The University of California-Los Angeles has come under fire following the published findings of a study in response to anti-Israel protests, tent encampments and violence that roiled the campus this spring.
The Wall Street Journal reported on Oct. 22 the results of a survey, undertaken by the antisemitism task force at UCLA, which found that of 428 students, a whopping 75% thought school administrators treated antisemitism as less serious than other forms of bigotry on campus.
Lisa Katz, government affairs officer of the Combat Antisemitism Movement, said the university’s choice “to prioritize free speech protections over addressing antisemitism on campus is utterly unacceptable. UCLA’s classification of the pro-Hamas encampment on campus as protected speech highlights the lack of clear guidelines distinguishing free speech from hate speech.”
Katz pointed out that “criminal assaults, vandalism, incitement to violence and other criminal behaviors are not protected speech and cannot hide behind First Amendment protections.”
She advocated for the school to adopt the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance’s (IHRA) working definition of antisemitism, in addition to doing more “to ensure that Jewish students are safe and protected on campus.”
