UC Jewish community paints disparate pictures of campus antisemitism

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Jewish faculty, students and others are calling on UC leaders to improve how they handle complaints of antisemitism — saying university response has been inadequate — but their viewpoints paint widely differing pictures of the campus climate for Jews.One letter originated from a national group that works to combat antisemitism at colleges and cited its own research to conclude that Jewish UC students have faced “unprecedented harassment, intimidation, and exclusion” since the Oct.7, 2023, Hamas attack on Israel and Israel’s ensuing war in Gaza spurred widespread anti-Israel campus protests.

Separately on Monday, at least 117 Jewish UCLA faculty members released a letter saying they are “absolutely united in our vehement opposition” to a recent Trump administration lawsuit accusing the university of allowing pervasive antisemitism on campus and called on the government to drop the litigation.The faculty members expressed fear that the Trump administration wants UC to “falsely” take on antisemitism by imposing “more draconian limits on academic freedom and free speech, to the detriment of all of us, including Jewish faculty and staff.”Both letters were released after a major Jewish civil rights group said last week that the environment at several UC campuses has improved for the Jewish community since the fall of 2023.

California UC President James B.Milliken defended the university’s decision to not sue the Trump administration over funding cuts and said it was the university’s responsibility to engage.Rankings from the Anti-Defamation League’s Campus Antisemitism Report gave UCLA and UC Santa Cruz a “B,” up from a “D” last year.

UC Berkeley also received a “B,” up from a “C.” The rankings measure campus policies, the extent of Jewish campus organizations and programming as well as anti-Jewish conduct and climate at schools.The range ...