The University of California has resolved nine federal civil rights complaints of antisemitism and bias against Muslim, Arab and pro-Palestinian students stemming from Israel-Hamas war protests at five UC campuses, including UCLA and UCSD, the U.S. Department of Education announced Friday.
The complaints alleged that the universities failed to respond promptly or effectively to harassment of their students based on their actual or perceived national origin — including shared Jewish, Israeli, Muslim, Palestinian and Arab ancestry — and that some of the universities subjected these students to different treatment with respect to their access to campus or university programs.
With regard to UCLA and its law school, civil rights compliance concerns stemmed in part from the university’s receipt of more than 150 reports about protests and rallies in October and November 2023, as well as complaints related to an encampment on campus in the spring of 2024.
These and other reports included:
— Reports of rally chants such as “death to Israel.” A separate video reviewed by OCR depicted a group that included students beating an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and shouting “beat that … Jew” on the campus;
— Muslim, Palestinian and/or pro-Palestinian students experienced unwanted filming, doxing, and being followed both on and near UCLA’s campus by other students and members of the public;
— Reports of checkpoints at the spring 2024 encampment that allegedly denied entry to Jewish students who refused to “denounce their Zionism”; and
— UCLA, through its campus police, allegedly failed to protect Palestinian, Arab, and/or pro-Palestinian student protesters while they were violently attacked, injured, and intimidated by counter-protesters, including third parties.
The American Jewish Committee Los Angeles applauded the announcement.
“Students at UCLA and UC Santa Barbara have faced unprecedented and unacceptable levels of antisemitism and we are glad to see these new agreements with the Department of Education which — if properly implemented by the schools’ administrations — will help make these campuses a safer and more welcoming place for Jews and all students,” AJC Los Angeles Regional Director Richard S. Hirschhaut said in a statement.
“Amid the toxic and dangerous climate arising from the encampment on the UCLA campus last spring, AJC Los Angeles convened an urgent media briefing at the Hillel Student Center to enable students, faculty, and prominent alumni to raise their voices, in solidarity and safety, to implore university administration to enforce its own codes of conduct,” he said.
“Today’s announcement affirms the deep concern and genuine courage expressed that day.”