UCLA to pay $6.45 million to settle suit by Jewish students over pro-Palestinian protests [View all]

Source: LA Times

UCLA has agreed to pay $6.45 million to settle a lawsuit brought by three Jewish students and a medical school professor who alleged the university violated their civil rights and enabled antisemitic actions during a pro-Palestinian campus encampment hit with violence in spring 2024.

Each plaintiff will receive $50,000. About $2.3 million will be donated to eight groups that work with Jewish communities or issues. Another $230,000 will be directed to a UCLA initiative to combat antisemitism, and the rest of the funds will go toward the legal fees.

As part the deal, UCLA has also agreed that it is “prohibited from knowingly allowing or facilitating the exclusion of Jewish students, faculty, and/or staff from ordinarily available portions of UCLA’s programs, activities, and/or campus areas.” This provision extends to any actions taken on campus, including measures to de-escalate tensions during a protest, for instance, and it includes “exclusion ... based on religious beliefs concerning the Jewish state of Israel.”

That agreement, which would be in effect for 15 years, is awaiting approval from U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi, who is overseeing the case.

Read more: https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2025-07-29/ucla-settles-lawsuit-jewish-students