New Federal Lawsuit Alleges Jewish Students at Chapman University Were Subjected to Repeated Anti-Semitic Harassment and Discrimination

Jewish students from Chapman University in Orange allege in a new federal lawsuit that they were subjected to repeated anti-Semitic harassment and discrimination for an entire school year with the “direct approval” of administrators.

2024 Chapman graduates Talya Malka and Eli Schechter say in the complaint that they were subjected to a “campaign of harassment” by pro-Hamas students.  And that a key administrator was regularly informed of the abuse, including death threats, but did nothing to intervene.

Schechter made “near daily pleas on behalf of Chapman’s Jewish community for respite” to Dean of Students Jerry Price but he just acquiesced with the harassment.  He even backed the pro-Hamas Students for Justice in Palestine group when they barred Malka and Schechter from their meeting  because they are Jewish.

“Chapman so utterly failed to address the antisemitic hostile education environment it allowed to fester in the 2023-2024 school year, and indeed, on multiple occasions actively participated in it,” the lawsuit says.

“As would become clear over the school year, [Students for Justice in Palestine]  was engaged in an organized campaign of ripping down Jewish students’ flyers, and only their flyers, and colonizing the space they once filled with their own anti-Israel flyers, a systemic pattern of ethnic and racial intimidation.”

The lawsuit was filed last month in the United States District Court for the Central District of California by the National Center for Jewish Advocacy, a civil rights and legal group devoted to fighting anti-Semitism.

The students say Chapman discriminated against them based on their “Jewish religion, race, and national origin.”

Although being Jewish is generally not thought to be a racial category, the Supreme Court has ruled that it can count as someone’s race for legal purposes.  To that end, the lawsuit is using a different tactic than most other recent lawsuits over campus anti-Semitism.  Those cases relied on the 1964 Civil Rights Act prohibition against discrimination based on national origin by federally funded institutions.

But this complaint also says that Chapman violated the Civil Rights Act of 1866 that prohibits discrimination in contracts based on race.  And that the students had a contract with the University for their education. In 1991, Congress amended the Act so that it would also prohibit racial harassment of contract holders.

National Center for Jewish Advocacy lawyer Matthew Mainen told the California Globe that, “I think the most important principle is trying to utilize civil rights law that has not  been used in combating ant-Semitism and harassment.”

Mainen explained that this is apparently the first time the Civil Rights Act of 1866 has been used in a campus anti-Semitism case.  Previously, the statute was only used as a tool to fight workplace harassment.

He also contended that the way the University treated the students was atrocious.

“The students were in constant  communication” with the administration about the harassment  they experienced. “The university was unwilling to put a stop to the discrimination and harassment. “

According to the lawsuit, the harassment started right about the October 7, 2023 Hamas attack on Israel.

In response to the massacre, Jewish students and Jewish organizations built a campus memorial to the victims. But it was quickly vandalized by Students for Justice in Palestine members, who openly bragged online about their marauding.

“On October 9, 2023, SJP member Ismail Khader posted an Instagram story of a large Palestinian flag hanging above a group of small Israeli flags at the memorial in an act of ethnic intimidation and domination. He also posted on Instagram a story of him ripping the Israeli flags out of the ground. The original video was captured by a Jewish student and Ismail reposted it, sending an implicit message of “I did what I did, and I know I will get away with it.”

“Khader was correct, and he was not the only one to rip out flags.

One-time SJP President Hakim Hassan participated in the desecration of the memorial.”

Schechter, the Jewish student, emailed Price the same day as the desecration, asking him to intervene. But he did nothing.

Shortly thereafter, Khader yelled “Fuck the Jews” to a group of Jewish students at the memorial.

Price was informed about this outburst by one of the students.

“Rather than indicating any plans to meaningfully discipline Khader, Price moved forward with attempting to arrange a meeting between him and Jewish students, including Schechter.”

The meeting was soon held “but at no point did Price indicate Khader would be disciplined for shouting “Fuck Jews” to a group of Jewish students on campus.

Instead, on October 18, he pressured Schacter to remove the Israeli Defense Forces flag at the memorial because it was “upsetting” Palestinian students.

In a gesture of good faith, Schechter removed the IDF flag. But, not surprisingly,  the harassment continued.

The lawsuit says that,  “As would become clear over the school year, SJP was engaged in an organized campaign of ripping down Jewish students’ flyers, and only their flyers, and colonizing the space they once filled with their own anti-Israel flyers, a systemic pattern of ethnic and racial intimidation.”

“On or about October 23, 2023, Chapman student and SJP board member Madison Vivona stole a number of Israeli flags from the memorial, filmed herself doing so, and filmed herself ripping down posters of the hostages. Vivona posted her acts of vandalism on social media.”

Price’s office was informed about the vandalism. But the student was not seriously disciplined.

Price also backed Students for Justice in Palestine when it openly barred Schechter and other Jewish students from attending their October 30 teach-in.

The lawsuit says that when Schechter told Price about the discrimination, he responded that “it is reasonable for SJP-Chapman to limit its membership to students who support its mission” and claimed three other Jewish students were allowed to attend.

He said the Jewish students complaining were excluded because they did not support the objectives of the event. “I frankly cannot condone your right to attend this event.”

It seems only Jews who had publicly rejected Zionism were allowed to attend. The lawsuit says this kind of litmus test is still discrimination.

“Price affirmed SJP’s prerogative to provide Jewish students with the following choice: demonstrably reject a core aspect of their religious, racial, and national origin identities (Zionism) or be banned from accessing an event on campus on the basis of those Identities.”

So with this attitude from the administration, it is not surprising that Students for Justice in Palestine escalated their harassment of the Jewish students.

On November 14, the lovely SJP member Ismail Khadar posted on Instagram “May allah bring death to all Israelis who follow Zionism.”

Talya Malka, the Jewish student, messaged Khadar, asking, “so you want me dead?”

He replied, “Fuck yeah I want you and all you zionist trash bags dead the fuck kinda question is that.”

Malka informed Price about the death threat but he did not discipline Khadar.

On top of that,  Price also did not discipline another SJP member who made a Nazi salute to Schechter.

Throughout the Spring 2024 semester, SJP members repeatedly ripped down pro-Israel posters but were not sanctioned by the administration.

Then, on May 1, 2024, SJP set up a campus encampment which openly barred  supporters of Israel. When Schechter and another student entered the encampment they were expelled.

The lawsuit says Price made “multiple daily trips to the encampment” and openly backed the “registration procedure” that barred pro-Israel students.

“To be perfectly clear, Chapman officially approved of a campus encampment that openly barred the majority of Jewish students on the basis of a sincerely held religious belief and characteristic of their race and national origin.”

Price did not reply to repeated requests for comment.

Chapman University spokesman Bob Hitchcock said in an emailed statement to the California Globe that, “We are aware of the matter and are reviewing the filing.  We stand by our strong record of supporting Jewish students and continuing to do so is a priority and commitment for us, consistent with our mission and founding.”

Matthew Mainen, the lawyer for the Jewish students, says Chapman’s response to the lawsuit is due on December 29.