UC Regents Hear Troubling UCLA Reports on Antisemitism and Debate Response

The University of California Board of Regents on the open‑session agenda reviewed two task‑force efforts at UCLA addressing antisemitism and anti‑Palestinian/anti‑Muslim and anti‑Arab racism stemming from events after Oct. 7, 2023, and discussed campus response and accountability.

Chair Riley opened the discussion by calling the reports "deeply concerning" and said the regents were committed to defending the rights, health and safety of students, faculty and staff. "There is no circumstance under which our students, faculty, and staff should suffer the effects of such toxic bias and discrimination," Riley said.

President Michael Drake told the board the administration condemns antisemitism, Islamophobia and all forms of bigotry. Drake described systemwide steps including issuing directives about expressive activities, creating a systemwide Office of Civil Rights to manage consistent implementation of anti‑discrimination policy, and designating $7,000,000 "to address antisemitism, Islamophobia, and other forms of bias, bigotry, and discrimination at the university." "We continue to support free speech and the right of all of our community members to express themselves, but we must do so within the reasonable bounds of our policies and procedures," Drake said.

Regent Lieb (identified in the transcript as speaking at length) praised the antisemitism task force’s work and cited several findings conveyed to the board: the task force engaged 428 people representing segments of UCLA’s Jewish community and, he said, "the assertion that 70% of the respondents felt the UCLA encampment engendered antisemitism demonstrates why no encampments should have been allowed." Lieb also criticized the campus reporting system and urged an overhaul: "Most respondents who made complaints never received any follow‑up," he said, and "this must change."

Student Regent Bahari asked whether the two task forces were given the same criteria and said the antisemitism report included more supporting documentation than the other task force’s materials. Interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt replied that neither task force was strictly charged with producing formal investigative reports; rather, they were asked to bring forward recommendations for action and to participate in a "dialogue across difference" process so administration and campus stakeholders could implement actionable recommendations.

When queried about complaint counts following Oct. 7, Hunt said he did not have exact numbers at hand but reported "about 100 on both sides" and said those cases were being investigated by the campus Office of Equity, Diversity and Inclusion (EDI). He cautioned that investigations "can take up to a year" and that some cases were subject to parallel inquiries; he also said the administration is restructuring to move the Office of Civil Rights into compliance to expand capacity.

Several regents urged stronger accountability for faculty alleged to have violated the faculty code of conduct. Faculty adviser Chung described UC discipline processes, including privilege and tenure hearings and due‑process protections, and recommended a future walkthrough of how administrative and academic processes interact.

Board members expressed differing emphases going forward: some called for immediate and tangible accountability; others urged prioritizing education and restorative dialogue while reserving disciplinary measures for the most serious cases. The regents said they will continue to review recommendations as task forces finalize them and that staff will follow up on investigations and procedural reforms.

The board went into a brief recess and prepared to move into closed session to take personnel and legal matters related to the agenda.