The Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division filed a lawsuit against the University of California today, alleging deliberate indifference to race and national origin discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students at its Los Angeles (UCLA) campus. The lawsuit claims the university violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964.
According to the federal complaint filed in the Central District of California, antisemitic harassment and violence escalated on the UCLA campus following the October 7, 2023, Hamas attacks. The filing states that Jewish and Israeli students faced physical assaults, injuries, exclusion from campus spaces, and a loss of educational opportunities due to their perceived heritage.
The lawsuit also alleges that UCLA breached its funding contracts and grants with the United States. The government contends that the university certified its compliance with Title VI anti-discrimination duties while allowing discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students to continue on campus.
Federal investigators highlighted events from April 2024, when masked demonstrators established an encampment outside of Royce Hall. The complaint alleges that occupiers used physical force—including slapping, kicking, hitting with sticks, using pepper spray, and knocking individuals unconscious—against Jewish and Israeli students. The filing also notes that demonstrators formed “human phalanxes” to block these students from accessing academic buildings.
The legal action follows a Department of Justice investigation into campus incidents and subsequent written findings which concluded that UCLA failed to meet its legal obligations under Title VI.
“Earlier this year, we sued UCLA for subjecting its Jewish and Israeli employees to an antisemitic hostile work environment,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Now, the Department of Justice calls UCLA to account for its toleration of the equally appalling hostile educational environment against its Jewish and Israeli students.”
“Universities have an obligation to maintain safe and inclusive campuses for all students,” First Assistant U.S. Attorney Bill Essayli said. “Universities that violate our nation’s civil rights laws by repeatedly failing to shield Jewish students from antisemitism will be held accountable.”
UCLA leadership strongly rejected the federal government’s characterization of the campus environment and defended its response to antisemitism over the past several semesters.
“Let me be direct: the suggestion that UCLA has been passive in the face of antisemitism is simply wrong,” UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenky said in a statement. “Combating antisemitism is a moral imperative — one rooted, for me, in personal history that makes indifference unthinkable. In the past year alone, we’ve taken numerous concrete actions to combat antisemitism. We recruited an associate vice chancellor for campus and community safety. We reorganized our Civil Rights Office. We appointed a Title VI officer. And we strengthened our policies to protect both free expression and the safety of every member of our community.”
University officials pointed to a series of policy changes and structural overhauls implemented since the spring 2024 unrest. In May 2024, UCLA established a new Office of Campus Safety, directing its leadership to work with the Los Angeles Police Department on criminal investigations into campus violence. In January 2025, Steve Lurie was appointed as the Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus and Community Safety.
The university also overhauled its campus protest rules. UCLA announced interim updates to its time, place, and manner (TPM) policies prior to the 2024–2025 academic year, finalizing those regulations in September 2025 to govern campus demonstrations and speech under University of California directives. Additional compliance guidance on campus climate resources was also submitted to the California State Legislature.
Disciplinary actions against student groups were also part of the university’s response. In February 2025, UCLA issued interim suspensions for two student organizations—Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine (GSJP)—following an incident at the home of UC Regent Jay Sures. By March 2025, UCLA’s Office of Student Affairs recommended the permanent revocation of student group status for SJP and a four-year suspension for GSJP due to cumulative conduct code violations.
UCLA highlighted its institutional initiatives, including a Four-Point Plan for a Safer, Stronger UCLA, and the launch of the Initiative to Combat Antisemitism announced by Chancellor Julio Frenk in March 2025. On May 14, the initiative released a formal roadmap to address bigotry on campus. Additionally, a group of UCLA Jewish faculty members recently signed an open letter condemning the Department of Justice’s separate Title VII lawsuit regarding workplace environment claims, while Chancellor Frenk defended the school’s record in a letter to the editor published by the Wall Street Journal.
University representatives noted that the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) recently upgraded UCLA’s Campus Report Card grade from a D to a B, a move publicly commended by ADL CEO Jonathan Greenblatt. University leadership stated they continue to work with community stakeholders to address ongoing concerns and chart a path forward for the campus.
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