The U.S. Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division filed a lawsuit against the University of California Los Angeles on Tuesday, alleging it tolerated a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students.
In its complaint, the Justice Department accused UCLA of violating Title VI - a federal law that prohibits discrimination on the basis of race, color, or national origin in any program or activity receiving federal financial assistance - "through its deliberate indifference to this pervasive on-campus antisemitism."
The lawsuit pointed to an encampment that was built on the university's campus in April 2024. The Justice Department described the move as illegal and alleged that Jewish students were attacked.
"Universities have an obligation to maintain safe and inclusive campuses for all students," said Bill Essayli, the first assistant U.S. attorney for the Central District of California.
"Universities that violate our nation's civil rights laws by repeatedly failing to shield Jewish students from antisemitism will be held accountable."
UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk rejected the allegations, saying the university had taken concrete steps to combat antisemitism on campus.
"Let me be direct: the suggestion that UCLA has been passive in the face of antisemitism is simply wrong," Frenk said in a statement. "Combating antisemitism is a moral imperative — one rooted, for me, in personal history that makes indifference unthinkable."
Frenk said the university had recruited an associate vice chancellor for campus and community safety, reorganized its civil rights office, appointed a Title VI officer and strengthened policies to protect free expression and campus safety.
Frenk had introduced a campus-wide initiative to combat antisemitism, which issued a report in May outlining a roadmap to address campus antisemitism and bigotry.
The university in February 2025 suspended two student groups, Students for Justice in Palestine and Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine, over their involvement in a protest at the home of University of California regent Jay Sures. The following month, the university recommended revoking SJP's status and suspending GSJP for four years.