Judge rules Jewish heritage can be basis of race discrimination

ALEXANDRIA, La. — A federal magistrate judge says a football coach should be allowed to pursue his legal claim that a private Baptist college in Louisiana racially discriminated against him because of his Jewish heritage.

U.S. Magistrate Mark Hornsby wrote Friday that the Civil Rights Act of 1964 doesn’t clearly define what “race” means, but he said Jewish citizens have been treated as a racial or ethnic group entitled to the law’s protection against employment discrimination.

Joshua Bonadona claims Louisiana College President Rick Brewer refused to approve his hiring because of what he allegedly called his “Jewish blood.” An attorney for the Pineville college argued that the racial discrimination claim must be dismissed because Jewish ancestry doesn’t qualify as a “race” under federal law.