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A federal judge ruled Tuesday that the University of California, Los Angeles, cannot allow pro-Palestinian protesters to block Jewish students from accessing classes and other parts of campus.
The preliminary injunction marks the first time a U.S. judge has ruled against a university over the demonstrations against the Israel-Hamas war on college campuses earlier this year.
U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi's ruling came in a lawsuit filed in June by three Jewish students at UCLA. The students alleged that they experienced discrimination on campus during the protest because of their faith and that UCLA failed to ensure access to campus for all Jewish students.
“In the year 2024, in the United States of America, in the State of California, in the City of Los Angeles, Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith.” Scarsi wrote.
UCLA argued that it has no legal responsibility over the issue because protesters, not the university, blocked Jewish students' access to the school. The university also worked with law enforcement to thwart attempts to set up new protest camps.
Scarsi ruled that the university is prohibited from providing classes and access to buildings on campus if Jewish students are blocked from it.
Yitzchok Frankel, a UCLA law student who filed the lawsuit, celebrated the order.
“No student should ever have to fear being blocked from their campus because they are Jewish,” Frankel said in a statement. “I am grateful that the court has ordered UCLA to put a stop to this shameful anti-Jewish conduct.”
UCLA didn’t immediately respond to an email seeking comment Tuesday.
The ruling came after Scarsi ordered UCLA to create a plan to protect Jewish students last month.
The demonstrations at UCLA became part of a movement at campuses across the country against the Israel-Hamas war. At UCLA, law enforcement ordered in May that over a thousand protesters break up their encampment as tensions rose on campus. Counter-demonstrators had attacked the encampment overnight and at least 15 protesters suffered injuries. In June, dozens of protesters on campus were arrested after they tried to set up a new encampment.
