The Department of Justice announced Friday that a federal “task force to combat antisemitism” would visit 10 U.S. college campuses as part of investigations into allegations of antisemitic incidents, including three California institutions roiled by pro-Palestinian protests last spring.
The department said the task force, which is looking into “allegations that the schools may have failed to protect Jewish students and faculty members from unlawful discrimination,” would go to UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley.
It did not specify when the visits would take place or which alleged incidents the task force would research. All the campuses have either been part of Department of Education civil rights antisemitism complaints or have been subject to numerous internal reports of antisemitism as demonstrations grew following the the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s war in Gaza.
In a statement, Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights and task force leading member Leo Terrill said the group’s “mandate is to bring the full force of the federal government to bear in our effort to eradicate antisemitism, particularly in schools. These visits are just one of many steps this administration is taking to deliver on that commitment.”
“The president, Attorney General Pamela Bondi, and the entire administration are committed to ensuring that no one should feel unsafe or unwelcome on campus because of their religion,” Terrell, a civil rights attorney who practices law in Los Angeles, said.
The announcement said the task force would meet with university leadership, affected students and staff, local law enforcement, and community members as it “considers whether remedial action is warranted.”
The Department of Justice did not respond to a request asking for details on the campus visits and the allegations of antisemitism.
Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications, said in a statement that the university “has been and continues to be committed to combating antisemitism and all forms of hate, which have no place on our campus or anywhere.” She added that new UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk “has a strong track record of combating antisemitism and is actively at work to help UCLA achieve our goal of fostering an environment where all members of our community are able to live, work, and learn, freely and peacefully.”
In a statement, USC said it has “publicly and unequivocally denounced antisemitism in all its forms, and has taken strong actions to protect all of our students — including members of our Jewish community — from illegal discrimination of any kind.”
“USC is proud to enroll one of the largest Jewish student bodies in the country, and we look forward to speaking with the Department of Justice about everything we have done to create a welcoming and non-discriminatory campus environment for all members of our community.”
A spokesman for UC Berkeley said in a statement that it would “respond to any complaints or allegations through the process prescribed by the DOJ and not through the media. We are confident we have the right processes in place now to respond to any antisemitic incidents.”
The other campuses task force members will visit are Columbia, George Washington University, Harvard, Johns Hopkins, New York University, the University of Minnesota, and Northwestern, the statement said. Like the California universities, all have significant Jewish populations and experienced campus strife and allegations of antisemitic incidents as pro-Palestinian campus movements grew.
There have also been accusations of anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias at each campus since 2023, though it is unclear if there is a federal task force on the matter and no similar campus visits have been announced related to such complaints.
The Department of Justice on Feb. 3 announced a “multi-agency task force to combat antisemitism” with a “first priority will be to root out antisemitic harassment in schools and on college campuses.” At that time the department said it was opening investigations into allegations of antisemitism at UC Berkeley, Columbia, the University of Minnesota, Northwestern and Portland State University. Most of the department’s civil rights investigations stem from complaints but these were undertaken by the department on its own.
The Feb. 3 message said the task force would include representatives from the U.S. Department of Education, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other agencies as it develops. The names of its members were not announced.
The department formed the task force in response to President Trump’s Jan. 29 executive order on combating antisemitism. That order also called on the federal government to “monitor and report activities by alien students and staff” that would potentially qualify them for visa revocation.
It cited federal law that bans noncitizens from being in the U.S. if they support terrorism. The order did not explicitly equate pro-Palestinian protesters with supporters of Hamas, which the U.S. designates as a terrorist organization.
But a fact sheet about the executive order on the White House website, quoting Trump, made clear the president’s intentions to “deport Hamas sympathizers and revoke student visas.”
Trump and administration officials have broadly described pro-Palestinian protesters as antisemitic and “Hamas sympathizers.” Similar accusations have also been made by prominent Jewish organizations, including the Anti-Defamation League.
Pro-Palestinian protests and actions at UCLA last year were among the largest in the U.S. At UCLA, internal and external reviews have faulted leaders a failure to quickly coordinate a response with Los Angeles police and other law enforcement when vigilantes attacked the pro-Palestinian encampment there on April 30 and May 1.
Reports of antisemitic incidents also increased, including those cited in a federal lawsuit by Jewish students who accused UCLA of helping to block access to certain campus walkways last spring.
At USC, dozens of arrests also took place over the spring during pro-Palestinian protests. In addition, the university faced criticism after it pulled a commencement speaker slot for a pro-Palestinian, Muslim valedictorian. The university later canceled its campuswide commencement entirely.
