Anti-Semitism in CA Universities: Three Federal Discrimination Complaints Filed

Leftist anti-Semitism has clearly infested the California education system.

And now the Brandeis Center has filed federal discrimination complaints against two California universities and one school system for an astounding amount of anti-Semitic harassment of students that school administrators allowed to rage unchecked.

The complaints were filed with the Department of Education Office of Civil Rights against Scripps College, a women’s school in Claremont, California State Polytechnic University, Humboldt and the Etiwanda School District in San Bernardino County.  They charge the schools with violating Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act, which prohibits discrimination based on Jewish ancestry.

Brandeis Center Director of Legal Initiatives Denise Katz-Prober told the California Globe that the complaints demonstrate “not only the egregious conduct but also the dereliction of University administrators.”

“We filed complaints because we heard from Jewish families and students about targeted harassment they experienced that we assess violated their rights and that institutions did not adequately address these incidents pursuant to their legal obligations to do so,” she explained. “Therefore we filed these complaints to insure the institutions are held accountable.”

The Office for Civil Rights has the prerogative of whether to investigate the complaints. But Katz-Prober said she is optimistic that is going to happen given the strong stance the Trump Administration has taken against anti-Semitism on college campuses. Just last week, for example, the Justice Department announced an investigation of the University of California over anti-Semitism. That was followed by ICE agents on Saturday arresting the leader of the pro-Hamas demonstrations at Columbia with the aim of deporting him.

The complaint against California State Polytechnic University was filed March 6 and says Jewish students were subjected to anti-Semitic slurs and had fake blood thrown at them. But the only response from the administration was to tell them to conceal their Jewish identity so they would not  be singled out.

“The message from the University to Jewish students is clear: downplay your Jewish identity on campus or hide to avoid being targeted because the University will not protect you.”

The complaint describes a litany of  instances of campus anti-Semitism in harrowing detail.

On September 18, 2024, when the Jewish student group Chabad had a table at a campus fair, “another student yelled at them that they were baby killers, genocide supporters and land stealers.”

The student then yanked items off the table and interposed himself to prevent anyone else from approaching it.

Another Jewish student “repeatedly reported this alarming and disruptive conduct to the Dean of Students and Associate Dean of Students, who were present at the event, but they failed to take any action to stop the individual from disrupting the event or to protect the Jewish students.”

And on October 17, 2024,  when Jewish students celebrated the holiday of Sukkot with an outdoor hut known as a Sukkah, pro-Hamas demonstrators descended upon them, chalking “inflammatory anti-Semitic messages,” such as “Go away Nazis” and “Zionists are all homophobes.”

It seems whenever Jewish students expressed themselves they were targeted by pro-Hamas mobs. In another incident described in the complaint, Jewish students holding a vigil for the victims of the October 7 attack on its one year anniversary were surrounded by masked demonstrators.

“These students drew a circle in chalk around the Jewish students’ table with the words “Zio Corner,” the complaint says.  The term “zio” is an anti-Semitic code word for Jews.”

Then, the harassment escalated.  “Some anti-Israel protestors were throwing red paint on the administrative building, as a symbol of blood, while screaming “blood of the martyrs,” and then began throwing the red paint at Jewish community members. “A masked student threw a red substance at Student A and another Jewish student who were hit in the face and chest.”

Faculty and administrators simply stood by and watched this happen, rejecting pleas for help from Jewish students.  “A faculty advisor was standing next to the Jewish students who were hit, but took no action. Student A and other frightened students pled with administrators including the Dean of Students, Associate Dean of Students and VP for Enrollment Management and Student Success, to call the police, but they refused. When a student called campus police for help, they refused to come.”

This kind of inaction by the school violates the law, the complaint contends. “Cal Poly Humboldt has violated Title VI by allowing a hostile environment to develop on its campus and failing to address it promptly and effectively. The recurring incidents of anti-Semitism targeting Jewish students at Cal Poly – including assaultive conduct, verbal and physical intimidation, and anti-Semitic graffiti, and disruptions of Jewish events on campus – are clearly severe and pervasive, and have had a profound negative impact on Jewish students.”

“Student A,” who has come forward publicly, is Zach Mink, a senior.  Because of all the harassment Mink left the school this semester and is now taking courses online.

Mink told the California Globe that, “I feel like there was criminal activity that occurred and the administration” did nothing. “It makes me more angry than sad.”

Mink said after the fracas, Dean of Students Mitch Mitchell–yes, that is his real name!–told him that he did not intercede because he feared for his personal safety.

Mitchell did not reply to a request for comment.

Mink said he is hoping that the discrimination complaint the Brandeis Center filed is going to change things at the school.

