Press Releases

WASHINGTON – Today, Education and the Workforce Committee Chairwoman Virginia Foxx (R-NC) sent a letter to University of California system President Michael Drake, University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) Chancellor Gene Block, and University of California Board of Regents Chair Richard Leib requesting documents and information regarding UCLA’s response to the unlawful antisemitic encampment; numerous incidents of antisemitic violence, harassment, and exclusion on its campus; and the UCLA administration’s failure to maintain a safe learning environment for UCLA students, faculty, and staff. The deadline for UCLA to produce documents is May 21, 2024.
 
In the letter, Foxx writes: “For days, the unlawful encampment’s checkpoints illegally denied students access to campus buildings. Jewish students were attacked, harassed, and intimidated for walking on their own campus, and all UCLA students were denied a safe and uninterrupted learning environment.” 
 
The letter continues: “The illegal, antisemitic encampment at UCLA is only the most recent display of a pervasive environment of antisemitism that has long been an issue at UCLA. Following a 2015 study, with similar results in 2018, a third of all Jewish students at UCLA reported being blamed for the actions of the Israeli government because of their Jewish identity either ‘frequently’ or ‘occasionally.’ A third of the study’s respondents at UCLA also reported a ‘hostile environment towards Jews.’ The report notes that ‘the highest levels of perceived hostility toward Jews were at UCLA.’” 
 
Foxx also writes: “Even the undergraduate student government (USAC), intended to serve as a voice for all UCLA students, has a deeply concerning history of retribution against students who speak against anti-Jewish bigotry on campus. … A Jewish student said that USAC leadership has ‘purposefully used their position and power to make us Jewish students feel unsafe.’”
 
To read the full letter, click here.
 
Background
On Thursday, May 23, at 10:15 a.m., the Committee on Education and the Workforce, chaired by Virginia Foxx, will hold a full Committee hearing with the presidents of Northwestern, UCLA, and Rutgers titled “Calling for Accountability: Stopping Antisemitic College Chaos.”

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