Workers clear debris from a pro-Palestine encampment after hundreds of law enforcement officers clad in riot gear breached and dismantled the camp at UCLA in Los Angeles on Thursday, May 2, 2024. File Photo by Jim Ruymen/UPI | License Photo
The Justice Department has said that the University of California, Los Angeles, failed to protect Jewish students amid pro-Palestine protests that erupted on university campuses during the spring and summer of last year.
UCLA is one of dozens American universities under investigation for constitutional and civil rights violations in connection to the protests demanding the school divest from Israel over its war in Gaza.
The Trump administration has launched the investigations as it has been cracking down on institutions of higher learning, in particular so-called elite schools, on slew of allegations, from not protecting Jewish students to illegally enforcing diversity, equity and inclusion policies.
The Justice Department announced the findings of its investigation in a letter to the school on Tuesday, saying UCLA violated the Equal Protection Clause of the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act by “acting with deliberate indifference in creating a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students.”
The investigation was launched in early May, focusing on a pro-Palestine encampment formed by protesters in April of 2024 on the UCLA campus.
The Justice Department said that UCLA failed to properly stop the “unlawful and periodically violent” encampment. It also said that during the short-lived encampment, at least 11 complaints were filed alleging demonstrators were discriminating against Jewish or Israeli students.
Complaints included preventing the students from accessing parts of the campus. While stating that UCLA did not ignore the complaints, the federal prosecutors said that it “took no meaningful action to eliminate the hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students caused by the encampment until it was disbanded.”
The encampment was erected on April 25 and was disbanded on May 2.
The Justice Department said it is seeking to enter into a voluntary resolution agreement with the university to ensure that the “hostile environment is eliminated.”
“Our investigation into the University of California system has found concerning evidence of systemic anti-Semitism at UCLA that demands severe accountability from the institution,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement.
“This disgusting breach of civil rights against students will not stand: DOJ will force UCLA to pay a heavy price for putting Jewish Americans at risk and continue our ongoing investigations into other campuses in the UC system.”
The announcement from the Justice Department came on the same day UCLA said it reached a multimillion-dollar settlement that includes paying $6.13 million to three Jewish students and a professor who accused the school of violating their civil rights by permitting the pro-Palestine protest.
“We are pleased with the terms of today’s settlement,” all parties in the lawsuit said in a statement provided by UCLA.
