A federal judge ruled the University of California, Los Angeles, must ensure equal access to campus for Jewish students after some alleged in a lawsuit they were blocked by protesters at this spring’s pro-Palestinian encampments. U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi issued a preliminary injunction Tuesday requiring that if Jewish students are blocked from certain programs, activities or parts of campus, UCLA must also stop providing access to all students. The injunction takes effect Thursday.
UCLA had some of the most violent protests last spring over the Israel-Hamas war. Pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel demonstrators clashed, with fireworks and barricades being thrown, until police broke them up. Pro-Palestinian protesters set up an encampment with metal barriers and required anyone who wanted to cross to pledge allegiance to the views of the protesters, according to three Jewish students who sued university administrators in June. Those permitted to enter the area were given wristbands. The encampment was set up for about a week starting at the end of April. The students said that the encampment blocked pathways to classrooms and later access to finals.
The Jewish students who filed the lawsuit said UCLA helped activists enforce a “Jew Exclusion Zone” on campus. They said security officers upheld the restriction instead of helping Jewish students through. The students—including an undergraduate and two law students—said their free speech and civil rights had been violated.