Prestigious Los Angeles School Sued for Anti-Semitic Discrimination and Racial Segregation

On June 8, 2022 The Pivtorak Law Firm filed a lawsuit on behalf of Jerome Eisenberg, a Los Angeles parent and his daughter alleging that the exclusive private school she attended instituted policies of racial discrimination and segregation in violation of state and federal civil rights laws. The complaint, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that the Brentwood School and its head of school, Mike Riera, “pulled a bait-and-switch with the school’s curriculum and culture… [seeking] to transform the school under a racially divisive, anti-Semitic ideology that seeks to indoctrinate children to reject Western values.”

The complaint further alleges that,

[a]s a result of Defendants’ anti-Semitic animus Mr. Eisenberg and the other Jewish parents were prevented from participating in the school’s policy-making decisions…

Affinity groups at Brentwood were organizations made up of parents, students, and school community members that were formed around a shared culture, race, or other identity. These groups had considerable influence in policy-making at Brentwood.

Affinity groups representing almost every imaginable race and identity existed at Brentwood during this time, except for a Jewish affinity group.

Jewish parents had been planning to form an affinity group for some time and sought to work with defendants to create one so that they had equal representation and say about important matters at the school.

This became increasingly important to Mr. Eisenberg, and other Jewish parents, when Brentwood made it clear that its policies were going to be increasingly controlled by the Office of Equity and Inclusion and the DIE consultant defendants were in the process of selecting.

Plaintiff’s concern was especially warranted by the widely known fact that a large majority of “diversity officers” hold anti-Semitic and anti-Israel views.[1]

From the beginning, defendants intentionally stifled Brentwood’s Jewish community members from forming an affinity group.

[1] See Kredo, Adam: “Overwhelming Number of Diversity Officers at US Colleges Hold Anti-Israel Views, Study Says” Washington Free Beacon, December 10, 2021 available at https://freebeacon.com/campus/overwhelming-number-of-diversity-officers-at-us-colleges-hold-anti-israel-views-study-says/

…

Eventually Defendants instituted racially segregated meetings for parents, faculty, staff, and stakeholders in violation of both federal and state constitutional principles.   

When Mr. Eisenberg complained to the school and its leadership his daughter was threatened with expulsion and eventually prohibited from enrolling for the next school year.

This lawsuit is brought pursuant to federal and state civil rights laws, including the Unruh Civil Rights Act, 42 U.S.C. § 1981, and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.

A copy of the complaint can be found HERE.