UCLA banned from locking out Jewish students amid pro-Palestinian protests

A federal judge has ruled that the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) cannot allow pro-Palestinian protesters to prevent Jewish students from accessing classes and other campus facilities. This preliminary injunction is the first of its kind where a US judge has ruled against a university over Israel-Hamas war-related protests on college campuses earlier this year.

The ruling was in response to a lawsuit filed in June by three Jewish UCLA students, who faced discrimination during the protests because of their faith. They also claimed that UCLA did not guarantee campus access for all Jewish students. Judge Mark Scarsi stated: “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 parts of the UCLA campus because they refuse to denounce his faith.”

UCLA responded that it had no legal responsibility for the matter, since the protesters, not the university, blocked Jewish students from entering the school. The university also collaborated with law enforcement to prevent the establishment of new protest camps. However, Judge Scarsi ruled that the university is prohibited from offering classes and accessing campus buildings if Jewish students are locked out.

Yitzchok Frankel, a UCLA law student who filed the suit, applauded the order, saying, “No student should ever have to fear being locked out of their campus because they are Jewish.”

The ruling follows Judge Scarsi's order last month for UCLA to develop a plan to protect Jewish students. The University of California, one of the nation's largest public university systems, is also developing system-wide campus guidelines on protests.

The protests at UCLA are part of a larger movement on campuses across the country against the war between Israel and Hamas. In May, law enforcement ordered more than a thousand protesters to disperse their encampment as tensions on campus rose. In June, dozens of protesters were arrested after trying to set up a new camp.