DOJ Sues UCLA Under Title VI for Discrimination Against Jewish and Israeli Students

Yesterday the Justice Department announced that it has filed suit against the University of California, Los Angeles, alleging that UCLA violated Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by ignoring harassment and discrimination against Jewish and Israeli students. The complaint (full text) in United States v. Regents of the University of California, (CD CA, filed 5/26/2026), alleges in part:

On April 25, 2024, following months of antisemitic and anti-Israeli demonstrations, masked and armed agitators, many of whom were openly hostile to Jews and Israelis, occupied the heart of the University of California, Los Angeles (“UCLA”) campus.  They built an illegal encampment, surrounded it with barriers, and formed “human phalanxes” to block Jews and Israelis from entering academic buildings They kicked and slapped Jews, beat Jews with sticks, and assaulted Jews with pepper spray. One Jewish student was knocked unconscious and was taken to the hospital with an open head wound. 

Although UCLA knew that its Jewish and Israeli students risked physical assault when attempting to go to class or the library, UCLA inexplicably took no serious action whatsoever until May 2, 2024, when it finally allowed police to clear the encampment. Chaos ensued. Law-enforcement officers “were met with bursts of pepper spray, protesters wielding fire extinguishers against them, bright strobe lights, and protesters wearing helmets and goggles.”...

The suit asks the court to order UCLA to take various affirmative steps to ensure full and equal access to UCLA’s educational opportunities for Jewish and Israeli students and asks the court to appoint a monitor to oversee UCLA's compliance. The complaint also alleges the UCLA is in breach of provisions in its grant contracts with the federal government that require it to comply with Title VI. It asks the court to declare that because of this breach, the federal government need not make any additional payments to UCLA under its grant contracts, and to order UCLA to repay amounts already received under grant contracts while UCLA was in violation of Title VI.

DOJ Sues UCLA Under Title VII Alleging Antisemitism and Anti-Israel Bias

The Justice Department Civil Rights Division this week filed suit against the University of California alleging that UCLA violated Title VII of the 1964 Civil Rights Act by failing to protect Jewish and Israeli employees from antisemitic and anti-Israel harassment and violence. The 81-page complaint (full text) in United States v. Regents of the University of California, (CD CA, filed 2/24/2026), alleges in part:

Swastikas, calls for the extermination of Jews and the Jewish state of Israel, antisemitic violence, and open harassment of Jewish students, faculty, and staff: this was the grim scene at the University of California Los Angeles ... beginning in the 2023 to 2024 academic year. Following the October 7, 2023 ... massacre in Israel, UCLA’s administration turned a blind eye to—and at times facilitated—grossly antisemitic acts and systematically ignored cries for help from its own terrified Jewish and Israeli employees. Activists at the now infamous encampment at Royce Hall physically excluded Jewish students, faculty, and staff from portions of campus.... UCLA is currently under a permanent injunction banning it and its officers from allowing further exclusions of Jews or religious supporters of Israel from campus or activities. That prior action generally sought to protect the Jewish students at UCLA. But the harm to Jewish and Israeli employees at UCLA goes much deeper. The general atmosphere of antisemitism was, and remains, so severe and pervasive that UCLA’s own official Task Force on Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias concluded that the University’s failures to protect Jewish staff and faculty constituted a hostile work environment in violation of Title VII.... This suit seeks to right these wrongs.

Until the United States Department of Justice issued its notice of investigation letter to UCLA in March 2025, not a single one of the dozens of civil rights complaints filed by Jewish and Israeli employees since October 7 was properly investigated. UCLA’s Office of Equity, Diversity, & Inclusion (EDI Office) ... routinely ignored complaints of antisemitism. And UCLA continues to mishandle them....

Moreover, UCLA’s flawed Anti-Discrimination Policy was poorly designed and maintained, making it difficult for victims to report hostile work environment claims. UCLA faculty, staff, and administrators were untrained on the University policy and routinely failed to report antisemitism. The most sophisticated faculty and staff, including members of UCLA leadership, were puzzled by the confusing and ineffective complaint procedures, leaving Jewish and Israeli employees with nowhere to turn. They got UCLA’s message that filing an antisemitism complaint was futile....

The Justice Department issued a press release announcing the filing of the lawsuit.