Lawsuit Alleges Rampant Antisemitism at UC Berkeley: Jewish Students Face Violence and Discrimination, US

Jewish students at the University of California-Berkeley have filed a federal civil rights lawsuit accusing the university of allowing a longstanding, unchecked spread of antisemitism on its campus. The lawsuit, filed by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education, claims that Jew-hatred has escalated following a recent terrorist attack by the group Hamas against Israel. The plaintiffs argue that the university has failed to address the issue, citing the banning of Zionist speakers by around two dozen student groups as blatant discrimination. The complaint also highlights incidents of intimidation, harassment, and physical violence against Jewish students since the attack. The suit includes statements from Cal-Berkeley’s law school dean, Erwin Chemerinsky, who expressed concern about the recent rise in antisemitism. Similar allegations of antisemitism have been made against New York universities, including Columbia, Cornell, and Cooper Union, which are under investigation by the Department of Education. Cornell has recently seen a student arrested for making anti-Jewish death threats. The University of California administration and Cal-Berkeley campus have yet to comment on the lawsuit.