Jewish Faculty Members at UCLA Say Enough is Enough - File Legal Documents to Join a Federal Lawsuit to Stop Antisemitic Incidents on Campus
Chants of ‘Death to Jews’ and ‘Slaughter the Jews’ Have Been Heard Throughout the University of California System
Jews Have Been Stopped from Entering Parts of Campus
Exclusion, Marginalization and Retaliation Against Jews Continues at UCLA – Disguised as Anti-Zionism
The Message: This is Wrong. This is Illegal. This Must End.
Seven Jewish faculty and academic appointees at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) have filed a motion to intervene in an ongoing federal lawsuit brought by the U.S. Department of Justice against the Regents of the University of California, alleging the university created and tolerated a hostile work environment marked by pervasive antisemitic harassment, discrimination, and retaliation in the wake of the October 7, 2023, terrorist attacks on Israel.
The plaintiffs—Dr. Kira Stein, Dr. Vivien Burt, Dr. Nir Hoftman, Dr. Kamran Shamsa, Dr. Ian Holloway, Director Sarah Blenner, and Dr. Ron Avi Astor—are accomplished professors, clinical faculty, and academic administrators at UCLA who have dedicated their careers to education, research, and patient care.
Each plaintiff is Jewish and believes in Israel’s right to exist as part of their Jewish identity (Zionism). Despite their diverse professional backgrounds and political views, the plaintiffs are united by their shared experiences of discrimination and seek the impartial enforcement of civil rights laws to ensure that public institutions comply with their legal obligations to protect employees from discrimination and retaliation.
Their lawsuit alleges that UCLA knowingly fostered an environment in which antisemitism and antizionism flourished unchecked, fundamentally altering the conditions of their employment and denying them the basic dignity and equal employment protections guaranteed under federal and state law. For example, the complaint describes the explosion of antisemitic activity on UCLA’s campus, beginning with chants like “Itbah El Yahud” (slaughter the Jews) as early as October 12, 2023.
Throughout fall 2023 and into 2024, protesters on campus held antisemitic signs, chanted violent slogans such as “from the River to the Sea,” “death to Israel,” and “death to Jews,” and even beata piñata bearing the likeness of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu while chanting “beat that f***ing Jew.” Masked protesters were reported carrying knives and running around campus ripping down Israeli hostage posters, while defacing campus property with swastikas and antisemitic graffiti reading “Free Palestine, F*** Jews,” “F*** Zionism,” and “Jews, the new Nazis.”
The most prominent incident was the establishment of an encampment on UCLA’s Royce Quad in spring 2024, which the complaint alleges operated as a “Jew Exclusion Zone.” Specifically, Jews who were perceived as supporting Israel’s right to exist as part of their Jewish faith were discriminated against and excluded. The encampment featured antisemitic and antizionist signage and required individuals to denounce their Jewish faith or condemn Israel to pass through. UCLA allegedly provided metal barricades to reinforce the encampment’s perimeter and instructed police to prevent Zionist Jewish students and Zionist Jewish faculty from entering the area. The complaint further describes lectures and campus programming featuring antisemitic and antizionist content, continued protests through 2026, and extensive details about the hostility, discrimination, and retaliation experienced by UCLA’s Jewish faculty.
Background on the Allegations, Claims, and Relief Sought
The plaintiffs’ complaint, attached to their motion to intervene filed in Case No. 2:26-cv-01946 the United States District Court for the Central District of California, brings claims under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for hostile work environment, retaliation, and disparate treatment; and California’s Fair Employment and Housing Act for discrimination, harassment, failure to prevent discrimination, and retaliation.
The complaint details how UCLA failed to protect its Jewish Zionist faculty following the horrific Hamas terrorist attacks of October 7, 2023. Rather than taking steps to ensure that Jewish Zionist students, faculty, and staff were safe and protected from harassment, UCLA officials routinely turned their backs on the Jewish community who believe Israel has a right to exist, contributing to what the plaintiffs describe as a “UCLA-approved culture” that permitted calls for the annihilation of Zionist Jews and the display of Nazi symbolism on campus.
Notably, the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission found reasonable cause to believe that since at least October 7, 2023, employees working at UCLA were discriminated against and subjected to an unlawful hostile work environment based on their Jewish ethnicity, national origin, and religion, and retaliation for engaging in protected activity in violation of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. The plaintiffs seek declaratory and injunctive relief, compensatory damages, attorneys’ fees, and other equitable remedies.
