Trump DOJ to Investigate University of California Over Antisemitism Allegations

The U.S. Department of Justice announced Wednesday that it is investigating whether the University of California allowed antisemitism to create a hostile work environment for Jewish employees. 

The civil investigation is being launched under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of race, color, religion, sex or national origin, and it will assess whether the UC had a “pattern or practice” of such discrimination. 

It comes after the university system, like many schools around the country, saw widespread pro-Palestinian student protests last year that tested free speech policies and spurred some allegations of harassment.

“Following the October 7, 2023, Hamas terror attacks in Israel, there has been an outbreak of antisemitic incidents at leading institutions of higher education in America, including at my own alma mater at the UCLA campus of UC,” Leo Terrell, senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights, said in a statement from the DOJ. “These campuses are also workplaces, and the Jewish faculty and staff employed there deserve a working environment free of antisemitic hostility and hate.”

The UC said in a statement that it “is unwavering in its commitment to combating antisemitism and protecting everyone’s civil rights.”

“We continue to take specific steps to foster an environment free of harassment and discrimination for everyone in the university community,” it said.

Last year, a lawsuit filed by Jewish advocacy groups levied similar complaints against UC Berkeley leaders, accusing them of a “grossly inadequate response” to longstanding antisemitic harassment of Jewish students.

The lawsuit specifically pointed to an incident in which protesters disrupted a dinner at the home of a university dean, leading to a confrontation between the dean and his wife that was caught on video. 

Meanwhile, student and faculty demonstrators have expressed concern that universities, under pressure from state and federal leaders, will crack down on free speech rights under the guise of fighting antisemitism. Faculty members filed a labor complaint last year over allegations that they were being intimidated into silence.

“In these actions, the language of inclusion and safety and civility is being used to justify repression,” Zoe Hamstead, co-chair of the Berkeley Faculty Association, told KQED last year. “It’s being used to militarize our campuses. It’s being used to discipline and criminalize forms of protest and free speech that have been on UC Berkeley campus since at least the free speech movement.”

State Sen. Scott Wiener (D–San Francisco), who co-chairs the state’s Legislative Jewish Caucus, has previously criticized protests against Israeli military actions in Gaza for, at times, engaging in antisemitism, including calling out a UCSF professor for social media posts about an Israeli student. That incident led to the professor being placed on leave, and another university employee who spoke up for the professor was fired. 

“There have absolutely been real pervasive issues of antisemitism directed at Jewish students and Jewish faculty at various UC campuses, and we are working very, very hard to try to reduce and eliminate that antisemitism,” Wiener said.

The state senator has also accused university administrators of not doing enough to address antisemitism concerns and has supported legislation meant to make campus leaders more strictly enforce restrictions on campus protests. 

But Wiener said the DOJ’s announcement rings hollow.

“The Trump administration has absolutely empowered and fostered antisemites, including some straight-up Nazis,” he said. “And so I don’t trust the Trump administration to protect Jews. This strikes me as grandstanding.”