The Justice Department (DOJ) announced Wednesday is launching a civil rights investigation into allegations of antisemitism at the University of California.
According to a press release, the department, on the basis of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, will probe whether the university engaged “in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, religion and national origin against” worker by letting “an Antisemitic hostile work environment to exist” at the system’s schools.
“Following the October 7, 2023 Hamas terror attacks in Israel, there has been an outbreak of antisemitic incidents at leading institutions of higher education in America, including at my own alma mater at the UCLA campus of UC,” Leo Terrell, a top member of the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism and senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in the release.
“The impact upon UC’s students has been the subject of considerable media attention and multiple federal investigations,” Tarrell continued.
Attorney General Pam Bondi added that her department “will always defend Jewish Americans, protect civil rights, and leverage our resources to eradicate institutional Antisemitism in our nation’s universities.”
In a statement emailed to The Hill on Wednesday, the University of California said they “were recently notified of the Department of Justice’s decision to initiate a civil rights investigation in the University of California system.”
“We want to be clear: the University of California is unwavering in its commitment to combating antisemitism and protecting everyone’s civil rights. We continue to take specific steps to foster an environment free of harassment and discrimination for everyone in the university community,” the statement continued.
Earlier this week, the Trump administration announced that it was reviewing contracts and grants related to Columbia University due to antisemitism allegations against the school.
The Department of Health and Human Services, General Services Administration and the Department of Education all said in a statement the review was occurring because of Columbia’s continuing “inaction in the face of relentless harassment of Jewish students.”
The president also threatened to end funding for any universities allowing “illegal protests” in response to the war in Gaza.
In the last year, a swath of pro-Palestinian protests have broken out on college campuses across the country amid Israeli-Palestinian tensions, with both the University of California, Los Angeles and Columbia University having protests that captured the nation’s attention.
