By Jasper Ward and Daphne Psaledakis
WASHINGTON, May 26 (Reuters) – 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 did not immediately respond when reached for comment.
The Justice Department announced the lawsuit shortly after a federal appeals court earlier on Tuesday partially upheld an injunction that required it to restore grants awarded to the University of California that the Trump administration had terminated last year because it perceived they supported diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI.
The lawsuit is the latest legal action taken by the Trump administration to crackdown on what it has described as antisemitism at U.S. universities in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023, attacks on Israel.
The 2023 attack, which resulted in the deaths of more than 1,200 people, launched the Israel-Gaza war. Over 75,000 people have died in the war.
Hundreds of students across the U.S. and Europe held demonstrations in wake of the war, calling for a ceasefire to end the war. In some cases, students occupied campus buildings.
(Reporting by Daphne Psaledakis and Jasper Ward in Washington; Editing by Caitlin Webber)
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