UC Berkeley to act on antisemitism after $1M Brandeis Center settlement

The University of California at Berkeley will pay $1 million and change its anti-Semitism policies after filing a lawsuit with the Brandeis Center. The $1 million penalty will be used to reimburse the Brandeis Center for outside attorney fees.

Under residentialUC Berkeley will prohibit discrimination and harassment based on an individual’s actual or perceived religion, common ancestry, common ethnicity, and/or national or ethnic origin (especially Jewish or Israeli). The university also adopted the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) definition of antisemitism. But in a statement released by UC Berkeley following the agreement, the university said it had a “current practice” of considering the IHRA definition of antisemitism in its reviews of allegations of antisemitism.

Under the agreement, the university will also clarify on the Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination (OPHD) website that “bans against Zionists have historically been used by some individuals and institutions as an excuse to exclude Jews.” This includes examining whether Zionism or the term “Zionist” is used as a “proxy” for Jews or Israelis.

“This agreement reflects UC Berkeley’s long-standing values ​​and goals to combat the egregious antisemitic expression, harassment, and discrimination that occurs on the Berkeley campus,” UC Berkeley said in a statement. he said.

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The university also noted that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) recently described Jewish life at UC Berkeley as “excellent” in its view. Campus Antisemitism Report Card. The ADL gave UC Berkeley a “B” grade on its 2026 report card, an improvement over the “C” grade it received in 2025 and the “D” grade it received in 2024.

“What happened at Berkeley is a cautionary tale. Universities, unions, corporations, and political parties cannot carve out an anti-Zionist exception to their rules of conduct. They cannot silence Jewish Americans under the pretense of advancing their own political agenda. As we have seen time and again now, antisemitic bigotry, whether masked as anti-Zionism or not, will only continue to expand if left unaddressed.” said Kenneth L. Marcus, president of the Brandeis Center and former U.S. Deputy Secretary of Education who directed the Office for Civil Rights. in a statement.

Paul Eckles, senior litigation counsel at the Brandeis Civil Rights Law Center, told Fox News Digital that the agreement is a “major milestone” in combating anti-Semitism but that it is “not a finish line.”

caseThe lawsuit, first filed in 2023, included allegations of widespread anti-Semitic harassment against Jewish students at UC Berkeley following the Hamas terrorist attack on Israel on October 7. The lawsuit told several stories about students’ experiences with anti-Semitic harassment at UC Berkeley.

A UC Berkeley student draped in an Israeli flag was attacked by hitting two protesters in the head with a metal water bottle, according to the lawsuit. In another example, a Jewish graduate student was the victim of a break-in and was left with a note reading “Fuck the Jews, Free Palestine from River to Sea.” The lawsuit also stated that “many Jewish students were afraid to go to class.”

Pro-Palestinian protesters hold banners as they march in front of Sather Gate on the UC Berkeley campus on April 22, 2024 in Berkeley, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

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The lawsuit also says there were instances where protesters blocked Jewish students, spat at them and used ethnic slurs, including “dirty Zionist.” He noted that students were often targeted if the rioters knew they were Jewish or were wearing the Star of David or yermulke.

Eckles praised Jewish students who came forward to tell their stories of being subjected to anti-Semitic harassment only to have their complaints ignored.

“I think it was the power of their stories and the clear impact that real anti-Semitism had on them and their experiences at the school that ultimately paved the way for the agreement and convinced UC Berkeley to adopt the reforms in the agreement,” Eckles said. he said.

The experiences of two Jewish professors were also included in the case. In one case, a Jewish professor received an email “requesting that he be gassed and killed,” according to the lawsuit. The other Jewish professor was a victim of vandalism with graffiti messages calling him a terrorist.

The lawsuit also cited an example on February 26, 2024, when a student group known as Bears for Palestine succeeded in a plan to stop a speaking event organized by Jewish students. The speaker was Ran Bar Yoshafat, an Israel Defense Forces reservist and lawyer. As the “violent mob” shut down the event, a rioter spat at a Jewish student and called him a “dirty Jew,” according to the lawsuit.

Sproul Hall on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, where pro-Palestinian supporters set up tents surrounded by barriers, billboards covered with pictures, and flyers supporting the Palestinians, was shot on May 4, 2024, in Berkeley, California. (Jay L. Clendenin/Getty Images)

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President Donald Trump signed an executive order shortly after taking office. fight against antisemitism. Additionally, in February 2025, the Department of Justice created a task force specifically focused on combating antisemitism. Leo Terrell, Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights, was appointed to lead the task force.