(The Center Square) – UCLA is doubling down on its efforts to combat antisemitism after millions of dollars in federal funds were revoked from Columbia University due to antisemitism.
UCLA’s vice chancellor for strategic communications Mary Osako told The Center Square that “hatred has no place at UCLA, and we remain committed to extinguishing it in its entirety.”
“Since joining UCLA in January, Chancellor [Julio] Frenk has been clear: We must persevere in our fight to end hate, however it manifests itself,” Osako said.
“We’re proud to advance our Initiative to Combat Antisemitism, which will ensure UCLA remains a safe and inclusive environment for all,” Osako said.
Frenk last month announced the launching of the school’s Initiative to Combat Antisemitism, stating that “antisemitism has no place in our society.”
“With honest reflection, it is clear that while we have made progress in addressing antisemitism, we have more to do in our shared goal of eradicating it in its entirety,” Frenk wrote in a message to the University of California, Los Angeles–or, Bruin–community.
“To this end, I am announcing an Initiative to Combat Antisemitism that will mobilize our broad community and propel our efforts in this area,” Frenk wrote.
Frenk’s announcement of the Initiative to Combat Antisemitism came just days after the Trump administration announced that “$400 million in federal funding to Columbia University would be revoked because of the university’[s] alleged ongoing tolerance of anti-semitic protests on campus,” as The Center Square previously reported.
Frenk explained in his message to the school that “Distinguished Professor Stuart Gabriel of the UCLA Anderson School of Management will lead an action group that will bring together members of our Bruin community and civic leaders from diverse backgrounds, faiths and perspectives.”
“This will be a standing initiative – reporting directly to me – and will have the support it requires to achieve our goals,” Frenk wrote.
Through the initiative, UCLA “will implement recommendations of the Task Force to Combat Antisemitism and Anti-Israeli Bias, which was chaired by Professor Gabriel,” Frenk wrote.
“These recommendations include: enhancing relevant training and education, improving the complaint system, assuring enforcement of current and new laws and policies, and cooperating with stakeholders,” Frenk wrote.
Gabriel has served in his position at UCLA since 2007, according to a Gabriel’s curriculum vitae. Some of his research interests include Urban and Regional Economics, Household Mobility and Economic Development, and Climate Change and Household Finance.
When emailed twice for comment, Gabriel did not respond.
Frenk wrote that the idea for the Initiative to Combat Antisemitism was conceived after many conversations with the UCLA community.
“Throughout these conversations, I heard one point time and time again: We must double down on the efforts to combat antisemitism in our Bruin community,” Frenk wrote.
Frenk also wrote that combatting antisemitism will help UCLA “make progress toward [its] broader commitment to combat hatred and injustice in all its manifestations.”
“Antisemitism has no place in our society – and no place at UCLA,” Frenk wrote.
In February, Frenk issued an interim suspension of UCLA’s Students for Justice in Palestine group and Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine group – both anti-Israel student organizations – after an alleged antisemitic “act of violence,” according to a message to the school.
A spokesman for UCLA also told The Center Square that the Initiative to Combat Antisemitism “builds on reforms to combat antisemitism and enhance campus safety instituted prior to the start of the academic year.”
The reforms include the Four-Point Plan for a Safer, Stronger UCLA and the revised Time, Place and Manner policies for public expression activities on the UCLA campus.
