Jews for Jesus Ministers Reach Out-of-Court Settlement with UCLA and LAOCC

Two staff members of the evangelistic organization Jews for Jesus have reached an out-of-court settlement of their lawsuit against the University of California and the Los Angeles Olympics Organizing Committee (LAOCC). The case originated from an August 1984 incident on the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, where Jews for Jesus ministers Steven Silverstein and Avi Snyder were arrested for distributing evangelistic tracts before a gymnastics event at the Olympics.

Silverstein and Snyder were released by campus police without charges. However, they filed civil actions against the university and the LAOCC, asserting that their First Amendment rights to free expression and the practice of religion had been violated. Moishe Rosen, executive director of Jews for Jesus, stated that the university initially claimed facilities temporarily leased to the LAOCC were not public spaces. He noted that when the university recognized public areas could not be leased, it invoked an old campus regulation prohibiting the distribution of religious literature. Rosen said the ministers were disputing this regulation and the false arrest.

UCLA issued a statement indicating the litigation was settled and the case dismissed. The university reaffirmed the right of groups like Jews for Jesus to distribute literature in public places on campus, in accordance with reasonable regulations. Silverstein, Snyder, and UCLA did not comment on the agreement’s terms, though Rosen mentioned a financial settlement was made with both ministers, calling the amount “significant.”

The arrest at UCLA was one of approximately 50 similar incidents involving around 100 Jews for Jesus staff since the organization’s founding in 1973. Another pending case involves a suit over a 1984 resolution prohibiting the distribution of religious tracts at the Los Angeles International Airport. Both the Federal District Court in Los Angeles and the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals have ruled in favor of Jews for Jesus. The U.S. Supreme Court is anticipated to rule on an appeal by the airport’s board of commissioners.

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