DOJ Sues UC, Alleging 'Hostile Work Environment' for Jews

"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. 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."

"The DOJ already concluded, last July, that UCLA violated other laws—the 14th Amendment's equal protection clause and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964—in its response to alleged antisemitism at a spring 2024 pro-Palestinian protest encampment. Multiple federal agencies, including the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation, promptly began freezing funding; UC estimated it lost $584 million."

The Justice Department filed a lawsuit against the University of California system, specifically targeting UCLA for allegedly tolerating antisemitism that created a hostile work environment for Jewish and Israeli employees in violation of federal law. The lawsuit references incidents including swastikas, calls for extermination of Jews and Israel, antisemitic violence, and harassment of Jewish students, faculty, and staff. UCLA's own Task Force on Antisemitism concluded the university failed to protect Jewish staff and faculty. This action follows previous DOJ findings that UCLA violated the 14th Amendment and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act in responding to pro-Palestinian protests after October 7, 2023. Multiple federal agencies subsequently froze funding, resulting in an estimated $584 million loss for UC.

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