Disabled Jewish vet sues UC Davis for alleged failure to protect him from anti-Israel assaulters

Jonathan Groveman, a disabled Jewish veteran and resident of Davis, California, has filed a lawsuit on May 17 against the University of California, Davis for its allegedly ineffectual response to a disruptive anti-Israel encampment that had been set up on UC Davis’ campus on May 6.

The protestors demanded divestment from Israel, a “cultural boycott” of the Jewish state, and “the establishment of a Palestine Studies Department and a Palestine Studies major and minor degree program,” among other demands.  

Groveman filed the lawsuit against UC Davis over the school’s lack of effective response towards the encampment, which cut off Groveman’s access to campus. Groveman also visits for the campus for various events. 

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In a statement to ABC 10, Groveman said: “It is my right to counterprotest the UCD encampment. And it is my right to do this on protected ADA footpaths and spaces as a disabled U.S. military veteran. But the university giving consent to the university encampment to block the ADA footpaths and set up barriers against me violates my rights as both a disabled veteran and Jewish person.” 

“Additionally, it is not just a matter of singularly closing the ADA footpath, it is university-accepted aggression near and around the encampment that makes it unsafe for disabled veterans like myself,” he continued. 

The university admitted on May 15, two days before Groveman’s lawsuit, that there have not been any arrests of encampment protestors as of that date.

“There have been no arrests in relation to the encampment or counter-demonstrators,” the UC Davis news team stated. “There have been a few heated moments and occasions where security personnel have been called, including a brief encounter on the afternoon of May 14. Students, security staff and others have worked quickly to de-escalate these situations when they arise.”

Groveman claimed that he had been assaulted near the encampment, but that Davis police had thus far refused to do “anything” to solve the problem.

“I was hit multiple times with an umbrella, I reported to the Davis Police Department, they say they never got it, they did get it. They are not doing anything to protect just about anyone not involved with the encampment right now,” Groveman explained. “I believe that just about everyone at this university who is not a member of this encampment has been discriminated against in some way.”

Groveman’s specific complaint is that the disruptive behavior of the anti-Israel protesters violated the Americans with Disabilities Act [ADA]. 

“If you’re a disabled veteran like myself and you want to use the ADA footpath you can’t. If you’re a Jew and you want to counterprotest, you can’t in a safe way,” Groveman said. 

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“Allowing extremists to seize control of the center of the UC Davis campus has turned a premier university into a place that excludes Jews and the disabled from a place they call home,” said David Rosenberg-Wohl, Groveman’s lawyer. 

“Rather than showing leadership to preserve a place of debate and learning, the administrators of UC Davis have shown appalling disdain for everyone but the loud and angry few and have abandoned their responsibility to the community at large,” Rosenberg-Wohl continued.

Campus Reform has contacted the University of California, Davis for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.