The Trump administration is pressuring the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to pay $1 billion to settle discrimination allegations. Meanwhile, a new report has drawn attention to a professor who made comparisons between Israeli rhetoric and that of the Nazis, criticizing the Zionist movement as an embodiment of white supremacy.
In addition, UCLA has been mandated to allocate at least $3 million of taxpayer funds towards diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) measures.
“We stand for free expression and diverse viewpoints, but taxpayer funding doesn’t need to support divisive concepts like anti-colonialism and anti-racism,” a representative stated.
“On campuses such as UCLA, the rhetoric often diverges from reality, leading to negative outcomes.”
One professor at the center of this scrutiny is Khaled Abou El Fadl, a law professor at UCLA who is noted for his expertise in Sharia, Islamic law, and Islam.
In a video recorded late last year, El Fadl drew parallels between Israel and Nazi Germany, particularly in light of Hamas’ attacks on Israel in early October 2023.
“The Germans blamed the Jews for their genocide, insisting the fault lay with those they occupied,” he remarked. “This rhetoric mirrors how Israel speaks about Palestinians.”
In the same video, he suggested that Palestinians were regarded as “like animals” in the eyes of Israelis, akin to how Jews were viewed by the Nazis.
Another notable figure from UCLA is history professor Robin Kelly, who is an advisory board member for the US Campaign for Academic and Cultural Boycotts against Israel and has made statements connecting Zionism to white dominance.
During a 2017 lecture, he asserted that Zionism effectively embodied white supremacy. “It allowed rule of the people through colonial control,” he explained.
In a 2021 talk, he elaborated further, claiming reparations for the Holocaust had inadvertently provided funding to Israel’s new settlers.
Following the October attacks, two professors called for emergency meetings to discuss the Palestinian crisis, labeling Israel a “settlement colony.” One of them later described it as a “society driven by an exclusive racial ideology.”
These professors were noted in a grant application for the Ministry of Education’s Foreign Languages and Regional Studies Initiative, from which UCLA has received over $6 million since 2020.
UCLA’s Response to Anti-Semitism
In response to concerns surrounding the report from Open the Books, a UCLA spokesperson highlighted the university’s collaboration with federal agencies to enhance vital care and research throughout California.
“Americans depend on the pioneering research conducted at UCLA,” said Mary Osaco, the university’s Deputy Prime Minister of Strategic Communications. “We are committed to ensuring anti-Semitism has no place on our campus.”
UCLA has claimed to have taken decisive actions to combat hatred, including measures against a group that violated established policies earlier this year.
The institution has also referenced its efforts to address anti-Semitism, such as the suspension of certain student groups following vandalism targeting the Jewish Regent Jay Sures’ home.
Confrontation with the Trump Administration
This month, the Trump administration halted $584 million in federal funds, accusing UCLA of failing to protect Jewish students during Palestinian protests that erupted after the recent attacks.
UCLA has been labeled a “Jewish Exclusion Zone,” with protestors barricading parts of the campus to restrict access for those without specific wristbands.
Last month, the university settled with Jewish faculty and students for $6 million over claims related to discrimination during the demonstrations.
Funding for DEI Initiatives
The report also underscored the roughly $3 million UCLA has received in recent years for DEI-related grants.
Among these is about $1 million since 2021 for initiatives like “Equity and Antiracism Learning in Computer Science.”
In total, UCLA has received at least $4.3 billion in taxpayer funding between 2021 and June 2025.
