The US Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the University of California, Los Angeles on May 26, 2026, accusing the university of tolerating a hostile educational environment for Jewish and Israeli students in violation of Title VI civil rights protections [1, 2, 3]. The lawsuit alleges that anti-Israel demonstrators, including the group Students for Justice Palestine, erected an illegal encampment on campus beginning April 25, 2024. They barricaded buildings, blocked Jewish students' access using plywood, bicycle racks, and human chains, and engaged in physical assaults [2, 3].
According to the complaint, Jewish and Israeli students were beaten with sticks, pepper sprayed, slapped, kicked, and one student was knocked unconscious and hospitalized for an open head wound [2, 3]. The encampment remained until police cleared it after violent clashes on May 2, 2024 [3].
The DOJ alleges UCLA exhibited "deliberate indifference" by ignoring over 100 complaints of antisemitic harassment and failing to take serious action until May 2025 [1, 2, 3]. The suit states that "UCLA was deliberately indifferent to the suffering of its Jewish and Israeli students and declined to take meaningful action to protect them" [3]. The lawsuit includes a striking assertion that "the occupiers largely succeeded in their goal of making the heart of campus Judenrein — or at least free of Jews who did not share their desire to annihilate Israel" [3].
Bill Essayli, first assistant US attorney for the Central District of California, said, "Universities have an obligation to maintain safe and inclusive campuses for all students. Universities that violate our nation’s civil rights laws by repeatedly failing to shield Jewish students from anti-semitism will be held accountable." [1]
The suit warns that UCLA’s violation of Title VI could jeopardize its federal funding and require restitution [1, 3]. It is part of a broader crackdown by the Trump administration targeting antisemitism on US university campuses after Hamas’ attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023 [1, 3].
On April 25, 2024, the anti-Israel encampment was erected, barricading campus buildings and attacking Jewish students. Police cleared the site on May 2, 2024, following violent clashes with protesters [2, 3]. The DOJ lawsuit was filed over two years later on May 26, 2026 [1].
