UCLA settles antisemitism lawsuit and faces fresh litigation from feds over antisemitism

On the same day UCLA settled a $6.45 million antisemitism lawsuit, the U.S. Department of Justice announced litigation against UCLA over antisemitism.

In spring 2024, UCLA students formed an encampment on campus to protest Israel’s war effort in Gaza. Three Jewish students filed suit against the university last June (and were later joined by a professor), alleging the university violated their civil rights by allowing the encampment to block access to spaces necessary for their education, and that UCLA otherwise enabled antisemitic actions.

On Tuesday, UCLA said it agreed to pay $6.45 million to settle a lawsuit over treatment of Jewish students and a professor during last year's campus protests.

“It is sad that my own school defended those actions for more than a year,” said Yitzchok Frankel, now a recent UCLA Law graduate. “But today’s court judgment brings justice back to our campus and ensures Jews will be safe and be treated equally once again.”

“We are pleased with the terms of today’s settlement. The injunction and other terms UCLA has agreed to demonstrate real progress in the fight against antisemitism,” the parties said in a joint statement.

Terms of the settlement

The settlement includes payouts and other conditions.

Each of the four plaintiffs will receive $50,000. Another $2.33 million will go to eight organizations that combat antisemitism and support the UCLA Jewish community, such as Hillel at UCLA and the Anti-Defamation League.

Another $320,000 will go toward UCLA’s Initiative to Combat Antisemitism.

The remaining $3.6 million will go toward fees and legal costs.

The settlement also prohibits UCLA from allowing the exclusion of Jewish students from “programs, activities, and/or campus areas,” including exclusion “based on religious beliefs concerning the Jewish state of Israel.”

A new suit from the Trump administration

An internal audit released in November 2024 found university leadership lacking, writing that a chaotic process meant UCLA didn't "have any plans for how to respond to campus disruptions and how decisions about University responses would be made."

The fallout from those decisions continues.

UCLA faces another student lawsuit — from protestors involved in last year's encampment, who say the university violated their civil rights after calling upon law enforcement to clear their encampment.

And on Tuesday, the U.S. Department of Justice released the results of its own investigation into antisemitism at the university, promising financial consequences.

“UCLA failed to take timely and appropriate action in response to credible claims of harm and hostility on its campus,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet Dhillon of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Its inaction constitutes a clear violation of our federal civil rights laws, and the Justice Department will hold UCLA accountable to their legal obligations so that all students can have equal protection under the law.”

In March, UCLA committed to carrying out the recommendations of a previously established Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias. Those proposals include an increase in employee training and streamlining of the complaint process for antisemitic incidents.