University of Calif. Sued After Mob Rushes Jewish Student
12th December 2025
A University of California, Santa Barbara employee — allegedly disguised in a mask — helped inflame a hostile mob of anti-Israel demonstrators against a Jewish student leader, according to a federal lawsuit filed Thursday.
The complaint, which was obtained by the New York Post, accuses the university of repeatedly ignoring the student’s pleas for protection as the harassment escalated.
The suit was brought by 23-year-old Tessa Veksler, a Manhattan resident who recently graduated with degrees in political science and communications.
Veksler said she became the target of a sustained antisemitic campaign after publicly condemning the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas terror attack that killed more than 1,200 Israelis.
According to the lawsuit, tensions peaked in February 2024 when Veksler — then serving as the school’s student body president — approached a large group of masked anti-Israel protesters in an effort to diffuse tensions.
“And she believed she was making progress until a UCSB representative — defendant Doe 1, and also wearing a mask — joined the meeting and began harassing Tessa and purposefully inciting the crowd’s antisemitic animus toward Tessa,” the filing stated.