Photo courtesy of Shay Horse, 30 April 2024.
UCLA is silencing the voices of Jewish students who are critical of Israel, an Israeli-American student who is suing the university said Thursday.
Binyamin Moryosef, a fourth-year English major at UCLA is among more than thirty students, faculty, and community members who have filed a lawsuit against UCLA, law enforcement agencies, and individual counterprotesters following violent attacks on pro-Palestinian protesters at the university last summer.
“I am an Israeli-American raised in a Jewish household, and I’ve been appalled by the antisemitism coming from this university,” Moryosef said at a press conference announcing the lawsuit. He described a culture of “silencing Jewish voices that criticize Israel by erasing them from discussion” at UCLA.
The lawsuit stems from last summer’s pro-Palestinian protest movement, which was met with violent counterprotests at UCLA. According to the lawsuit, pro-Israeli counterprotesters, some of whom were not affiliated with the university, engaged in violent acts including physical assaults, chemical sprays, and the throwing of fireworks.
The plaintiffs assert that law enforcement delayed intervention for hours, allowing the violence to escalate, and when they did intervene, their focus was on dispersing the pro-Palestinian protesters rather than addressing the violent counterprotesters.
“They stood by for four hours as fireworks rained down on us like the bombs Israel dropped on the Palestinians during its most recent breaking of a ceasefire deal,” Moryosef said. “The university did not care about my voice.”
Moryosef’s involvement highlights a growing divide within the Jewish community, especially among younger generations who reject equating Jewish identity with Zionism. While some Jewish organizations and community leaders framed the encampment as a source of antisemitism, Moryosef and other protesters insist that their activism was rooted in support for justice and human rights.
“Standing for the rights of the oppressed, calling for the just and humane treatment of all people, even in the face of opposition—that is what I was raised to believe, what I stood for as I protested,” Moryosef said.
UCLA has a history of dealing with political protests, including those related to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and some administrators have framed such demonstrations as fostering antisemitism. But first amendment experts say that universities should be places where all students, regardless of political or religious beliefs, can engage in respectful discourse without fear of retribution or violence.
The university’s failure to intervene, the plaintiffs say, contributed to an unsafe environment for pro-Palestine protesters and revealed institutional bias in favor of pro-Israel groups.
UCLA did not reply to questions regarding Moryosef’s allegations of antisemitism against Jewish students critical of Israel. Stett Holbrook, a UC spokesperson, did not address questions about Moryosef’s allegations, but said that UC rejects hate and discrimination.
“We have instituted system-wide reforms to promote safety and combat harassment and discrimination on our campuses,” Holbrook said in an email to New Voices. “Our focus remains to maintain a UC that is safe and welcoming to all.”
Moryosef’s remarks reflect a broader issue frequently raised by Jewish student activists in recent years. When universities suppress Jewish voices that criticize Israel, some Jewish students say, it contributes to a distorted view of Jewish identity, where only Zionist narratives are seen as legitimate, reflecting an institutional antisemitism that affects Jewish students who want to voice dissent.
Moryosef, who says he has struggled to complete his final year due to the stress and uncertainty surrounding possible further punishment concluded his remarks by telling UCLA to, “Let our students speak.”
