CONCERNED STUDENTS, FACULTY, ALUMNI AND PARENTS URGE UC REGENTS TO STOP ACADEMIC POLITIZATION FUELING ANTISEMITISM
Contact:
amcha@berlinrosen.com
Santa Cruz, CA, March 16, 2026 – Today, as first reported by the Jewish News Syndicate, 4,000 students, faculty, alumni, parents and concerned citizens submitted a public petition calling on the University of California (UC) Board of Regents to take immediate, systemwide action to prevent faculty and departments from misusing university authority, resources and institutional platforms in ways that contribute to antisemitism or foster discriminatory environments.
Since October 7, 2023, incidents targeting Jewish students and faculty for harassment, intimidation, threats, exclusion, vandalism, and assault rose across the University of California, including 3,150% at UCLA, 531% at UC Berkeley, and 1,150% at UC Santa Cruz.
The petition comes in response to a new report which documents hundreds of examples of faculty embedding anti-Israel activism into curricula, classrooms, departments and official programming, and it finds this faculty abuse is fueling UC’s unprecedented antisemitism crisis.
Excerpts from the petition, signed by more than 4,000 concerned individuals, note:
“Regents Policy 2301 describes a “moral and contractual relationship” obligating UC to provide a quality education and requiring the Regents “to ensure that public confidence…is justified” and that the University “remain aloof from politics” and not function “as an instrument for the advance of partisan interest.” The report’s findings have profoundly undermined our confidence in the University’s ability to uphold those moral and contractual obligations.
“Despite UC’s December 2024 resolution agreement with federal authorities to address systemwide discrimination and harassment of Jewish students, the report documents a continuing pattern of faculty-driven conduct that has fueled antisemitism -- rooted in institutionalized political activism that UC has failed to stop.
“We urge the Regents to act now: stop faculty and academic units from using UC authority, resources, classrooms, and UC-branded platforms to advance political advocacy as institutional practice by strictly enforcing UC’s existing rules, and strengthening them where needed. This is not about policing faculty speech. It is about enforcing the crucial boundary between private speech and institutional advocacy.
“When that boundary disappears, academic norms break down, and students face harassment, intimidation, and exclusion. We call on you to protect students, restore the University’s academic integrity, and rebuild public trust in the University of California.”
Since the report’s release, hundreds of current and former UC faculty issued a public letter warning that the misuse of academic authority is fueling antisemitism and urging the Regents to restore enforceable institutional boundaries. And last week a broad coalition of 124 national and California-based organizations called on the Regents to formally review the report and prioritize its recommendations at their March meeting. The petition now expands that call to students, parents, alumni and members of the public, urging Regents to take decisive governance action.
AMCHA’s research has documented thousands of antisemitic incidents on college campuses nationwide, including more than 11,000 since 2015. The organization’s findings show that antisemitism on campus often extends beyond isolated student misconduct and can be exacerbated when institutional structures fail to enforce existing safeguards.
The full petition can be read at: https://uc-antisemitism.paperform.co/
AMCHA Initiative is a non-partisan, non-profit organization dedicated to combating antisemitism at colleges and universities in the United States. The organization monitors more than 750 campuses for antisemitic activity, as defined by the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance (IHRA) and the U.S. government. AMCHA is not a pro-Israel advocacy organization, nor does it take a position on current or past Israeli government policies; criticism of Israel that does not meet the IHRA and U.S. government criteria is not considered antisemitic by the organization. AMCHA has recorded more than 11,000 antisemitic incidents on college campuses since 2015, which can be accessed through its Antisemitism Tracker