DOJ Sues UCLA for Alleged Indifference to Antisemitism on Campus

The Department of Justice has filed a lawsuit against the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), accusing the institution of failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students. The lawsuit claims the university showed indifference to discrimination and violence during a 2024 protest where students were allegedly beaten and pepper-sprayed.

Human rights attorney Brooke Goldstein has highlighted how antisemitism is being used in political contexts. University campuses have become central to the national conversation on antisemitism, particularly since the 2023 Israel-Hamas conflict and resulting protests.

A new report from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) suggests that while attention has been on student-led campus protests, less scrutiny has been directed at classroom activities. Allegations include professors and teaching assistants incorporating anti-Israel activism into academic content, even providing incentives like extra credit for attending anti-Israel events.

The ADL’s January 2025 report indicates that 27.3% of Jewish students noticed antisemitic behavior from faculty, linking faculty rhetoric to a hostile campus environment. Allegations include faculty canceling classes for anti-Israel protest attendance and offering extra credit for events like “Thinking from Palestine: Dispossession, Liberation, and Return.” UC Berkeley has denied claims of awarding extra credit for such events.

Other incidents at UC Berkeley included a teaching assistant offering extra credit for participation in an anti-Israel walkout against the “settler-colonial occupation of Gaza.” Social media amplified the issue, with the university citing policies against political indoctrination.

The ADL also reported similar faculty activities within other schools in the UC system, such as an “Emergency Teach-in on the Crisis in Palestine” at UCLA, further highlighting instances of Jewish and Israeli students being singled out by staff.

The report from Columbia University’s Task Force on Antisemitism described instances where an Israeli student was targeted with comments about settler colonialism and where a student with a background in the Israel Defense Forces was labeled a “murderer.” A Jewish student shared an experience of being told that “your people survived in order to commit mass genocide.”

Columbia University has responded by implementing anti-bias measures and fostering inclusive classroom settings, working alongside Jewish organizations like Hillel and Chabad to improve the campus experience for Jewish students.

The ADL warns that faculty-related antisemitic incidents are particularly impactful due to the authority professors hold over students. The organization calls for universities to adopt wide-ranging measures to combat antisemitism and ensure student safety.