- 150+ antisemitism reports at UC campuses linked to recent protests.
- Reports included alleged harassment of Jewish and Muslim students.
- Office of Civil Rights to require UC schools to address complaints, revise policies, train staff and implement changes per Title VI.
The Office of Civil Rights within the federal Department of Education resolved with five California universities to review complaints of “harassment and other discrimination based on shared ancestry” from 2023 to 2025, with most including instances of antisemitism during campus protests in 2023 and 2024.
Fallout from Israel and Palestine-related protests on California campuses
These recent complaints were filed against UCLA, UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, UC San Diego and UC Santa Cruz and include over 150 reports, many occurring during protests and rallies on campuses in October and November 2023, after Hamas militants launched an attack on Israel.
Many complaints are related to the April 2024 pro-Palestine encampment on the UCLA campus. This encampment was part of a larger pro-Palestinian movement that spread across U.S. college campuses, including the University of Utah.
The Civil Rights Office is now asking UC schools to look into reports of “rally chants such as, ‘death to Israel,’ ‘(t)here is no peace until they’re dead,' ‘intifada now’ and ‘there is only one solution,’” per the U.S. Department of Education.
Other reports of discrimination and harassment now under investigation include:
- A video depicting a group of students on UCLA campus beating an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu, shouting profanities and racial slurs.
- Allegations that Jewish students were denied entry into the spring 2024 encampment unless they “denounce(d)” their Zionism."
- Palestinian, pro-Palestinian and Muslim students who “experienced unwanted filming, doxing, and being followed both on and near UCLA’s campus by other students and members of the public.”
- Allegations that UCLA campus police “failed to protect Palestinian, Arab, and/or pro-Palestinian student protestors” who were violently attacked or injured by counter-protesters.
About a month after these encampments, three Jewish UC students filed a federal lawsuit against the University of California System, claiming UCLA allowed activists and protesters to “block Jewish students from accessing parts of campus, including classrooms and an undergraduate library,” by setting up barricades and encampments.
In mid-August, U.S. District Judge Mark C. Scarsi ruled, “Jewish students were excluded from portions of the UCLA campus because they refused to denounce their faith.”
The Office of Civil Rights reported similar concerns about “disparate treatment with respect to Jewish students’ access to a multicultural center at UC Santa Barbara.”
UC universities ‘had notice of a potential hostile environment,’ now asked to implement actions
These allegations are not contained to UCLA. The Office of Civil Rights reported that complaints of similar harassment showed up at UC Santa Barbara, UC Davis, UC San Diego and UC Santa Cruz.
Jewish students at UCSB reported “antisemitic vandalism” in dorm rooms and signs naming specific Jewish students, stating “Zionists” were not welcome at a student center.
At UCSD and UCD, students reported they witnessed or experienced forms of antisemitism “by students and professors at protests, online, or in campus departments.”
The Civil Rights Office requires UC schools to review and report ancestry-based discrimination, revise policies, train staff, conduct climate assessments and implement changes to comply with Title VI regulations.