It’s almost time for the return of classes at American universities and colleges, and you know what that means … the return of pro-Palestinian encampments.
However, the decision in a recent federal case involving UCLA is bound to significantly affect how schools handle these encampments.
During the previous academic year, protesters at UCLA managed to prevent Jewish students from traversing the campus, and campus police failed to stop them. Anyone who wanted to enter areas blocked by the encampment had to pledge allegiance to the views of the protesters.
In his opinion granting injunctive relief to Jewish students, U.S. District Judge Mark Scarsi wrote:
“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.
“This fact is so unimaginable and so abhorrent to our constitutional guarantee of religious freedom that it bears repeating, Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith. UCLA does not dispute this. Instead, UCLA claims that it has no responsibility to protect the religious freedom of its Jewish students because the exclusion was engineered by third-party protesters. But under constitutional principles, UCLA may not allow services to some students when UCLA knows that other students are excluded on religious grounds, regardless of who engineered the exclusion.”
Michael Helfand, professor of law and religion at Pepperdine University’s law school, called the decision “significant,” saying that it “has legal consequences. … The opinion is written in a way that really lays down the gauntlet. I wouldn’t want to be a university that says, ‘I’m not abiding by what the judge in the UCLA case said.’”
UCLA criticized the ruling, saying it would “improperly hamstring our ability to respond to events on the ground.” Perhaps signaling its intent to appeal the decision, the school said it is “considering all options moving forward.”
The Wall Street Journal reports on the decision and the fallout. Here’s the start of the story:
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.