US Constitution and 1964 Civil Rights Act.

The agreement, announced Tuesday, includes roughly $6.13 million in payments, according to Becket, the religious liberty law firm that backed it. It also includes a permanent court order requiring the university to prevent the exclusion of Jewish students from public spaces.

The lawsuit, Frankel v. Regents of the University of California, was filed by students and supported by Becket. It alleged that during last year’s pro-Palestinian encampment, UCLA officials allowed protestors to establish what the lawsuit called a “Jew Exclusion Zone,” barring Jewish students and faculty from accessing parts of campus, including classrooms and libraries.

A federal judge granted preliminary relief last summer, ordering UCLA to ensure the free movement of Jewish students, and this week’s agreement makes that injunction permanent.

“When antisemites were terrorizing Jews and excluding them from campus, UCLA chose to protect the thugs and help keep Jews out,” said lead plaintiff Yitzchok Frankel, a recent UCLA Law graduate. “That was shameful … but today’s court judgment brings justice back to our campus.”

Protesters inside the encampment set up by pro-Palestinian students and activists wrap scarves on their faces as they demonstrate on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles, California, on May 1, 2024. (Etienne LAURENT / AFP)

The settlement comes amid growing national scrutiny of how universities handle campus protests and antisemitism, and mounting pressure from the federal government for them to take a hard stance.

A nationwide wave of demonstrations in the wake of Hamas’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel that started the war in Gaza included frequent expressions of support for terror groups, as well as flagrant violations of school rules and sometimes local laws.

In the aftermath of the UCLA encampment, the university set up a task force, which acknowledged the university allowed antisemitism to fester amid pro‑Palestinian protests, citing incidents such as swastikas drawn inside classrooms, hateful slogans like “Israelis are native 2 hell,” and assaults on Jewish students and staff that went insufficiently addressed by administration.

Still, UCLA initially fought the lawsuit for over a year before conceding to a judgment and settlement. In a joint statement with the plaintiffs, both parties said, “We are pleased with the terms of today’s settlement. The injunction and other terms UCLA has agreed to demonstrate real progress in the fight against antisemitism.”

Trump administration: UCLA discriminated against Jews

The Trump administration, which joined the lawsuit in March, announced Tuesday that the US Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division found UCLA violated the Equal Protection Clause of the Fourteenth Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, “by acting with deliberate indifference in creating a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students.”

Anti-Israel demonstrators wave Yemen and Palestinian flags on the UCLA campus, after nighttime clashes between Pro-Israel and Pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

“UCLA failed to take timely and appropriate action in response to credible claims of harm and hostility on its campus,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division, in a DOJ statement that did not explicitly mention the lawsuit or the settlement.

UCLA’s “inaction constitutes a clear violation of our federal civil rights laws, and the Justice Department will hold UCLA accountable to their legal obligations so that all students can have equal protection under the law,” Dillon said.

UCLA will contribute $2.3m to NGOs focused on antisemitism

As part of the settlement, UCLA will contribute $2.33 million to eight Jewish and antisemitism-focused organizations, including Hillel at UCLA, the Anti-Defamation League, and the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles’s Campus Impact Network. An additional $320,000 will go to UCLA’s Initiative to Combat Antisemitism, a program launched earlier this year by Chancellor Julio Frenk, who is Jewish and assumed his position on January 1.

The total financial outlay, including damages to the plaintiffs and attorney’s fees, makes the deal the largest private settlement in a campus antisemitism case, according to Becket. Columbia recently agreed to pay more than $200 million in a settlement with the Trump administration over antisemitism allegations there.

University of California officials framed the agreement as an extension of ongoing efforts to combat antisemitism systemwide.

“Antisemitism, harassment, and other forms of intimidation are antithetical to our values,” UC Board of Regents Chair Janet Reilly said in a statement. “Today’s settlement reflects a critically important goal that we share with the plaintiffs: to foster a safe, secure and inclusive environment for all.”

Police breach the pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel encampment at the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles, California, early on May 2, 2024. (Etienne Laurent/AFP)

Daniel Gold, Hillel at UCLA’s executive director, applauded the settlement as a move in the right direction.

“This settlement is an important and meaningful step forward in addressing the very serious challenges that Jewish students have faced at UCLA,” Gold said in a statement.

“There is still much more work left to be done to build a safer, more welcoming, and more supportive campus that is free from antisemitic harassment and intimidation, and we look forward to working closely with the university and the UC system to counter antisemitism and bias at every turn,” he added.

The Jewish Federation of Los Angeles also welcomed the outcome.

“Accountability is a vital first step,” its board chair Orna Wolens and CEO Rabbi Noah Farkas said in a statement. “While no settlement can erase the sense of isolation and fear that so many Jewish students continue to feel, this settlement clearly affirms: antisemitism has no place at UCLA or on any campus.”

The case sets a legal precedent, said Mark Rienzi, Becket’s president. “Campus administrators across the country willingly bent the knee to antisemites during the encampments,” he said in a statement. “They are now on notice: Treating Jews like second-class citizens is wrong, illegal, and very costly.”

Times of Israel staff contributed to this report.