This post was updated Dec. 2 at 9:39 p.m.

A Jewish student filed a discrimination complaint against the Undergraduate Students Association Council Cultural Affairs Commissioner on Monday.

In a petition submitted to the USA Judicial Board, Bella Brannon, a fourth-year public affairs and religion student, alleged that Cultural Affairs Commissioner Alicia Verdugo violated UC and USAC policies – as well as state and federal antidiscrimination law – by discriminating against Jewish applicants to the commission during its fall 2024 hiring cycle.

Brannon, a former student president of Hillel at UCLA, called for the board to remove Verdugo – who has been on the council since 2022 – as the Cultural Affairs Commissioner.

In a copy of the petition, which Brannon provided to the Daily Bruin, Brannon accused Verdugo of directing their staff to not hire “Zionist” applicants to the commission. She cited screenshots that she said a member of Verdugo’s office provided to her.

“Lots of Zionists are applying,” Verdugo allegedly said in a message appended to the petition. “Please do your research when you look at applicants and I will also share a doc of no hire list during retreat.”

Brannon, the education director of Bruins for Israel, also alleged in the petition that the Cultural Affairs Commission rejected every applicant who made mention of their Jewish faith, adding that she believes none of three applicants who identified themselves as Jewish and were rejected made any mention of Zionism or Israel.

Brannon, who said in an interview that she applied to Verdugo’s office in the fall, also said in the petition that the commissioner discriminated against Jewish students by implying that her staff should watch out for applicants who identify as Jewish. She later added in a written statement that she believes the majority of applicants Verdugo’s office rejected were Jewish.

“I have every reason to believe, based on these numbers – as well as the quotes we have from Verdugo – that our perceived associations with Zionism were attached to our Jewish faith, and we were rejected,” Brannon said.

Brannon is also the editor in chief of Ha’Am, a Jewish newsmagazine published by UCLA Student Media – which also publishes the Daily Bruin. Both Brannon and Ha’Am have criticized Verdugo, but Brannon said her previous criticisms of Verdugo should not preclude her from being hired.

Brannon also alleged in the petition that CAC blocked her on the social media platform X in October, adding that she believes Verdugo has celebrated Palestinian political party and militant group Hamas’ attacks on Israel. In the petition, Brannon said CAC blocking her “raises serious legal concerns.” She noted in an interview that public officials are not allowed to block members of the public on their official social media accounts.

According to the American Civil Liberties Union of Southern California, public officials may not block access to or restrict comments on an official account in response to political criticism.

Brannon also alleged that Verdugo denied a Ha’Am reporter entry to a CAC event the reporter had previously RSVP’d for and been approved to attend, a claim the Daily Bruin was unable to verify.

The reporter was wearing a Magen David necklace, Brannon said, adding that she could see empty seats in the event space and observed other people being allowed in. Brannon said Verdugo cited capacity concerns as the reason they did not allow the reporter to enter.

In an initially submitted version of the petition, Brannon claimed four applicants to Verdugo’s office were Jewish. However, she later said in an interview with the Daily Bruin that she had been mistaken, adding in a written statement that she has submitted a corrected version of the petition and notified the judicial board that she believes three Jewish students applied.

Verdugo did not respond in time to a request for comment about the petition and the allegations.

In an emailed statement, a UCLA spokesperson said the university denounces all forms of discrimination and is reviewing Brannon’s complaint.

“We are actively reviewing this complaint as it is absolutely critical that every single member of our community is evaluated fairly for opportunities within student government,” the spokesperson said in the statement.

Brannon’s petition to the judicial board is not the first time Verdugo has faced criticism for alleged antisemitism.

Following the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attacks on Israel that killed around 1,200 people, Verdugo’s office posted a statement to Instagram affirming its support for “Palestinians in their struggle for liberation from Israel.” At the next USAC meeting Oct. 10, 2023, multiple speakers criticized Verdugo’s office during the meeting’s public comment period.

“Those who did this (a social media post by CAC), ought to apologize and take it down and learn something about what’s really been going on,” said former USAC General Representative Eliana Sisman during the meeting. “If they are not willing to do that, then they should not be in these positions claiming to represent us and getting our money.”

United States Rep. Virginia Foxx, a Republican who chairs the House Committee on Education and the Workforce, previously claimed in a letter to UC leaders that Verdugo “had previously been involved in the targeted harassment of students” who disagreed with the Commission’s position on the Israel-Hamas war.

According to the judicial board’s rules, the board must grant or deny the petition for consideration within three business days. In an emailed statement, Chief Justice Mithra Venkatesh said the board will begin review on the petition Wednesday.

If three members of the seven-justice board vote to grant the petition for consideration, the board – which has not tried a case in at least two years – will formally hear the case.