Feb 24 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s administration said on Tuesday 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 U.S. university and represents its latest dispute with Democratic-governed California, the most populous U.S. 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 attack on Israel led by the Palestinian militant group Hamas on October 7, 2023.
UCLA did 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 said in a statement.
Anti-Israel protests occurred on numerous U.S. college campuses, including UCLA, against Israel’s military assault in Gaza that followed the Hamas attack.
Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the administration conflates their criticism of U.S. ally Israel’s incursion in Gaza with antisemitism and their support for Palestinian rights as sympathy for Hamas.
(Reporting by Costas Pitas and Ismail Shakil; Editing by Caitlin Webber and Will Dunham)
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