WASHINGTON (Reuters) — President Donald Trump’s administration has sued the College of California system over alleged discrimination in opposition to Jewish and Israeli workers at UCLA involving what the Justice Department referred to as an antisemitic hostile work atmosphere.
Tuesday’s lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, marks the most recent occasion of the Trump administration appearing in opposition to a U.S. college and represents its newest dispute in Democratic-governed California.
Trump final 12 months tried to freeze a whole bunch of thousands and thousands of {dollars} in federal funds for UCLA over pro-Palestinian protests however a decide directed that these be restored.
The Republican president has tried to crack down on universities over pro-Palestinian protests in opposition to Israel’s assault on Gaza, transgender insurance policies, local weather applications and variety initiatives, resulting in considerations over tutorial freedom, free speech and due course of.
The lawsuit filed by the Justice Department seeks a court docket order requiring UCLA, a part of the College of California system, to research and handle antisemitism complaints and supply coaching on anti-discrimination insurance policies. It additionally seeks an unspecified quantity in financial damages to go to 2 UCLA professors who alleged being subjected to antisemitism.
The College of California, Los Angeles didn’t instantly reply to a request for remark.
The lawsuit alleged that “UCLA’s administration turned a blind eye to, and at occasions facilitated, grossly antisemitic acts and systematically ignored cries for assist” from its Jewish and Israeli workers after the October 2023 Hamas-led assault on Israel.
Juliana Yamada through Getty Photographs
Massive protests had been held on UCLA’s campus through the 2024 pro-Palestinian protest motion through which demonstrators demanded an finish to Israel’s battle in Gaza and U.S. assist for its ally, together with a divestment of funds by universities from firms supporting Israel.
Trump has solid pro-Palestinian protests as antisemitic. Protesters, together with some Jewish teams, have stated the U.S. authorities wrongly conflates their criticism of Israel’s assault on Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with assist for extremism.
The College of California system receives greater than $17 billion annually in federal assist.
The College of California, Berkeley, one other campus within the College of California system, stated in September it supplied data on 160 school members and college students to the Trump administration in a probe involving alleged antisemitism. Trump’s administration has reached offers to settle investigations involving Columbia and Brown College, with tutorial consultants elevating alarm over elements of these agreements. Trump has not initiated equal probes into allegations of Islamophobia and anti-Palestinian bias. A mob violently attacked pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA in 2024, resulting in adjustments in campus police management.
Reporting by Kanishka Singh, Andrew Goudsward, Costas Pitas and Ismail Shakil; Enhancing by Caitlin Webber and Will Dunham
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