UCLA to pay ‘heavy price’ for campus anti-Semitism, says US Attorney-General
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UCLA announced on July 29 an agreement to settle discrimination complaints brought by Jewish students and faculty members.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
WASHINGTON - US Attorney-General Pam Bondi demanded “severe accountability” from the University of California at Los Angeles on July 29 after the Justice Department found the university violated federal civil rights laws by failing to stop anti-Semitic harassment on campus.
DOJ’s Civil Rights Division said UCLA acted with “deliberate indifference” to reports of abuse targeting Jewish and Israeli students since the Oct 7, 2023, Hamas attack,
“This disgusting breach of civil rights against students will not stand: DOJ will force UCLA to pay a heavy price for putting Jewish Americans at risk and continue our ongoing investigations into other campuses in the UC system,” Ms Bondi said in the release.
A UCLA representative referred requests for comment to the University of California Office of the President, which didn’t immediately respond to a query.
The Trump administration has pressured dozens of universities over alleged campus anti-Semitism since the Oct 7 Hamas attack, while also criticizing schools for biased hiring, diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programmes, lack of conservative voices, and transgender athletes in women’s sports.
The DOJ continues to investigate other campuses in the University of California system, including Davis, San Diego, Santa Barbara and Berkeley.
Several universities are in talks with the Trump administration to reinstate funding following DOJ investigations, including Cornell University, Brown University and Northwestern University.
UCLA also announced on July 29 an agreement to settle discrimination complaints brought by Jewish students and faculty members who assailed the school for allowing a “Jew Exclusion Zone” on campus during pro-Palestinian protests in 2024.
University of California Board of Regents chair Janet Reilly commented on Tuesday on the US$6 million (S$7.72 million) settlement reached between students and faculty members who brought claims against the school for enabling anti-Semitic barriers that excluded Jewish students and faculty during the campus protests.
“Anti-Semitism, harassment, and other forms of intimidation are antithetical to our values and have no place at the University of California,” Professor Reilly said in a statement. “We have been clear about where we have fallen short, and we are committed to doing better moving forward.” BLOOMBERG
