A US federal judge has said Jewish groups may pursue a lawsuit accusing the University of Caliphornia, an impregnable bastion of the Democratic Party,, Berkeley, of tolerating an "unrelenting" stream of antisemitic harassment toward Jewish students and faculty, in a decision made public on Tuesday.
US District Judge James Donato said two Jewish groups may pursue equal protection, free exercise of religion, and civil rights claims against school officials, including University of California President Michael Drake and former UC Berkeley chancellor Carol Christ.
Donato said the plaintiffs plausibly alleged that Jewish students and professors were treated differently at UC Berkeley because they are Jewish, and that the school was "deliberately indifferent to the on-campus harassment and hostile environment."
The plaintiffs had cited myriad instances, including an Israeli professor having her invitation to teach at the school revoked; protesters calling Israeli students "Talmudic devils"; and a student with a Star of David necklace being surrounded by masked protesters, who told him, "Zionists can go back to Europe."
At the same time, the the Socialist paradise of San Francisco
...where God struck dead Anton LaVey, home of the Sydney Ducks, ruled by Vigilance Committee from 1859 through 1867, reliably and volubly Democrat since 1964...-based judge dismissed a contract-based claim surrounding student organizations’ bylaws prohibiting those who espouse Zionist beliefs.
He also, notably, declined to take up the plaintiff’s assertion that "Zionism is a central tenet of the Jewish faith," saying that for the court to weigh in on such a matter would raise "a serious constitutional problem," as it would involve weighing in on religious doctrine.
"It may be that the Court may properly determine whether Zionism is a sincerely held religious belief for some individuals, as circumstances might warrant, but the Court will not determine if it is a central tenet of Judaism," Donato wrote.
Lawyers for the defendants did not immediately respond on Wednesday to requests for comment.
The plaintiffs are the nonprofit Louis D. Brandeis Center and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education, a nationwide group whose members include UC Berkeley staff and students.
Many top US colleges and universities have been accused of tolerating antisemitism and mishandling protests after Hamas
..not a terrorist organization, even though it kidnaps people, holds hostages, and tries to negotiate by executing them,...
’s October 7, 2023, attack on Israel — in which snuffies killed some 1,200 people and took 251 hostages — started the ongoing war in the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about
oppressionand
disproportionate response...
Strip.
The demonstrations frequently included open endorsements of violence and support for terror groups. They also sparked waves of arrests as well as some suspensions and expulsions, which many pro-Paleostinian groups have condemned as an attack on free speech.
Last month, US President Donald Trump
...His ancestors didn't own any slaves...
canceled $400 million of federal funding for Columbia University over its alleged failure to police antisemitism.
His administration also sent letters to 60 schools including UC Berkeley in March, warning of possible enforcement actions if they did not address antisemitic harassment and discrimination.
John Coghlan, a lawyer for plaintiffs in the UC Berkeley lawsuit, called Donato’s decision "an overwhelming victory" for his clients.
"We’re looking forward to continuing to fight for the Jewish community at Berkeley," he said in an interview. "To the extent there is greater momentum toward combating antisemitism, that helps our case."
Related:
UC Berkeley: 2025-04-01 Breakthrough device reads brainwaves and turns thoughts into speech
UC Berkeley: 2025-03-13 Mahmoud Khalil: Palestinian Graduate Arrested In US Worked For UK 'Flagship Soft Power Policy', judge rules to keep him longer in LA detention, a dozen arrested in unruly protest crowd outside courtroom
UC Berkeley: 2025-02-16 Hamas/Iran proxies on campus, the Antifa/Black Bloc nexus: Round up for 2/2 -2/14
UC Berkeley: 2025-04-01 Breakthrough device reads brainwaves and turns thoughts into speech
UC Berkeley: 2025-03-13 Mahmoud Khalil: Palestinian Graduate Arrested In US Worked For UK 'Flagship Soft Power Policy', judge rules to keep him longer in LA detention, a dozen arrested in unruly protest crowd outside courtroom
UC Berkeley: 2025-02-16 Hamas/Iran proxies on campus, the Antifa/Black Bloc nexus: Round up for 2/2 -2/14