Individual Experiences of Plaintiffs
Dr. Kira Stein, founder and chair of the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group at UCLA, repeatedly notified UCLA leadership of antisemitic incidents through formal and informal channels. In retaliation, Dr. Stein was suspended from teaching duties based on false accusations, targeted by a petition for her removal, and remains excluded from her prior position, including exclusion from core responsibilities and professional standing. UCLA has taken no steps to correct the reputational harm it has caused her.
Dr. Vivien Burt, professor emeritus and daughter of Holocaust survivors, was explicitly denied entry to the encampment because she was perceived as a Zionist Jew. Dr. Burt raised concerns through appropriate approved channels about ongoing antisemitic incidents and lectures. In retaliation, resident physicians threatened to boycott her, and she was included in a petition that targeted her for removal. Senior faculty subjected her to heightened scrutiny and monitoring, which compromised her ability to perform her professional responsibilities. UCLA has failed to take action to address the reputational harm inflicted upon her. As a result, Dr. Burt was ultimately constructively discharged.
Dr. Nir Hoftman, a professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, reported antisemitic incidents to the medical school’s leadership, including being physically assaulted at the encampment, and spoke publicly about antisemitism at UCLA. In retaliation, Dr. Hoftman was accused of policy violations for documenting antisemitic conduct, was publicly attacked for his advocacy, and was blamed for negative perceptions of the institution.
Dr. Kamran Shamsa, an associate clinical professor at UCLA’s David Geffen School of Medicine, fled Iran as a child to escape religious persecution. In late April 2024, while walking on the UCLA campus, he was knocked to the ground by a masked attacker as at least twelve security guards hired by UCLA stood by without intervening. In what he describes as retaliation, Dr. Shamsa was denied a leadership position he had effectively performed for years, given an increased workload with reduced pay, and forced to relocate from his office. All of this occurred while Dr. Shamsa continued working on a campus that permitted repeated antisemitic rallies outside his office building, at times restricting access for him and his patients. He has witnessed antisemitic signs displayed on walls, fences, and even on personal items of staff at his work environment. As a result, he no longer feels safe or supported practicing his profession at UCLA.
Dr. Ian Holloway, a former professor of social welfare at UCLA’s Luskin School of Public Affairs who later transferred to the School of Nursing, had his classroom vandalized and filed multiple formal complaints documenting antisemitic discrimination. In retaliation, Dr. Holloway was publicly accused of bias in personnel matters, excluded from departmental activities, had his professional reputation damaged, and was effectively forced to transfer departments with resulting pay cuts and loss of funding. The hostile environment forced Dr. Holloway to ultimately take medical leave.
Director Sarah Blenner, an academic administrator and Director of Field Studies and Applied Professional Training at the UCLA Fielding School of Public Health, was repeatedly targeted based on her Jewish identity and subjected to progressive discipline and pervasive micromanagement that had never occurred during her decade-long career at UCLA. Director Blenner served on UCLA’s Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and filed a formal complaint regarding the antisemitism she experienced. In retaliation, Director Blenner’s participation on the Task Force was discouraged, her teaching responsibilities were reduced, she was systematically excluded from departmental activities, and she was denied a promotion.
Dr. Ron Avi Astor, a professor at UCLA's Luskin School of Public Affairs, experienced an extensive pattern of discrimination and harassment due to institutional failures. His research funding was restricted from studying the impact of Art on Jewish diversity and Jewish customs on perceptions of Jews. A university-sponsored research talk he co-presented with a Palestinian colleague was disrupted by protesters as administrators failed to enforce time, place, and manner rules. Faculty and students circulated a campus-wide letter falsely accusing him of genocide complicity and professional incompetence—claims later acknowledged as untrue. Student groups boycotted a healing event because he was perceived as a Zionist Jew. Protesters also targeted him with multiple FOIA requests for sensitive, exempt research data, which UCLA released over his objections. Moreover, his classroom was vandalized, and he faced threatening chants from unknown students while walking to his car. Despite filing complaints regarding each incident, UCLA ignored or closed them without investigation, leaving his research activities disrupted for an extended period and subjecting him to further targeting after he filed his EEOC charge.
Statement from Plaintiffs’ Counsel
“The facts alleged in this complaint are deeply disturbing. UCLA—one of the nation’s premier public universities—allowed antisemitism to flourish on its campus while punishing Jewish- Zionist faculty who spoke out against it. Our clients devoted their careers to UCLA, only to be subjected to harassment, physical assault, exclusion, and retaliation simply because they are Jewish. This lawsuit seeks to hold UCLA accountable and to ensure that no faculty member is ever again subjected to such blatant discrimination.”
The Holtzman Vogel team representing the plaintiffs includes Jason Torchinsky, Andrew Gould, Linley Wilson, Erica Leavitt and Alexandria Saquella.
