Justice Department sues UCLA, alleging school failed to protect Jewish employees from hostility

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit Tuesday in California against the University of California, Los Angeles, alleging that the university failed to protect Jewish employees from antisemitic harassment amid pro-Palestinian protests that roiled the campus in 2023 and 2024. This legal action represents the latest escalation in the Trump administration's campaign to punish top universities that it claims have been soft on antisemitism. The lawsuit specifically targets UCLA for its handling of campus protests, including dozens who were arrested in 2024 for failing to leave a campus encampment, accusing the university of failing to discipline those involved. The federal complaint, detailed in an 81-page document, focuses primarily on the 2024 protest encampment that officials claim blocked Jewish employees and students from accessing parts of campus and featured antisemitic signs and chants. The lawsuit alleges UCLA violated its own policies by tolerating the encampment and failing to discipline any students, faculty, or staff over antisemitic behavior. 'UCLA's administration turned a blind eye to — and at times facilitated — grossly antisemitic acts and systematically ignored cries for help from its own terrified Jewish and Israeli employees,' the Justice Department alleges. The suit asks a judge to force UCLA to enforce its anti-discrimination policies and award damages to affected employees. UCLA responded by stating it has taken 'concrete and significant steps' to strengthen campus security, enforce policies, and combat antisemitism. The university highlighted the creation of an Office of Campus and Community Safety and new policies to manage protests on campus. Chancellor Julio Frenk, whose Jewish family fled Nazi Germany, launched an initiative to combat antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias, emphasizing the university's commitment to providing a safe environment for all community members. This lawsuit comes after UCLA previously reached a $6 million settlement with three Jewish students and a Jewish professor who sued the university, with the new complaint alleging the harm to Jewish and Israeli employees 'goes much deeper' than those earlier cases addressed.