The Justice Department is suing the University of California, accusing it of allowing antisemitism to proliferate on campus.
The legal complaint alleges that the leadership of University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) has failed to address its antisemitic work environment that affects Jewish and Israeli faculty and staff, which is a violation of federal civil rights law, according to a Justice Department press release.
The case centers on how UCLA handled complaints from employees who said pro-Hamas protests on campus and other incidents since Hamas’ slaughter of Israeli civilians on October 7, 2023. Following the attack, a wave of anti-Jewish bigotry cropped up across the country, with anti-Israel protesters swarming college campuses and city streets to advocate against Israel’s efforts to wipe out Hamas.
The lawsuit claims UCLA violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by allowing serious antisemitic harassment against Jewish and Israeli professors, lecturers, and staff for over a year. The employees reported that pro-Hamas protesters shouted them down in classrooms. Some reported seeing swastikas and other antisemitic graffiti near their offices and being targeted online after speaking out against anti-Jewish bigotry.
Some faculty members said they felt compelled to change their teaching material, avoid parts of campus, or request remote work arrangements because they feared for their safety.
The October 7 "Floral Procession" at UCLA begins with "From the river to the sea" chant right off the bat. The Reuters livestream was titled "UCLA students hold procession in memory of Palestinians killed in Israel-Hamas war" Image below is how the organizers advertised it. pic.twitter.com/sDJLtXFtrS
— Caleb Howe (@CalebHowe) October 7, 2025
Many of the campus pro-Hamas demonstrations have resulted in violence and threats against Jewish professors and students. Other universities have fallen under scrutiny for refusing to address the matter.
The Justice Department is demanding that UCLA reform its policies and training, investigate and address antisemitic harassment, and provide back pay and compensatory damages to the affected employees.
UCLA has long denied the allegation that it allows anti-Jewish bigotry to flourish on campus even when it has acknowledged making mistakes in responding to these incidents. In a statement, the university insisted that it is “committed to providing a safe, welcoming and inclusive environment for all members of our community” and said it has made significant strides in addressing antisemitism since 2023.
A library at UCLA is being fenced off with checkpoints where students cannot enter unless they have wristbands displaying their support for Hamas
— Kiyah Willis (@kiyahwillis) May 1, 2024
These universities have completely lost control of their campuses and are doing nothing about it
We should all be very concerned pic.twitter.com/3pBzWIMAM8
The school says it has taken several steps to tamp down on anti-Jewish bigotry, including revising rules for protests and encampments, adding reporting avenues for bias and discrimination, and increasing training for administrators and faculty on how to respond to anti-Jewish incidents.
This lawsuit is the latest action in a wider campaign by the Trump administration to deal with the rise of antisemitism on college campuses nationwide since the war in Gaza began. The Justice Department has opened multiple investigations into elite universities who it believes is allowing anti-Jewish bigotry to spread. The administration has also threatened to withhold or freeze federal research grants to schools that don’t do enough to curb anti-Jewish bigotry against faculty and students.
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