Department of Justice sues UCLA over alleged antisemitism

By RIVERS STOUT— campus@theaggie.org

The Department of Justice (DOJ) opened a lawsuit against UC Los Angeles (UCLA). Filed Feb. 24, the lawsuit alleges that the university failed to address claims of antisemitism toward UCLA employees following the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel, claiming that the university facilitated pro-Palestine protesters in antisemetic acts. 

A DOJ press release on the suit alleged that the university repeatedly violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. 

“After the Hamas-led massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, antisemitic acts pervaded UCLA,” the release reads. “The suit alleges the university engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination in violation of Title VII against Jewish and Israeli employees at UCLA by failing to prevent and correct discriminatory and harassing conduct. The lawsuit further alleges the university negligently permitted a hostile work environment against two charging parties and other aggrieved Jewish and Israeli employees.”

The 81-page complaint purported several violations of federal law, from a Jewish faculty member being denied a promotion because they reported antisemitism to the university failing to uphold its own time, place and manner (TPM) rules regarding protests that were in place at the time. TPM rules restrict and regulate how protests, protected by the First Amendment, can function in order to comply with local and federal laws.

“The encampment featured antisemitic chants, visual images, and posters, as well as physical barriers designed to explicitly block Jews from accessing parts of UCLA’s campus — in open violation of the University’s TPM rules and federal law,” the complaint reads.

The complaint also cited a press release regarding the 2024 Royce Quad encampment and the university’s conduct from UCLA’s then-Chancellor Gene Block.

“UCLA Chancellor Block nevertheless ‘allowed it to remain in place,’ although he himself declared it was ‘unlawful and a breach of policy,’” the complaint reads. “Block determined the purpose of the encampment was ‘maximizing our community members’ ability to make their voices heard on an urgent global issue.’”

Jewish Voice for Peace Spokesperson and UCLA Ph.D. candidate in Art History Benjamin Kersten disagreed with the complaint’s characterization of the encampment. Jewish Voice for Peace is a nationwide organization composed primarily by Jewish people who advocate for Palestinian livelihoods and the end of Israel’s occupation in Palestine. 

“Jewish students stood alongside Palestinian, Arab and Muslim students, as well as many other students, staff and faculty of conscience in building and maintaining this space,” Kersten said via email. “Not only are accusations that the encampments excluded Jews patently false […] but Jewish students, staff and faculty were much an active part of organizing, many of us out of a moral and political obligation to stand against state violence and genocide, regardless of who perpetrates genocide and whom they target.”

The lawsuit came 13 days after the Donald Trump administration withdrew an appeal against an injunction that favored organizations representing UCLA employees. The injunction came as a result of a proposed settlement deal offered to UCLA amid the cancellation of federal research grants. The deal would have seen UCLA give $1 billion to the federal government, alongside a series of political concessions over protests and transgender rights, as well as race- and ethnicity-based scholarships. In return, researchers would receive funding previously cut by the federal government.

“The unrebutted evidence shows that the Task Force [to Combat Anti-Semitism] Agencies and the [grant-awarding] Funding Agencies have gone well beyond that stated purpose,” the injunction reads. “The record shows that [the Trump administration] engaged in a concerted policy to use allegations of antisemitism to justify funding cancellations, when their intent is to coerce universities into purging disfavored ‘left’ and ‘woke’ viewpoints from their campuses and replace them with views that the Administration favors.”

The University of California (UC) previously settled a similar lawsuit, Frankel v. Regents of the University of California, in July 2025. The lawsuit claimed that Jewish students, faculty and staff faced exclusion from usually accessible parts of the UCLA campus due to the encampment. The settlement reinforced the rights of Jewish people and of those who ascribe to Zionism. It also paid out $6.45 million, with some of the money going to Zionist organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League and the Orthodox Union Jewish Learning Initiative on Campus.

UCLA Vice Chancellor for Strategic Communications Mary Osako said in a statement that the school is committed to combatting antisemitism and has implemented new measures and policies to that effect. They include a new Initiative to Combat Antisemitism, the hiring of an Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus and Community Safety and reorganizations to their Civil Rights Office.

“Antisemitism is abhorrent and has no place at UCLA or anywhere,” Osako said. “Under [Chancellor Julio Frenk’s] leadership, UCLA has taken concrete and significant steps to strengthen campus safety, enforce policies, and combat antisemitism in a systemic and sustained manner.”

The statement continued, reasserting that UCLA will continue to defend its work against antisemitism.

“We stand firmly by the decisive actions we have taken to combat antisemitism in all its forms, and we will vigorously defend our efforts and our unwavering commitment to providing a safe, inclusive environment for all members of our community,” Osako said.

Written by: Rivers Stout — campus@theaggie.org