UC Berkeley antisemitism lawsuit can proceed, judge rules
April 2 (Reuters) - A federal judge said Jewish groups may pursue a lawsuit accusing the University of California, Berkeley, of tolerating an "unrelenting" stream of antisemitic harassment toward Jewish students and faculty.
In a decision made public on Tuesday, U.S. District Judge James Donato said two Jewish groups may pursue equal protection, free exercise of religion, and civil rights claims against school officials including University of California President Michael Drake and former UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ.
Donato said the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that Jewish students and professors were treated differently at UC Berkeley because they are Jewish, and that the school was "deliberately indifferent to the on-campus harassment and hostile environment."
The San Francisco-based judge also dismissed a contract-based claim.
Lawyers for the defendants did not immediately respond on Wednesday to requests for comment.
The plaintiffs are the nonprofit Louis D. Brandeis Center and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education, a nationwide group whose members include UC Berkeley staff and students.
Many top U.S. colleges and universities have been accused of tolerating antisemitism and mishandling protests following Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack against Israel.
Last month, U.S. President Donald Trump canceled $400 million of federal funding for Columbia University over its alleged failure to police antisemitism.
His administration also sent letters, opens new tab to 60 schools including UC Berkeley in March, warning of possible enforcement actions if they did not address antisemitic harassment and discrimination.
John Coghlan, a lawyer for plaintiffs in the UC Berkeley lawsuit, called Donato's decision "an overwhelming victory" for his clients.
"We're looking forward to continuing to fight for the Jewish community at Berkeley," he said in an interview. "To the extent there is greater momentum toward combating antisemitism, that helps our case."
The case is Louis D. Brandeis Center Inc et al v Regents of the University of California et al, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California, No. 23-06133.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Reuters
17 minutes ago
- Reuters
One killed, 23 injured in Russia's drone attack on Ukraine's Kharkiv, mayor says
June 11 (Reuters) - Russia's overnight drone attack on Kharkiv killed at least one person and injured another 23, the mayor of the northeastern Ukrainian city said on the Telegram messaging app on Wednesday.
Reuters
17 minutes ago
- Reuters
China's Li says US-China reach framework on trade, will report back to leaders
LONDON, June 10 (Reuters) - China's Vice Commerce Minister Li Chenggang said on Tuesday that the Chinese and the U.S. negotiating teams had agreed a framework on trade after two days of talks, and would take that back to their leaders. "The two sides have, in principle, reached a framework for implementing the consensus reached by the two heads of state during the phone call on June 5th and the consensus reached at the Geneva meeting," Li told reporters.
Reuters
27 minutes ago
- Reuters
US military bases to restore names changed after racial justice protests, Trump says
FORT BRAGG, North Carolina, June 10 (Reuters) - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Tuesday the military would rename bases which were changed after racial justice protests in 2023, including reverting to Fort Lee originally named after Civil War-era Confederate commander Robert E. Lee. Under the Trump administration, the Pentagon has already renamed Fort Moore back to its original name of Fort Benning and Fort Liberty back to Fort Bragg. U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth has been able to sidestep a Congressional provision that banned bases having Confederate names by renaming bases after people with the same names as the Confederate officials. "We are also going to be restoring the names to Fort Pickett, Fort Hood, Fort Gordon, Fort Rucker, Fort Polk, Fort AP Hill and Fort Robert E. Lee," Trump said while speaking at Fort Bragg. "We won a lot of battles out of those forts. It's no time to change," Trump said as uniformed service members stood behind him. Fort Lee, located in Petersburg, Virginia, was renamed Fort Gregg-Adams in 2023. After Trump's announcement, the Army said that Fort Lee would be renamed after Private Fitz Lee, a Medal of Honor recipient from the Spanish-American War. During Trump's speech at Fort Bragg, some audience members, including those in uniform, cheered as the president made the announcement. They also jeered at the press as Trump pointed towards reporters and called them "Fake News" and applauded as he took shots at his predecessor, Joe Biden. Uniformed members of the U.S. armed forces are meant to be apolitical, carrying out the policies of Democratic and Republican administrations. The 2023 move to shed Confederate names for military bases came in the wake of nationwide protests after the 2020 death of George Floyd, a Black man killed by police in Minneapolis, Minnesota. Confederate flags and base names can be offensive to many Americans, who see them as reminders of the enslavement of Black Americans and symbols of white supremacy. Congress in 2021 passed legislation forbidding the naming of bases after anyone who voluntarily served or held leadership in the Confederate States of America, the breakaway republic of Southern states that fought against the U.S. in the Civil War in the 19th Century.
