Jewish, Israeli Students File Lawsuit Against UC Davis Over Alleged Anti-Semitism

The group alleges a professor advocated for killing journalists who support Israel, and complains of anti-Semitic posters and flyers, and anti-Semitic graffiti.

In a file photo, a participant holds a placard as students gather during a "Walkout to fight Genocide and Free Palestine" at the University of California in Los Angeles on Oct. 25, 2023. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

A nonprofit has filed a federal civil rights complaint against the University of California–Davis, alleging the university ignored several instances of anti-Semitism toward its Jewish and Israeli students.

StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice—the legal arm of nonprofit StandWithUs, a pro-Israel education and advocacy organization based in Los Angeles—filed the complaint with the U.S. Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights April 1, according to a statement from the group.

The complaint outlines several instances of alleged anti-Semitic conduct by employees and students at UC Davis—including a professor who allegedly advocated for killing journalists who support Israel, the spreading of anti-Semitic posters and flyers on campus, and anti-Semitic graffiti on campus.

The complaint claims that UC Davis officials have done nothing to discipline the professor for such comments, nor to investigate the anti-Semitic graffiti, and that the university’s inaction has tacitly endorsed anti-Semitic speech by employees that allegedly violates Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.

It also said that the university’s inaction has led to a “toxic climate” in which Jewish and Israeli students feel they must hide their identities.

“Jewish and Israeli students report taking Israel pins off their backpacks, skipping class, and missing sleep for fear that the atmosphere of hostility and selective impunity at UC Davis will lead to physical harm to their persons,” the complaint stated.

Yael Lerman, StandWithUs Center for Legal Justice director, said in an April 1 statement that the complaint calls for the university to discipline the “perpetrators of antisemitic conduct.”

“UC Davis has neglected and ignored its Jewish and Israeli students’ complaints of rising campus antisemitism. In doing so, the school has allowed UC Davis to become a hotbed for anti-Jewish bigotry, failing their obligation under Title VI,” she said. “UC Davis must be held accountable and Jewish, Israeli and Zionist students must be protected.”

The U.S. Department of Education has also launched an investigation in December—into the school and nearly 90 other campuses across the country after an uptick in reports of anti-Semitism and anti-Arab discrimination at schools after the Israel-Hamas war began in October.

It’s unclear what incident prompted the probe into UC Davis.

A spokesperson for UC Davis was not immediately available for comment.