XPost: alt.discrimination, law.court.federal, ucb.politics.progressive
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The Department of Justice has opened a civil rights investigation into
the sprawling University of California system over concerns about
antisemitism, The Free Press has learned.

In a letter sent Monday evening to the UC system and seen by The Free
Press, the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division informed UC president Michael
Drake of its investigation.

“Our investigation is based on information suggesting that since at
least October 7, 2023, the University of California may be engaged in
certain employment practices that discriminate against employees who are
or are perceived to be Jewish or Israeli,” wrote DOJ officials Mac
Warner and Michael E. Gates in the letter. “Accordingly, the Assistant Attorney General for the Civil Rights Division has authorized a full investigation to determine whether the University of California is
engaged in a pattern or practice of discrimination as set forth above.”

“We were recently notified of the Department of Justice’s decision to initiate a civil rights investigation in the University of California system,” a spokesperson for the UC system told The Free Press. “We want
to be clear: the University of California is unwavering in its
commitment to combating antisemitism and protecting everyone’s civil
rights. We continue to take specific steps to foster an environment free
of harassment and discrimination for everyone in the university community.”

The investigation comes on the heels of the DOJ forming a task force in February made up of representatives from the Departments of Education
and Health and Human Services to combat antisemitism. That follows the executive order President Donald Trump signed in his first days in
office allocating federal resources to address “the explosion of antisemitism” on college campuses. The order, moreover, directed the DOJ
to take immediate action to “quell pro-Hamas vandalism and intimidation,
and investigate and punish anti-Jewish racism in leftist, anti-American colleges and universities.”

The antisemitism task force is being led by Leo Terrell, a civil rights attorney and recent Fox News contributor. It is under the auspices of
the DOJ’s Civil Rights Division, an office that Trump tapped attorney
Harmeet Dhillon, who has not yet been confirmed by the Senate, to lead.

This UC investigation comes less than 48 hours after the Trump
administration announced a review of federal funding to Columbia
University, which had been a hotbed for anti-Israel activism since
October 7, 2023, and where dozens of students were arrested last spring
for participating in encampments and taking over a campus building. As
The Free Press reported yesterday, Trump’s antisemitism task force is
looking into more than $5 billion in federal grant commitments to
Columbia as part of the review—led by the Department of Health and Human Services, the Department of Education, and the General Services
Administration.

The investigation follows a “Dear Colleague” letter sent by the
Department of Education’s Acting Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights
two weeks ago which warned universities that the department “will no
longer tolerate the overt and covert racial discrimination that has
become widespread in this Nation’s educational institutions.” The letter states the department will “vigorously enforce the law on equal terms”
to any K-12 or higher education institution which receives federal funding.

https://www.thefp.com/p/exclusive-doj-opens-antisemitism

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