“I know what it is like to be a Jewish student,” Mink explained. “I hope the school makes positive and necessary changes for the safety of Jewish students on campus. I have been going through this for a long time now and I have known how ridiculously horrible  these things are. Finally having the story out and the chance to hold them accountable is important to me.”

The complaint against Scripps College was filed February 24  and also describes administrators acquiescing in the targeted harassment of students.  Including one student who is not even Jewish but is “perceived as Jewish or in solidarity” with Jewish students because she wears a star of David necklace and Israeli pin. She was subjected to all sorts of anti-Semitic invective. Student B, as she is identified in the complaint, hears “anti-Semitic comments on campus frequently” including Jews are “rich and control the media.”

She was also told to take off her “Jewish necklace” because it made others uncomfortable and called a “Zionist” in a derogatory manner.  She complained to the dean of students who arranged a meeting for her with other administrators but they did nothing.

The complaint also focuses on the student-run coffee house, the Motley, where one worker refused to hire a “Zionist” and other student employees complained that they did not want to be associated with “crazy Zionists.”

The Motley hung a Palestinian flag on the wall but rejected requests to also post an Israeli flag.  It also refused to allow its space to be used for a memorial for the victims of October 7 but did allow a pro-Hamas student to hold  a memorial for the Hezbollah terrorist leader killed in an Israeli air strike last September.

When the administration decided to temporarily close the Motley, the decision was blamed by other students in online postings on “rich Jewish donors” and “Zionists.”

As anti-Semitic conspiracy theories about the closing swirled, Scripps administrators remained silent.

The complaint says that “it was imperative” for the Administration to “loudly and clearly” disavow all of the false and “malicious” explanations  being circulated for the closure. “Because the College failed to address the anti-Semitism and provide moral clarity, Jews were blamed for the closure, leading to more anti-Jewish hostility and anti-Semitism.”

The complaint also says that Scripps failed to discipline students who vandalized a  building at another college in a pro-Hamas demonstration at nearby Pomona College. When Pomona banned the students from its premises they were given support services  by the Scripps administration.  The complaint says that “Scripps’s failure to condemn and discipline—coupled with its active scrambling to support the anti-Semitic protesters—sends a message of support for the purveyors of anti-Semitism.”

The March 6 complaint against the Etiwanda School District concerns a Jewish 7th grade girl who was repeatedly bullied, harassed and even beaten by other students.  She is identified as “Student A” in the complaint, which goes into horrific detail about what happened.

“Outdoors on the school grounds, another student struck her repeatedly with a stick, and after Student A walked away, repeatedly hit her again barehanded. After Student A called out for the unprovoked beating to stop, she was told to “shut [her] stupid Jewish ass up.” She was then pinned against a table and choked for several seconds, until she escaped, red-faced and coughing, to report the incident.”

The student who beat her was not disciplined and the school has refused to categorize what happened as a bias incident.

The student was also subjected to repeated harassment in the classroom, including by another student who repeatedly insisted on telling her Hitler jokes.

The complaint says that, “Far from taking action reasonably calculated to remedy the hostile environment for Student A, Etiwanda repeatedly took either no action, or action that exacerbated the hostile environment by further marginalizing her. As a result, a girl who previously loved school was brought to a point where she no longer wants to be there anymore. Her experience at Etiwanda demonstrates a quintessential example of a hostile educational environment due to the school’s failure, upon notice, to remedy that environment.”

Etiwanda School District Superintendent Charlayne Sprague told the California Globe that she could not comment on the student’s case because of privacy laws but that the School District abhors anti-Semitism and discrimination.

“We take our duty and obligation to provide all our students with a safe and welcoming learning environment very seriously, she emailed. “Etiwanda is committed to taking all necessary actions, including discipline where appropriate, to address and ameliorate discrimination and harassment based on actual or perceived Jewish shared ancestry or ethnicity. Anti-Semitic bullying, harassment, and targeting of Jewish students because of their Jewish ancestral and ethnic identity is contrary to Etiwanda’s institutional values and nondiscrimination and conduct codes and is unacceptable. We have instituted policies to thoroughly investigate all claims of hostile acts and take appropriate action. We uphold these practices to maintain the core values of civility and dignity for everyone on every campus.”

California State Polytechnic University spokeswoman Aileen Yoo provided a press statement that served up a concurrent series of platitudes but did not address the specific allegations in the complaint.

“Cal Poly Humboldt is reviewing the federal complaint and will, of course, fully cooperate with the Office of Civil Rights in any investigation. Hatred or discrimination in any form, including anti-semitism, is contrary to our core values. The University unequivocally condemns all acts of hatred, bigotry, and violence, and we are committed to keeping safe our students, staff, and faculty of all religions. We will continue to work together to foster a learning and working environment where we can all feel safe, included, and respected.”

The Scripps College communications office did not reply to a request for comment.