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.
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Tents are placed on an encampment on the UCLA campus after clashes between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups, Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File) -
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators seen on the campus of UCLA on June 10, 2024. (KTLA) -
Workers clean up the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus after police evicted pro-Palestinian students, in Los Angeles, California, early on May 2, 2024. (FREDERIC J. BROWN/AFP via Getty Images) -
LOS ANGELES CA MAY 2, 2024 — Police tear down the tents on the UCLA campus Thursday, May 2, 2024. (Jason Armond / Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) -
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators lock arms on the UCLA campus Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong) -
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – May 1: Pro-Palestinian protestors and pro-Israeli supporters clash at an encampment at UCLA early Wednesday morning. (Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images) -
Counter protesters attack a pro-Palestinian encampment set up on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as clashes erupt, in Los Angeles on May 1, 2024. (ETIENNE LAURENT/AFP via Getty Images) -
Israeli Protesters Laid Siege On The UCLA Gaza Support Camp For Over 4 Hours. The Israeli Protesters Used Make Shift Weapons, Chemical Weapons And Fireworks To Assault The Camp All Night Long, in Los Angeles, on May 1, 2024.(Photo by Shay Horse/NurPhoto via Getty Images) -
Israeli Protesters Laid Siege On The UCLA Gaza Support Camp For Over 4 Hours. The Israeli Protesters Used Make Shift Weapons, Chemical Weapons And Fireworks To Assault The Camp All Night Long, in Los Angeles, on May 1, 2024.(Photo by Shay Horse/NurPhoto via Getty Images) -
Pro-Palestinian protesters continued to occupy the grounds at UCLA in front of Royce Hall on Monday, April 29, 2024. (David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images) -
Pro-Palestinian protesters continued to occupy the grounds at UCLA in front of Royce Hall on Monday, April 29, 2024. (David Crane/MediaNews Group/Los Angeles Daily News via Getty Images)
“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 spokesperson Mary Osako said the ruling “would improperly hamstring our ability to respond to events on the ground and to meet the needs of the Bruin community.”
The university is also considering all available options moving forward, she said.
“UCLA is committed to fostering a campus culture where everyone feels welcome and free from intimidation, discrimination, and harassment,” Osako said in a statement to The Associated Press.
The ruling came after Scarsi ordered UCLA last month to create a plan to protect Jewish students. The University of California, one of the nation’s largest public university systems, is also working on systemwide campus guidelines on protests.
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.