UC faculty urge regents to enforce rules amid antisemitism investigations

Hundreds of University of California faculty members are urging the system’s governing board to crack down on what they describe as the “misuse of UC authority” for organized political activism, warning that failing to enforce existing policies could fuel allegations of antisemitism and jeopardize federal research funding.

The letter, sent Thursday to the University of California Board of Regents, comes as the university system faces multiple federal investigations into alleged antisemitism on its campuses, including Title VI civil rights complaints tied to the Israel-Hamas war and campus protests.

Faculty who signed the letter called on university leaders to draw a clear boundary between individual faculty members’ free speech rights and the use of university branding, resources and official platforms to promote political advocacy. They argue that when faculty members appear to speak with institutional backing, it risks exposing the university to legal and financial consequences.

“The issue is not that the university doesn’t have the rules,” said Ilan Benjamin, a chemistry professor at UC Santa Cruz who helped organize the letter. “We are only asking the university to enforce its own rules and discipline people who violate (them).”

The faculty organized the letter in response to a 158-page report released this month by the AMCHA Initiative, an advocacy organization that monitors antisemitism on college campuses. The report concluded that the University of California has failed to enforce policies restricting faculty from using university resources and platforms to advance political advocacy. It specifically cited incidents at UCLA, UC Santa Cruz and UC Berkeley, arguing that those actions created conditions that fostered hostility and discrimination against Jewish students.

In a statement Friday, the University of California said it “unequivocally condemns antisemitism and has taken numerous steps to address it and other expressions of hate and intolerance on our campuses.” The university added that it “takes the findings in the AMCHA Initiative report seriously” and is reviewing the incidents cited.

“Academic freedom and freedom of expression are core values at the University of California, and we take action to respond to and counter antisemitism and hate incidents when they occur,” the statement said.