Robin Abcarian: Proposed settlement between feds and UCLA is a master class in extortion

No question, antisemitism is real, resurgent and too often conflated with criticism of the Israeli government as it has destroyed Gaza to root out Hamas.

But it beggars belief that the Trump administration is sincere when it demands UCLA pay the government more than $1 billion because, as it alleges, the school failed to protect Jewish students during pro-Palestinian protests in 2024, and engages in diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) practices. This is extortion, pure and simple.

Yes, some Jewish students were intimidated and felt unsafe during the campus protests; and yes, the school agreed to a $6-million settlement with several of them. But does anyone really believe the Trump administration cares about antisemitism?

"I was a post doc at the University of Virginia in August of 2017, I was there when the Unite the Right rally came to town," said Anna Markowitz, a UCLA associate professor of education and president of the executive board of the UCLA Faculty Assn. "I watched that group walk down the street with Nazi salutes and heard them chant horrible things. And the administration did not care one whit about that."

Oh, it was worse than that; Trump defended the neo-Nazis, infamously claiming there were "some very fine people on both sides." Just last week, Trump's nominee for the Office of Special Counsel withdrew from consideration after his offensive texts surfaced, including one in which he described having "a Nazi streak." Recently, Vice President JD Vance refused to condemn some members of the Young Republicans, who joked about gas chambers in a group chat, with one declaring, "I love Hitler." Said Vance, "Kids do stupid things, especially young boys." (According to Mother Jones, they ranged in age from 24 to 35.)

Still, the Trump administration is using its phony commitment to combating antisemitism to undermine the independence of American universities.

In reality, it wants to have a hand in campus hiring, admissions, sports, scholarships and gender-affirming medical practices. In its effort to turn back the clock on civil rights of all kinds, it wants to squelch any practice that can be remotely linked to creating a more diverse student body and faculty.

We know all this because a proposed settlement hammered out in secret between the Justice Department and UCLA was ordered to be made public after the UC Faculty Assn. and its larger umbrella group, the Council of UC Faculty Assns., filed a public records suit demanding its release.

The 27-page document is a master class in gaslighting. It purports to support free speech and civil rights while demanding the university squelch free speech and civil rights.

"I was shocked by the contradictions," Markowitz said. "Over and over, they would claim they are making these changes because they are interested in upholding civil rights or in upholding free speech, with sentences that said, 'And that's why we will no longer allow people who hold these views to take part in this dialog.'"

That's particularly evident in the section on international students, she said.

"Processes will be established," the document states, "to provide that foreign students likely to engage in anti-Western, anti-American or antisemitic disruptions or harassment are not recruited or admitted to UCLA."

As for transgender athletes, the school must essentially deny their existence. If any female athletes are found to have been adversely affected by competing against a trans woman, says the document, "UCLA will send a personalized letter of apology to each impacted female athlete."

The agreement also stipulates that UCLA hospitals may not engage in gender-affirming medical care of any kind for minors, despite California laws that recognize the right to access gender-affirming care and protections for those who provide it.

The government is also demanding UCLA prohibit overnight demonstrations, and any activity that denies access to campus facilities "such as the 'Jew Exclusion Zone' enforced by activists in Dickson Plaza during April 2024, which blocked Jewish students and faculty from accessing classroom buildings and Powell Library based on their religious beliefs or refusal to disavow Israel."

Using that kind of language is deliberately inflammatory. Many Jewish students were involved in the pro-Palestinian encampment. As one civil rights attorney put it, "There were Shabbat ceremonies. There was a seder ceremony that occurred in the encampment. Jewish faculty members and students were instrumental in creating the encampment. So the idea that this was a, quote, 'Jewish-exclusion zone' was absurd on its face."

(And, let's not forget, law enforcement stood idle for three hours as counter-protesters, supporters of Israel, violently attacked the encampment.)

In a document full of ironies large and small, perhaps the most glaring is the stipulation that anyone who wears a mask during a protest "must briefly unmask to verify their identity." Those who refuse will be "subject to discipline…and referred for prosecution."

Who, exactly, is going to monitor UCLA's compliance with the government's demands? A whole new infrastructure is to be created, according to the document. The university would appoint an administrator to oversee its efforts to disband "unlawful" DEI. That person will be answerable to a "Resolution Monitor" who would have tremendous power over the university's admissions and hiring policies.

So what's next? A federal lawsuit brought by a coalition of faculty, staff, students and labor unions is challenging the agreement, alleging that the government is illegally pressuring UC to accede to its demands. The first court hearing is scheduled for Thursday.

Beyond that, Markowitz said, Californians need to understand what's at stake, and bring pressure on Gov. Gavin Newsom and the UC Board of Regents to fight government overreach.

"The Trump administration is systematically attempting to defund higher education while at the same time remaking it in its own ideological image," Markowitz said. "The goal is to put ideology at the heart of UC, rather than servicing the students, their dreams and desires, or serving California, the economy and workforce."

In the Trump administration's war on American universities, fighting antisemitism, while worthy, is just a pretext. Don't be fooled.

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