A former U.C. Berkeley student has filed suit against the university, the U.C. Regents and others, accusing them of fostering an anti-Semitic atmosphere on campus and failing to prevent intimidation of Jewish students.
The lawsuit stems from an incident that occurred on campus March 5, 2010 when Jessica Felber, a member and former co-president of the pro-Israel student group Tikvah, had been demonstrating with fellow activists during Israeli Peace and Diversity Week.
Felber, 21, alleges in her suit that Husam Zakharia, a leader of Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP), intentionally rammed her with a shopping cart, causing injury. Zakharia was later arrested by campus police and charged with battery, though ultimately the case was dropped.
“He hit me pretty hard,” said Felber, who would only talk to j. by e-mail. “I went to urgent care immediately after the police station with bruises and cuts. Additionally, the event was very emotionally scarring. I went to counseling for the remainder of the semester and was constantly fearful to walk anywhere alone, even into my own apartment.”
Felber maintained this was not her first encounter with Zakharia. She alleges that at a demonstration two years ago he spat at her and called her “disgusting.”
“This case is about the endangerment of students,” said Joel Siegal, an attorney in San Francisco representing Felber. “It’s about the university not having policies that prohibit the endangerment of student health and safety.”
Also named as defendants are U.C. President Mark Yudof, U.C. Berkeley Chancellor Robert Birgeneau and the Associated Students of the University California (ASUC). SJP is not named.
In response to the suit, university officials issued a statement March 7 that read in part: “U.C. Berkeley is committed to maintaining an inclusive and respectful campus environment that is safe and welcoming for everyone without regard to religion, race ethnicity or ideology. The university is also committed to enforcing the law and protecting the rights of free expression for every single member of the campus community. We completely reject the complaint’s unfounded claims and allegations, and we intend to very vigorously contest this lawsuit.”
The suit comes as the latest volley in a long-simmering conflict between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian students at U.C. Berkeley. Last year, Cal’s student senate narrowly defeated a measure to have the university divest from Israel, and the year before that, a pro-Israel student was removed from the senate for his involvement in a November 2008 altercation.
According to the 20-page complaint filed March 3 in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, there was no adequate campus security present during the alleged assault. Felber later obtained a restraining order against Zakharia.
In addition to details about the alleged assault, the complaint cites a litany of alleged anti-Israel and anti-Semitic on-campus activities, statements and incidents involving SJP and the Muslim Student Association, going back to 1995.
These include heckling Israeli and pro-Israel speakers, associating with groups that support Hamas, and staging mock Israeli checkpoints on campus, during which protesters posed as Israeli soldiers toting mock assault rifles.
Some incidents cited include alleged anti-Semitic chants, vandalism against Jewish institutions and physical assaults.
The suit claims the defendants intentionally deprived Felber of her rights of freedom of religion and assembly, and that they maintained a “clearly expressed, official policy … designed to prevent individuals from freely practicing their Jewish religion.”
It further asserts that the defendants “intended to cause injury to [Felber] and acted with willful disregard of [her] rights.”
U.C. Berkeley Dean of Students Jonathan Poullard rejected the accusations. “The university has worked consistently with members of the Jewish and Muslim communities, in particular SJP and Tikvah,” he said. “We draw the line for free speech at intimidating and violent speech, as opposed to people not agreeing with that speech.”
Poullard said student complaints of intimidation or violence are immediately investigated and adjudicated. Free speech is another matter.
“The fact is that we do not moderate speech,” Poullard said. “Sometimes speech can be very nasty. These people have a right to express their thoughts.”
In a statement e-mailed to j., the SJP board called the lawsuit “an abuse of the judicial process and an assault on free speech. The lawsuit is an attempt to try and intimidate the university into silencing a campus group with whom some may disagree with politically.”
Felber, who graduated last December, believes she typifies many Jewish students. “Jewish college students feel unsafe on campuses around the county,” Felber said. “U.C. Berkeley is just one school of many that has not taken the necessary steps to ensure the safety of Jewish and pro-Israel students from violent groups like SJP and MSA. I hope this case will help improve this dire situation.”