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The Justice Department announced Friday that the federal government’s “Task Force to Fight Anti-Semitism” would visit 10 U.S. university campuses as part of an investigation into allegations of anti-Semitism cases, including three California agencies that were roared by Palestinian protests last spring.
The department said the task force, which is considering “allegations that the school may have failed to protect Jewish students and faculty from illegal discrimination,” will go to UCLA, USC and UC Berkeley.
They did not specify when the visit will take place or any claims for the case to be investigated by the task force. All campuses are part of the Ministry of Education’s civil rights anti-Semitism complaints or are subject to many internal reports of anti-Semitism, as Hamas’ attacks on Israel increased following the Israeli war on October 7, 2023.
In a statement, Leo Terrill, a senior adviser to the Civil Rights Attorney General and a member of the task force, said the group’s “duty is to bring full power to the federal government to withstand efforts to eradicate anti-Semitism, particularly in schools.” These visits are just one of the many steps this administration is taking to realize its commitment. ”
“The president, Attorney General Pamela Bondi and the entire administration are committed to ensuring that no one should feel safe on campus because of their religion,” said Terrell, a civil rights lawyer who practices law in Los Angeles.
The announcement said the task force will meet with university leadership, affected students and staff, local law enforcement agencies and community members to “consider whether the relief measures are justified.”
The Justice Department did not respond to requests for details regarding campus visits and anti-Semitism allegations.
Representatives from UCLA and USC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
A UC Berkeley spokesman said in a statement that he would “respond to complaints and complaints not through media, but through processes prescribed by the DOJ.” We are confident that we are now implementing the right process to address anti-Semitism cases. ”
Other campus task force members are Columbia, George Washington University, Harvard University, Johns Hopkins, New York University, University of Minnesota, and Northwest. Like California universities, there is an all-Jewish population, experienced campus conflicts, and the movement of Palestinian campus has grown, so there are allegations of anti-Semitism cases.
Although there have also been accusations of anti-Muslim, anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian bias on each campus since 2023, it is unclear whether there is a federal task force on the issue and similar campus visits related to such complaints have not been announced.
On February 3, the Justice Department announced the “multi-agency task force to combat anti-Semitism” as “first priority.” At the time, the department said it was launching an investigation into anti-Semitism allegations at Berkeley, California, Columbia, University of Minnesota, Northwestern University and Portland State University. Most of the department’s civil rights investigations stem from complaints, but these were carried out by the department in their own right.
The February 3 message said the task force would include representatives from other agencies that develop by the U.S. Department of Education, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, and other agencies. The members’ names were not announced.
The division has established a task force in response to President Trump’s January 29 executive order on the fight against anti-Semitism. The order also called on the federal government to “monitor and report on activities by alien students and staff” who could potentially qualify for visa revocation.
It cited federal law prohibiting non-citizens from being in the United States if they support terrorism. The order did not explicitly identify pro-Palestinian protesters with supporters of Hamas, which the US designates as a terrorist organization.
However, a fact sheet on the executive order on the White House website citing Trump revealed the president’s intention to “send Hamas sympathizers and cancel student visas.”
Trump and administration officials have broadly described pro-Palestinian protesters as anti-Semitic and “Hamas sympathizers.” Similar accusations are also made by prominent Jewish organizations, including the Prevention League.
The pro-Palestinian protests and actions at UCLA last year were one of the largest protests and actions in the United States at UCLA, and internal and external reviews erred to the leaders that they were unable to quickly coordinate their responses with the Los Angeles police and other law enforcement agencies when vigilantes attacked the Pro-Palestine camp on May 30th and May 1st.
Reports of anti-Semitism cases also rose, including those cited in a federal lawsuit by Jewish students last spring, accusing UCLA of blocking access to certain campus aisles.
Dozens of arrests were also made during the spring during the pro-Palestinian protests at USC. Additionally, the university faced criticism after pulling the opening speaker slot for pro-Palestinian Muslim defense attorneys. The university later cancelled the entire campus launch altogether.
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