Trump order targets pro-Palestinians to combat antisemitism
US President Donald Trump has signed an executive order aimed at combating antisemitism, particularly on college campuses.
The order directs federal agencies to take action against antisemitic discrimination, vandalism, and violence, calling it an “unprecedented wave” of harassment.
unbranded – Newsworthy
The Department of Justice opened a civil rights investigation Wednesday into the University of California system over allegations of an antisemitic work environment on its campuses.
Officials will examine whether “a pattern or practice of discrimination” against Jewish professors and staff existed on the University of California’s 10 campuses last year as student protests erupted over the Israel-Hamas War.
The investigation marks the latest effort from President Donald Trump’s administration and other conservative leaders to look into how universities responded to some student protests targeting U.S. support for Israel. It follows the administration’s Monday announcement that it will review Columbia University’s federal contracts over similar allegations of antisemitism.
“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,” Attorney General Pam Bondi said in a statement about the investigation Wednesday.
University of California spokesperson Stett Holbrook told Reuters the school was notified about the investigation and was “unwavering in its commitment to combating antisemitism and protecting everyone’s civil rights.”
Demonstrations exploded on college campuses across America, including on multiple University of California locations, last spring as students pointed to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The protests called for a ceasefire in the war and urged their schools to stop investing in Israeli firms involved with the war.
The investigation, under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, will focus on how the protests affected the working environment for campus staff and whether any employment discrimination occurred, Leo Terrel, senior counsel to the assistant attorney general for civil rights and a member of the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism, said in a statement.
“The impact upon UC’s students has been the subject of considerable media attention and multiple federal investigations. But these campuses are also workplaces, and the Jewish faculty and staff employed there deserve a working environment free of antisemitic hostility and hate,” he said.
Contributing: Fernando Cervantes Jr., USA TODAY