This post was updated Feb. 3 at 4:58 p.m.

A member of the Undergraduate Students Association Council is set to face an antisemitism allegation before the USA Judicial Board on Thursday.

USAC Cultural Affairs Commissioner Alicia Verdugo has been accused by Bella Brannon, a fourth-year public affairs and religion student, of deliberately not hiring Jewish students – including Brannon – who applied to the commission during its fall 2024 hiring cycle. Article I, Section E of the bylaws prohibits USAC from supporting organizations that discriminate on the basis of religion and other protected classes.

[Related: USAC Cultural Affairs commissioner faces allegation of antisemitic discrimination]

The hearing, set to be held Thursday, will consider whether Verdugo violated the USA bylaws with its fall hiring practices, according to a judicial board memorandum published in December. The hearing will be open to university media but closed to the public, according to a January memorandum from the board.

Brannon said she hopes the judicial board – members of which must be confirmed by USAC – evaluates her case fairly. She added that she believes the evidence she has presented, which includes screenshots of Verdugo directing her staff to not hire “Zionist” applicants, demonstrates that the twice-reelected Cultural Affairs commissioner discriminated against Jewish applicants.

“What Alicia did was a flagrant violation of state and federal law, and in all likelihood, if this appeared before a court, it would win very easily,” said Brannon, the former student president of Hillel at UCLA.

Brannon – who is the editor-in-chief of Ha’Am, a Jewish newsmagazine that has the same publisher as the Daily Bruin – will be represented by Eli Tsives, a second-year political science student and pro-Israel activist.

Tsives, who unsuccessfully ran in 2024 to be a general representative on the council and plans to run again this cycle, said he felt a responsibility to represent Brannon in this case as a leader in the Jewish community at UCLA. He added that he believes Verdugo abused their platform as Cultural Affairs commissioner to spread false information through their office’s Instagram account and encouraged hate toward the Jewish community.

“Alicia Verdugo is a prime example of someone who possesses values of discrimination, hateful bigotry and textbook antisemitism, racism,” Tsives said.

Brannon has also alleged that Verdugo blocked her on the commission’s Instagram account.

Brannon, who is advocating for Verdugo’s removal from the council, said she is excited that the judicial board announced that the formal court of hearing would take place in person.

“During the preliminary hearing, Alicia and their representative joined with their camera off, which I found was just grossly disrespectful for someone who is on trial for accusations of antisemitism and hatred against an entire group of people,” she said. “We are looking forward to the fact that this trial will be taken seriously.”

The judicial board will rule by majority vote after the hearing, and the decision will be announced within a day of the decision. According to the USAC Bylaws, USAC may override the ruling with a three-fourths vote.

USAC President Adam Tfayli, who has been on the council with Verdugo since 2023, said the case’s result will have implications for the council but added that USAC’s other offices, including his, will continue to function. While he declined to speculate on the validity of the allegations against Verdugo, he said he would support their removal if they are true.

“I’ve known Alicia for almost two years now, so I can’t conclusively say anything,” Tfayli said. “But the fact that there is even a discussion in the first place about something like this, I think, says at least a bit about what’s happening.”

According to Article III, Section E of the USA Constitution, the power to remove a USAC officer is held solely by the council and requires a hearing and subsequent three-fourths vote to remove the offending officer.

Tfayli said the council is “on the same page” about its potential courses of action depending on the hearing’s outcome.

“If it turns out that Alicia purposely didn’t hire Jewish applicants, then we’re going to remove her from her position,” Tfayli said.

Verdugo did not respond to requests for comment about the hearing or the allegations of antisemitism raised against her.

Contributing reports from Shiv Patel, campus politics editor.