The U.S. Department of Justice sued the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) alleging that UCLA allowed antisemitism to persist on campus and violated the civil rights of Jewish and Israeli employees, in federal court on Feb. 24. This marks the latest escalation in the Trump administration’s ongoing dispute with the university.
Filed in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California, the lawsuit claims that UCLA violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to prevent and address antisemitic harassment on campus, creating a “hostile work environment,” as said in the press release by the Office of Public Affairs. Federal officials said the university engaged in a “pattern or practice of discrimination” by allowing Jewish and Israeli employees to face harassment, threats and exclusion without adequate intervention.
“‘Based on our investigation, UCLA administrators allegedly allowed virulent antisemitism to flourish on campus, harming students and staff alike,’” Attorney General Pamela Bondi said in the press release.
The lawsuit stems from a federal investigation launched in March 2025, which was supported by complaints filed with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission. The complaints claim that UCLA’s anti-discrimination policies were poorly designed and inadequately enforced, leaving employees without effective ways to report harassment or seek protection.
According to the press release, antisemitic incidents increased following Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the subsequent war in Gaza, which incited countless protests and counterprotests on UCLA’s campus. The lawsuit identified a 2024 protest encampment as a key incident, asserting that Jewish students and employees faced restricted access to campus spaces and antisemitic rhetoric and intimidation.
Federal officials purported that Jewish faculty were physically threatened, classrooms were disrupted and antisemitic graffiti appeared on university buildings. In some cases, they alleged that Jewish employees reportedly took leave, worked remotely or left their jobs.
Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division also condemned the alleged incidents in the press release.
“‘The litany of vile acts of antisemitism that allegedly took place, and continue to take place, at UCLA are, if found to be true, a mark of shame against the University of California,” Dhillon said.
The suit seeks unspecified damages for affected employees and demands changes to UCLA’s policies, including improved staff training and stronger enforcement of anti-discrimination protections.
UCLA officials strongly denied the allegations and said the university has taken significant steps to combat antisemitism.
“Antisemitism is abhorrent and has no place at UCLA or anywhere,” Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications, said in a statement released on Feb. 24. “We established the Initiative to Combat Antisemitism with a clear mandate to implement meaningful institutional change. We reorganized our Office of Civil Rights and hired a dedicated Title VI/Title VII officer to ensure professionalized oversight and accountability.”
The case furthers the Trump administration’s overarching efforts to pressure universities over antisemitism allegations. Through federal action against UCLA last year, the university reached a $6 million settlement involving Jewish students and a professor who alleged discrimination. The administration also previously attempted to impose more than $1 billion in fines, demanded policy changes and cut over $580 million in research funding to UCLA.
Anika Denny is a News Staff Writer. She can be reached at adenny1@uci.edu.
Edited by Annabelle Aguirre