(NewsNation) — A new lawsuit accuses one of the top public universities in the country of failing to protect Jewish students.
The University of California, Berkeley is being sued by the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law for what it says is the “longstanding, unchecked spread of anti-Semitism” on the campus. It comes as the U.S. has seen a nearly 400% increase in antisemitic incidents since the war between Israel and Hamas began.
Kenneth Marcus, founder and chairman at the Brandeis Center, said Tuesday on “Elizabeth Vargas Reports” that antisemitism has been going on before the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israel, citing student groups’ bans on Zionist speakers.
“When they did that, and the university administration permitted it and allowed it to continue and continued to fund it, it sent a signal which unfortunately has led to more and worse incidents of antisemitism which have just exploded since Oct. 7,” Marcus said.
The lawsuit cites incidents of intimidation, harassment and physical violence.
“For example, during one of the numerous rallies held at UC Berkeley celebrating Hamas, a Jewish undergraduate draped in an Israeli flag was set upon by two protesters who struck him in the head with a metal water bottle,” the Brandeis Center said in a news release.
The lawsuit also alleges students and faculty have received hate mail and that students feel afraid to go to class.
In a statement, UC Berkeley said it has long been committed to confronting antisemitism and that while it cannot censor offensive speech, it recognized that some demonstrations have been “upsetting and frightening” to Jewish students.
“While we appreciate the concerns expressed by the Brandeis Center, UC Berkeley believes the claims made in the lawsuit are not consistent with the First Amendment of the Constitution, or the facts of what is actually happening on our campus,” the university said.
The complaint also said “no fewer” than 23 law school groups have anti-Jewish policies. It said these include requirements that invited speakers repudiate Zionism, and Jewish students wanting to provide pro bono legal services undergo “Palestine 101” training that emphasizes Israel’s supposed illegitimacy.
Marcus contends the ban on Zionist speakers is essentially a ban on all Jews.
“In the same way that if you said we don’t want to have anyone that supports the pope, you would essentially be saying we don’t want any Catholic speakers,” Marcus said. “Generally speaking, if you ban Zionists, you are banning Jews, because for so many Jews, Zionism is a central part of Jewish identity.”
The lawsuit says UC Berkeley’s “inaction” violates the plaintiffs’ religious and equal protection rights under the Constitution and federal civil rights laws.
It seeks a permanent injunction requiring that UC Berkeley end the hostile environment toward Jews, enforce its nondiscrimination policies and neither fund nor recognize student groups that exclude Jews.
“Either they de-recognize the student groups, or they defund them,” Marcus said, “and they need to put in place policies and procedures that will ensure that there is no more antisemitism or discrimination.”
Reuters and NewsNation producer Liza Mayman contributed to this report.