Berkeley Settlement Shatters the “It’s Just Antizionism” Defense
As part of a civil rights settlement, Berkeley must admit that antizionist exclusion can function as discrimination against Jews and overhaul its policies accordingly
The University of California, Berkeley will be forced to publicly acknowledge what Jewish students have been telling administrators since October 7: that antizionist activism on campus can function as a vehicle for anti-Jewish bigotry and discrimination under the school’s bias policies.
That recognition comes as part of an important legal settlement with the Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law announced Thursday, resolving a federal civil rights lawsuit filed in 2023 on behalf of Jewish students who said they were excluded from campus organizations and opportunities unless they renounced “Zionism.” The complaint detailed how student groups adopted bylaws banning “Zionists,” creating ideological barriers that in practice shut many Jewish students out of campus life.
