University of California races to recover $300M in research funds suspended by Trump administration

• Supporters of Palestine say their protests for human rights and Gaza have nothing to do with antisemitism

ISTANBUL

The University of California (UCLA) is scrambling to salvage over $300 million in federal research funding suspended by the Trump administration, amid allegations that UCLA failed to curb antisemitism on campus during the 2024 Israel-Hamas protests.

In a statement Wednesday, UC President James Milliken said the university will engage with federal authorities to protect a total of $584 million in jeopardized funds, warning the loss would be a "death knell for innovative work that saves lives, grows our economy, and fortifies our national security."

"These cuts do nothing to address antisemitism," he added.

The US Justice Department, in a July 29 letter to Milliken's office, accused UCLA of being "deliberately indifferent to a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students," citing reports of harassment and restricted campus access.

The department gave the school until Tuesday to seek a "voluntary resolution," or face a federal lawsuit in September.

However, some faculty voiced concern about negotiating with the Trump administration.

"We have to fight for what we believe in," said Michael Chwe, a political science professor and board member of the UCLA Faculty Association.

"Negotiating with such a malicious, bad-faith actor only legitimizes what they’re asking for," he told The Wall Street Journal.

The Justice Department letter made no mention of a violent counter-protest in which masked pro-Israel attackers assaulted demonstrators while campus and city police allegedly stood by.

UCLA recently settled a separate lawsuit over campus antisemitism by agreeing to donate over $2 million to Jewish groups and committing to disciplinary reforms.

It now finds itself the first major public university targeted in a funding crackdown that had previously focused on elite Ivy League schools.

According to the San Francisco Chronicle, the Trump administration has frozen more than $5 billion in federal funding to at least eight top US universities, including Columbia, Brown, and Harvard — the latter of which is currently challenging the action in court.

Some supporters of Palestine say the US government illicitly equates their protests for Palestinian rights and Gaza with antisemitism, pointing out that many Jews also criticize Israel’s mistreatment and human rights abuses.