Trump administration sues University of California system over alleged antisemitism at UCLA

By Reuters 24 February 2026, 10:39 pm

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A couple of protesters sleep beneath a wall covered with placards near an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian students and activists on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) in Los Angeles, California, on May 1, 2024. (Etienne LAURENT / AFP)

US President Donald Trump’s administration says it has sued the University of California system over alleged unlawful discrimination against Jewish and Israeli employees at UCLA involving an “antisemitic hostile work environment.”

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, marks the latest instance of the administration taking legal action against a prominent US university and represents its latest dispute with Democratic-governed California, the most populous US state.

The Justice Department’s lawsuit alleges that UCLA violated federal civil rights law by “failing to prevent and correct discriminatory and harassing conduct” after the assault on Israel led by the Palestinian terror group Hamas on October 7, 2023.

UCLA does not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Numerous Jewish and Israeli employees have been forced to take leave, work from home and leave their jobs to avoid the hostile work environment, the department says in a statement.

Anti-Israel and pro-Palestinian protests occurred on numerous US college campuses, including UCLA, against Israel’s military assault in Gaza that followed the Hamas attack.

Protesters say the administration conflates their criticism of US ally Israel’s incursion in Gaza with antisemitism and their support for Palestinian rights as sympathy for Hamas.