US Justice Department opens University of California antisemitism probe

By Brad Brooks and Kanishka Singh

(Reuters) - The U.S. Justice Department has opened a civilian rights probe into the University of California strategy to find if it allowed a hostile situation toward Jews connected immoderate of its 10 campuses during protests past year.

The section said connected Wednesday it would analyse whether a "pattern of discrimination" against Jewish Americans existed during the pro-Palestinian protests.

The determination is the latest by President Donald Trump's medication to probe universities wherever protests took place.

"This Department of Justice volition ever support Jewish Americans, support civilian rights, and leverage our resources to eradicate organization Antisemitism successful our nation's universities," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi successful a statement.

University of California spokesperson Stett Holbrook said the schoolhouse was notified astir the probe and was "unwavering successful its committedness to combating antisemitism and protecting everyone's civilian rights."

Protests took spot past twelvemonth astatine galore universities wherever demonstrators demanded an extremity to U.S. enactment for Israel owed to the humanitarian situation successful the Gaza Strip.

Israel launched a warfare determination aft the October 2023 Hamas onslaught connected Israel, during which militants killed astir 1,200 radical and seized astir 250 hostages, according to Israel. Palestinian officials accidental Israel's violative successful Gaza has killed much than 48,000 people, destroying overmuch of the enclave.

The Justice Department did not specify the UC campuses being investigated. The main pro-Palestinian protests took spot astatine UC sites successful Los Angeles and Berkeley.

There were allegations and incidents of antisemitism, Islamophobia and anti-Arab bias. In 1 of the astir convulsive incidents, a mob attacked pro-Palestinian protesters astatine UCLA.

In precocious December, UC settled national civilian rights complaints of antisemitism and Islamophobia with the Education Department nether erstwhile President Joe Biden.

Trump has signed an enforcement bid to combat antisemitism and pledged to deport non-citizen assemblage students and others who took portion successful pro-Palestinian protests portion informing U.S. citizens of imaginable arrests and expulsions.

His medication has frankincense acold not commented connected whether it is taking equivalent steps to combat Islamophobia.

(Reporting by Brad Brooks successful Colorado; Additional reporting by Kanishka Singh successful Washington; Editing by Frank McGurty and Cynthia Osterman)