University of California Santa Barbara (UCSB) will establish an antisemitism advisory committee to “improve campus climate and ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all,” Santa Barbara’s Chancellor Henry T Yang wrote in a March letter.Â
The chancellor announced that the committee “will offer guidance and recommendations about how to ensure that there is a safe and inclusive environment on campus for Jewish- and Israeli-identifying students, faculty, staff, alumni and visitors and help us to understand experiences of anti-Jewish and anti-Israeli hostility.”
Campus officials noted that the committee will feature” individuals who possess expertise in Jewish life and antisemitism.”
Great news from @ucsantabarbara. The university has launched a Chancellor’s Advisory Committee on Antisemitism. As ADL Santa Barbara Regional Director @JoshuaBurtVTA says, this is a crucial step toward fostering a safer, more inclusive campus. https://t.co/gxnjmW828N pic.twitter.com/cCAKFXuDSR
— ADL California (@ADLCalifornia) March 19, 2025
Yang said that antisemitism and xenophobia were “antithetical to the values of the university.” He also called on students and staff to call out antisemitism and other forms of hatred if they encounter them on campus.Â
UC Santa Barbara students express concernsÂ
Tessa Veksler, the associated students president of USCB, filed a Title VI Civil Rights Act violation complaint against the university last year for the failure to properly address an alleged antisemitic harassment campaign against her.
Veksler argued that the persistent bullying, threatening, and intimidation she faced since October 7 reflected a pattern of mistreatment of Jewish students across the country for a key component of their identity.
“No individual should ever have to experience what I went through as a Jewish student at UCSB – harassment, intimidation, threats, and character assassination all in the form of pure antisemitic hatred,” Veksler said.
Santa Barbara’s announcement comes after the US Education Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR) called on 60 US higher education institutions to fulfill their obligations to protect Jewish students on campus or face repercussions.
Five universities have been the subject of directed investigations by the OCR, at which considerable antisemitic harassment has been reported, while the remaining 55 universities are under investigation.
The OCR is currently reviewing a backlog of complaints of antisemitic violence and harassment that it says were left unresolved under the Biden administration.
On-campus antisemitism
US Education Secretary Linda McMahon said that the Department of Education is “deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite US campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year.Â
McMahon added that public investments from US taxpayers were a privilege for public universities that ” is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.” Â
For example, Columbia University was subject to an immediate cancelation of federal grants and contracts worth $400 million by the Department of Education in March due to its continued inaction regarding protecting Jewish students from discrimination.Â
!function(f,b,e,v,n,t,s)
{if(f.fbq)return;n=f.fbq=function(){n.callMethod?
n.callMethod.apply(n,arguments):n.queue.push(arguments)};
if(!f._fbq)f._fbq=n;n.push=n;n.loaded=!0;n.version=’2.0′;
n.queue=[];t=b.createElement(e);t.async=!0;
t.src=v;s=b.getElementsByTagName(e)[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(t,s)}(window, document,’script’,
‘https://connect.facebook.net/en_US/fbevents.js’);
fbq(‘init’, ‘1730128020581377’);
fbq(‘track’, ‘PageView’);
