While much of the focus of our recent legal coverage has necessarily involved the multitude of lawsuits brought against the Trump administration by various left-wing activist outfits in an effort to impede the administration's agenda, the Department of Justice (DOJ) isn't relegated to playing defense. The DOJ is also tasked with pursuing cases against individuals and entities that violate federal law, whether it be in the realm of fraud, environmental regulation, consumer protection, or civil rights enforcement.
It is in that latter context that the DOJ filed suit against the University of California on Tuesday, asserting that the institution violated Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by engaging in/fostering a hostile work environment against Jewish and Israeli faculty and staff at the UCLA campus in the wake of Hamas' October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
BREAKING: 'Total Anarchy' As Violence Erupts at UCLA's Pro-Hamas Encampment, Police AWOL
The U.S. Attorney's Office for the Central District of California issued a press release regarding the filing of the suit, which reads in part:
According to today’s complaint, after the Hamas-led massacre in Israel on October 7, 2023, antisemitic acts pervaded UCLA. The suit alleges the university engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination in violation of Title VII against Jewish and Israeli employees at UCLA by failing to prevent and correct discriminatory and harassing conduct. The lawsuit further alleges the university negligently permitted a hostile work environment against two charging parties and other aggrieved Jewish and Israeli employees.
In 2024, the university allowed antisemitic harassment to continue unabated for days in front of its iconic Royce Hall: among other acts, Jews were not permitted on portions of the main quad, Jewish professors were assaulted, and swastikas were graffitied on university buildings.
The university has ignored, and continues to ignore, gross and repeated violations of viewpoint-neutral time, place, and manner restrictions involving these and other actions directed against Jewish and Israeli employees. Jewish and Israeli faculty have been physically threatened, had their classrooms disrupted, and had their workplaces papered with disturbing images.
Jewish professors have been, and continue to be, subjected to ostracism and harassment by their colleagues and students, while their colleagues and supervisors not only have failed to report those acts as required but have even participated in them. Numerous Jewish and Israeli employees have been forced to take leave, work from home, and even leave their jobs to avoid the hostile work environment.
Regarding the suit, First Assistant United States Attorney Bill Essayli said, "UCLA failed to live up to its systemwide commitment to diversity and equal opportunity when it stood by as Jewish employees were subjected to harassment. The federal government has an obligation to step in and ensure a discrimination-free environment at our universities.”
Attorney General Pam Bondi emphasized, "Based on our investigation, UCLA administrators allegedly allowed virulent anti-Semitism to flourish on campus, harming students and staff alike. Today’s lawsuit underscores that this Department of Justice stands strong against hate and anti-Semitism in all its vile forms.”
And Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division added, "The litany of vile acts of antisemitism that allegedly took place, and continue to take place, at UCLA are, if found to be true, a mark of shame against the University of California. The Justice Department will ensure that UCLA maintains an environment for its employees free from antisemitic harassment.”
The complaint, filed in the United States District Court for the Central District of California, details numerous disturbing incidents involving antisemitic hostility, graffiti (including photographs of same), and failure on the part of the university to properly address the issue and follow its own guidelines. It alleges six separate counts setting forth violations of Title VII and asks the court for injunctive relief and damages awarded to the aggrieved faculty and staff members.
Editor's Note: With President Trump back in the White House, the state of our Union is strong once again.
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