A UCLA student government official who has faced repeated allegations of antisemitism refused to hire Jewish applicants and even put them on a “no hire list,” a complaint filed with the school’s judicial board claims.
Cultural Affairs Commissioner Alicia Verdugo rejected every single Jewish student that mentioned their faith in their employment applications, and even texted her colleagues to be on the lookout for “zionists,” the complaint alleges.
“We’ve been sounding the alarm about Verdugo for years,” student Bella Brannon, 21, who filed the complaint, told The Post.
“[Verdugo] is single-handedly dragging UCLA’s reputation through the mud. This actor makes us fear for our safety,”
Students who identified themselves as Jewish, without mentioning Israel or their views on the war against Hamas on their job applications, were all rejected by Verdugo’s office, which is part of the school’s Undergraduate Students Association Council, the complaint claims.
One student was rejected after identifying themselves as Jewish on their application and saying that “the right to express one’s religion” was “imperative” in response to a question about a social or political issue that was important to them.
Another student was passed over for a job when they said they would not be able to attend a staff retreat because they keep the Jewish sabbath.
The job denials came as Verdugo allegedly warned her staff to beware of “zionists” and spoke of a “no hire list”
“PSA lots of zionists are applying — please do your research when you look at applicants and I will also share a doc of no hire list during retreat,” Verdugo allegedly wrote in a text, according to the complaint.
The cultural affairs commission’s employment guidelines lists Zionism as a fireable offense, next to a litany of outright bigotries including white supremacy and homophobia. Notably, Antisemitism is not mentioned in the list.
The Cultural Affairs Commission’s mission statement is to provide “quality programming… that is accessible to all students” and it has a budget of over $46,000 per USAC’s website.
“Verdugo’s direct instruction to exclude Zionist applicants and the implied directive to be on the lookout for Jewish applicants, resulted in systemic discrimination against candidates who expressed any attachment to Judaism.,” the complaint states.
This is not the first time Verdugo has been accused of using her position to spout antisemitism.
Verdugo posted on the official CAC Instagram account “we honor the Palestinians on the frontlines” on October 9, 2023, just two days after the Hamas terrorist attack.
In another Instagram post, the CAC boosted the conspiracy theory that Israel harvests “Palestinian organs,” invoking vicious ancient blood-libel accusations against the Jewish people.
“WE WILL HONOR OUR MARTYRS FOREVER.” the CAC posted on June 10 in a caption beneath a picture of UCLA’s anti-Israel tent encampment.
Jewish students were assaulted and blocked from campus while the anti-Israel encampments were erected, a report found. A California judge called the university’s lack of protection for Jewish students “abhorrent.”
“If what is being alleged is true then that is obviously unacceptable, and we will act within our capacity to rectify the issue,” USAC President Adam Tfayli told The Post, when asked about the claims made against Verdugo.
“UCLA unequivocally condemns discrimination in all forms. We are actively reviewing this complaint,” a university spokesman told The Post.
Brannan hopes that her complaint will finally spur UCLA to “take a stand not just for Jewish students but for any student facing blatant discrimination.”
Verdugo did not respond to The Post’s request for comment.