The University of California, Los Angeles’s Initiative to Combat Antisemitism called on the public university system to consider adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s working definition of antisemitism to help guide efforts to combat Jew-hatred on its campuses, according to a report released on Thursday.
The roadmap, issued by the initiative’s action group, detailed steps UCLA has taken to implement recommendations from its Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias and outlined additional policy proposals. It focused on three areas: expanding training and education, reforming discrimination-reporting systems and strengthening enforcement of laws and university policies.
As part of its enforcement recommendations, the report urged the UC system to consider the IHRA definition “in support of educational initiatives to combat antisemitism, complaint resolution, rules enforcement and future policy formation.” It notes that other major institutions, including Harvard University and Columbia University, already use the definition.
The report also recommended that the university system ensure that campuses and faculty comply with state law and university policies that bar the use of university resources for political advocacy campaigns, including anti-Israel boycotts.
According to the report, UCLA has already revised its “Time, Place and Manner” guidelines governing “public expression activities” to clarify protest rules and spell out consequences for violations. Additional recommendations included creating a public dashboard to track nonacademic disciplinary cases, setting a 90- to 120-day deadline for resolving such cases and issuing monthly summaries explaining how complaints were resolved.
On education initiatives, the report said UCLA has worked with campus offices to expand programming on Jew-hatred and is developing an antisemitism training video. It also recommended creating a broader, university-wide training framework with defined learning objectives.
Regarding discrimination complaints, the report states that the task force found that students and faculty encountered an “unresponsive” bureaucracy when reporting antisemitism or anti-Israel bias. In response, UCLA’s Office of Civil Rights hired a dedicated Title VI officer, redesigned its complaint website to streamline reporting information and updated its case management system to improve efficiency, according to the report.
The report further recommended additional training for university personnel who serve as initial points of contact for discrimination complaints, along with “clear-cut consequences for civil rights violations.”
‘Transforming campus culture’
Dan Gold, executive director of the UCLA Hillel, told JNS that “addressing antisemitism at UCLA requires sustained institutional commitment—through policy, education, accountability and engagement with the communities most affected.”
He also commended Julio Frenk, chancellor of UCLA, “who has demonstrated how principled leadership can begin transforming campus culture.”
“The initiative to combat antisemitism reflects a clear recognition that the challenges facing Jewish students and faculty must be addressed directly and seriously,” Gold told JNS.
The report comes as UCLA faces ongoing scrutiny over its handling of antisemitism complaints tied to anti-Israel campus protests. In February, the U.S. Department of Justice filed a lawsuit against the university, stating that it “turned a blind eye to, and at times facilitated, grossly antisemitic acts and systematically ignored cries for help from its own terrified Jewish and Israeli employees.”
Frenk stated that the report “reflects months of engagement and implementation and provides a clear path forward to continue this important work.”
“We recognize that this work is ongoing,” he said. “There is much more to be done, and we remain committed to advancing these efforts with care, accountability and resolve.”
“By continuing this work together, we will strengthen UCLA and uphold the values that define our community,” he added.
Tammi Rossman-Benjamin, co-founder and director of the AMCHA Initiative, stated that the report recognizes “what we’ve documented for years: that faculty misuse of university authority is itself a driver of campus antisemitism and is a central issue that must be dealt with.”
She welcomed the report’s recommendation that faculty comply with federal and state laws and UC policies, adding that faculty advocacy groups should be treated as private organizations rather than representatives of the university.
“Ultimately, restoring trust in our academic institutions will require action and enforcement—and this is a positive step in the right direction,” Rossman-Benjamin said.
