The US Justice Department has opened a civil rights investigation into the University of California system to determine if it allowed a hostile environment toward Jews on any of its 10 campuses during protests last year.
The department said on Wednesday it would examine whether a "pattern of discrimination" against Jewish Americans existed during the pro-Palestinian protests. The move is the latest by President Donald Trump's administration to probe universities where protests took place.
"This Department of Justice will always defend Jewish Americans, protect civil rights, and leverage our resources to eradicate institutional Antisemitism in our nation's universities," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a statement. University of California spokesperson Stett Holbrook said the school was notified about the investigation and was "unwavering in its commitment to combating antisemitism and protecting everyone's civil rights."
The Justice Department did not specify the UC campuses being investigated. The main pro-Palestinian protests took place at UC sites in Los Angeles and Berkeley. There were allegations and incidents of antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias. In one of the most violent incidents, a mob attacked pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA. In late December, UC settled federal civil rights complaints of antisemitism and Islamophobia with the Education Department under former President Joe Biden.