Trump turns up heat on California campuses with antisemitism crackdown

California’s embattled public universities are back in the Trump administration’s crosshairs.

The Department of Education on Thursday launched federal civil rights investigations into two deep-blue state schools, San Jose State University and San Francisco State University, over allegations they allowed antisemitism to flourish while Jewish students were threatened, isolated and driven into fear on campus.

The probes, opened by the Department’s Office for Civil Rights (OCR), will determine whether the universities violated Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 by failing to protect Jewish students from discrimination and harassment.

The latest investigations mark another front in President Trump’s widening crackdown on colleges accused of embracing left-wing extremism while failing to safeguard Jewish students in the wake of Hamas’ Oct. 7 terrorist attack on Israel.

According to complaints filed with OCR, Jewish students at San Jose State faced a hostile campus climate where they were allegedly threatened, shunned and made to feel unwelcome in classrooms because of their Jewish ancestry.

The complaints also describe anti-Israel protests disrupting classes, forcing students and staff from campus spaces, and physical attacks targeting Jewish students.

One allegation centers on an email from the university’s Vice President for Student Affairs and former Interim Chief Diversity Officer that allegedly distinguished between “good Jews” and “bad Jews” depending on whether they supported the Israeli government.

San Francisco State faces a separate federal investigation after complaints accused faculty members of using their authority to foster an antisemitic environment.

OCR said the allegations include antisemitic graffiti, attempted break-ins targeting Jewish students and campus events featuring extremists with terrorist group ties hosted by the Arab and Muslim Ethnicities and Diasporas program.

Jewish students described the atmosphere at the university as one of “intimidation, exclusion, and fear,” according to the complaints.

Federal officials also pointed to the General Union of Palestine Students, which they identified as a branch of the Palestine Liberation Organization, designated by Congress as a terrorist organization, maintaining its last remaining student chapter at San Francisco State.

The Education Department said both universities allegedly failed to meaningfully respond to repeated reports of antisemitic harassment and, in some instances, appeared to tolerate the behavior.

“Discrimination has no place on college campuses. The same California leaders who wax eloquent about their commitment to ‘equity’ and ‘social justice’ appear to turn their backs on violent, harmful acts of antisemitic intimidation and harassment,” Assistant Secretary for Civil Rights Kimberly Richey said.

“We will investigate these allegations, ensure the safety of Jewish students, and protect the right of every student in America to an education free from discrimination.”

The investigations add to San Jose State’s mounting legal troubles with the Trump administration.

Earlier this year, OCR found the university violated Title IX by allowing males to compete in women’s sports and use female-only facilities, ruling the school denied women equal educational opportunities and benefits.

 The administration later warned San Jose State it risked losing federal funding after refusing to come into compliance.

Thursday’s action also advances Trump’s Jan. 29, 2025 executive order, Additional Measures to Combat Anti-Semitism, which declares it is “the policy of the United States to combat anti-Semitism vigorously, using all available and appropriate legal tools.”

Under Title VI, schools receiving federal funds are prohibited from discriminating on the basis of race, color or national origin, including allowing hostile environments that deny students equal access to education.

Download The California Post App, follow us on social, and subscribe to our newsletters