Federal prosecutors support UCLA students and professor in antisemitism lawsuit

Federal prosecutors have filed papers showing support for students and a professor at UCLA who say the university failed to protect Jewish students and faculty members from unlawful discrimination during pro-Palestine protests on campus last year, according to documents obtained Tuesday.

The newly formed Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced that the U.S. Department of Justice filed a statement of interest in Los Angeles federal court Monday to advance the DOJ’s interpretation of federal law that prohibits colleges and universities from discriminating against students due to religion or national origin.

According to the allegations in Frankel et al. v. Regents of the University of California et al., in spring 2024 administrators of the University of California system allowed members of a protest encampment to physically prevent UCLA students and faculty from accessing portions of the campus if they were wearing articles reflective of their Jewish faith or if they refused to denounce Israel.

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An email requesting comment from the UCLA chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine was not immediately answered. UCLA administrators said last month they were suspending two campus SJP organizations after masked pro-Palestinian campus activists protested outside the Brentwood home of UC Regent Jay Sures, allegedly vandalizing his property and surrounding his wife while she was in her car.

Mary Osako, UCLA vice chancellor for strategic communications, said in a statement sent to City News Service on Tuesday that the university has launched a campus-wide initiative to fight antisemitism.

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“UCLA is committed to eradicating antisemitism,” she said. “Chancellor Julio Frenk, who joined UCLA in January, 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. We recently launched the Initiative to Combat Antisemitism that brings together members of the Bruin community and civic leaders to work toward our shared, unwavering goal of extinguishing antisemitism.”

In its filing, the DOJ condemned UCLA for allegedly “enabling” antisemitism on campus and then seeking to avoid responsibility.

“Even though UCLA may not dispute that the antisemitic campus environment at UCLA last year was ‘unimaginable’ and ‘abhorrent,’ (UCLA seeks) to evade liability for what happened on the campus that they are supposed to lead and protect,” according to federal prosecutors.

The government contends that UCLA administrators can be held accountable under federal law for allegedly allowing the exclusion of Jews on campus during the protest. The filing underscores the government’s stance that universities nationwide must fully protect Jewish students and faculty from exclusion and harassment, the DOJ said.

The plaintiffs in the lawsuit are Jewish students and a Jewish professor at UCLA who allege that the university knowingly acted in concert with or allowed members of the encampment to prevent them from accessing a central campus space and adjacent classrooms and library on the basis of their Jewish faith or national origin in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, and California state law.

A hearing in the case is scheduled in downtown Los Angeles for March 31.

The DOJ recently announced the formation of a multi-agency task force coordinated by the Civil Rights Division to combat antisemitism, which planned to visit 10 university campuses — including UCLA and USC — that have experienced antisemitic events. The department also recently announced its investigation into the UC to assess whether the university system engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, religion and national origin against its professors, staff and other employees by allowing an antisemitic hostile work environment to exist on its campuses.

Frenk, UCLA’s new chancellor, recently said the school would implement new training and education to combat anti-Jewish bias on campus.

Both UCLA and USC experienced extensive pro-Palestinian protests last year in relation to the Israel-Hamas war sparked by the Oct. 7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel. A massive pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA was one of the largest campus protests of its type in the country.

The federal task force was created pursuant to President Donald Trump’s Jan. 29 executive order on additional measures to combat antisemitism.

Frenk said in a message to the Bruin community on March 10 that the university’s new initiative to fight antisemitism includes an “action group” that will bring together members of the UCLA community and civic leaders from diverse backgrounds, faiths and perspectives.

“This will be a standing initiative — reporting directly to me — and will have the support it requires to achieve our goals,” the chancellor wrote.

USC, meanwhile, issued a statement Feb. 28 saying 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.”