UC Berkeley settles antisemitism lawsuit, plaintiffs' lawyers say

March 19 (Reuters) - The University of California, Berkeley agreed to tighten protections against antisemitism on campus to settle a lawsuit accusing the school of tolerating an "unrelenting" stream of harassment toward Jewish students and faculty, lawyers for the plaintiffs said on Thursday.

UC Berkeley had been sued by the nonprofit Louis D. Brandeis Center and Jewish Americans for Fairness in Education, which accused the university of turning a blind eye to antisemitism, including by tolerating anti-Israel protests following Hamas' October 2023 attack on Israel, and letting student groups exclude speakers that support Israel or Zionism.

The Brandeis Center said the settlement prohibits student groups, journals and clinics from excluding anyone from participating or speaking regardless of their support for Israel and Zionism.

Other changes include the adoption of mandatory antisemitism and anti-discrimination training for faculty and staff, an improved process to handle complaints, and other protections for Jewish and Israeli students, the Brandeis Center said.

The settlement was announced nearly one year after a federal judge said the plaintiffs may sue top UC Berkeley officials, having plausibly alleged that Jewish students and professors were treated differently because they were Jewish, and the university was "deliberately indifferent" to on-campus harassment.