Justice Department Files Statement of Interest Supporting Equal Access to Educational Opportunities and Facilities for Jewish UCLA Students

The Federal Task Force to Combat Antisemitism announced that the Justice Department filed a statement of interest in the Central District of California to advance the appropriate interpretation of federal laws that prohibit colleges and universities from discriminating against students because of their religion or national origin. The statement of interest is part of the Task Force’s nationwide effort to combat antisemitism in all of its forms.

According to the allegations in Frankel et al. v. Regents of the University of California et al., in the spring of 2024 administrators of the University of California system allowed members of a protest encampment to physically prevent University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) students and faculty from accessing portions of the UCLA campus if they were wearing articles reflective of their Jewish faith or if they refused to denounce Israel.

The plaintiffs are Jewish students and a Jewish professor at UCLA who allege that the university knowingly acted in concert with or allowed members of the protest encampment to prevent them from accessing a central campus space and adjacent classrooms and library on the basis of their Jewish faith or national origin in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 (Title VI), the Fourteenth Amendment’s Equal Protection Clause, and California state law. The United States’ statement of interest addresses the sufficiency of plaintiffs’ claims that defendant administrators violated Title VI and the Equal Protection Clause.

The Justice Department recently announced the formation of a multi-agency task force coordinated by the Civil Rights Division to combat antisemitism, which is visiting 10 university campuses that have experienced antisemitic events. The Department also recently announced its investigation into the University of California to assess whether the university system engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination based on race, religion and national origin against its professors, staff and other employees by allowing an antisemitic hostile work environment to exist on its campuses, including UCLA. The Task Force also recently announced that the Department, together with other federal agencies, would cancel $400 million in federal contracts and grants to Columbia University due to the school’s inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.

“The President, Attorney General Pam Bondi, and the Task Force know that every student must be free to attend school without being discriminated against on the basis of their race, religion or national origin,” said Leading Task Force member and Senior Counsel to the Assistant Attorney General for Civil Rights Leo Terrell. “The Department of Justice is working to combat antisemitism using all of the tools at our disposal.”

“Discrimination of any kind will not be tolerated in our community,” said Acting U.S. Attorney Joseph McNally for the Central District of California. “Our office will enforce anti-discrimination laws to address the issue of antisemitism affecting our residents.”

To learn more about the Civil Rights Division visit www.justice.gov/crt, and to report possible violations of federal civil rights laws go to www.civilrights.justice.gov or call toll-free at 800-253-3931.