Seven Jewish professors and staff members at the University of California, Los Angeles, are seeking to join the U.S. Department of Justice’s lawsuit alleging antisemitism and a hostile work environment at the school.
The department filed the suit against the university in February, alleging that UCLA violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act by failing to protect Jewish and Israeli employees from harassment and discrimination.
In a motion filed on Tuesday, the seven employees stated that they have “been subjected to the same discriminatory conduct” described in the federal complaint and are seeking to intervene in the case. (JNS sought comment from the university.)
According to the Justice Department, antisemitic incidents at UCLA intensified after the Hamas-led terrorist attacks in southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023, with Jewish faculty and staff allegedly facing threats, workplace disruptions and exclusion from parts of campus.
Holtzman Vogel, the law firm representing the employees, said UCLA “allowed antisemitism to flourish” while punishing Jewish Zionist faculty who spoke out.
“Our clients devoted their careers to UCLA, only to be subjected to harassment, physical assault, exclusion and retaliation simply because they are Jewish,” the firm said. “This lawsuit seeks to hold UCLA accountable and to ensure that no faculty member is ever again subjected to such blatant discrimination.”
Andrew Gould, a partner at the firm, told JNS that the motion would allow the employees to join the case as individual plaintiffs.
Among them is Kira Stein, chair and founder of the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group at UCLA.
“I am disgusted with how the university somehow is saying that antisemitism is being taken seriously,” Stein told JNS, alleging “serious systemic issues.”
According to the complaint, Stein, a volunteer clinical faculty member at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, has been suspended since April 2024 over allegations that she engaged in “doxxing” after recording a lecture at the university’s psychiatry department where the lecturers “used the self-immolation of a U.S. Air Force servicemember protesting Israel as the central case study to advance anti-Zionist and antisemitic rhetoric.” The suit says the allegations against Stein are unfounded, noting the event was publicly advertised and that Stein removed the video.
Another plaintiff, Vivien Burt, a professor emeritus of psychiatry and Stein’s mother, was allegedly barred from entering a pro-Palestinian encampment in spring 2024 because she is Jewish, and later boycotted by medical residents over her Zionist views. The complaint alleges she was constructively discharged.
Gould said the plaintiffs describe a “pattern and practice” of discrimination that intensified after Oct. 7, with UCLA leadership failing to adequately investigate or stop the conduct.
The plaintiffs are seeking institutional changes, including enforcement of campus policies on discrimination and harassment, he said.
Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications, told JNS that the university “is committed to combating” antisemitism.
“Under Chancellor Frenk’s leadership, we have reorganized our Office of Civil Rights, strengthened time, place and manner policies, and launched an initiative to combat antisemitism,” she said, adding that UCLA is committed to maintaining a safe and inclusive environment.
