DOJ investigates UNLV over alleged failures to protect Jewish students
The Department of Justice has launched a civil rights investigation into UNLV to determine if the university failed to protect Jewish students from discrimination and to properly address campus anti-Semitism.
The probe cites potential violations of Title IV and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) opened a civil rights investigation into the University of Nevada, Las Vegas (UNLV), examining whether the school violated federal law by failing to protect Jewish students from discrimination.
The probe, revealed Tuesday, will review whether UNLV’s handling of campus anti-Semitism and related issues denied students equal access to education, the DOJ announced.
“Publicly-funded universities are barred from discriminating based on race, national origin, or religion,” said Assistant Attorney General Harmeet K. Dhillon of the Civil Rights Division.
“This Department of Justice is fiercely committed to holding institutions of higher learning accountable and ensuring that every student receives equal access to the opportunity and education to which they are legally entitled,” Dhillon said.
The investigation is being conducted under Title IV and Title VI of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Title IV authorizes the Justice Department to address equal protection violations in public colleges, while Title VI prohibits institutions receiving federal funds from discriminating on the basis of race, color, or national origin.
Officials said the compliance review will focus on whether UNLV, a federally funded university, has adequately responded to complaints of anti-Semitism on campus.
UNLV has previously made headlines for anti-Semitism on its campus. Last year, for instance, pro-Palestine students at the school disrupted an astronomy lecture by Professor Asaf Peer of Bar-Ilan University in Israel on Feb. 27, waving banners and shouting, forcing the event to end early. Campus police said they could not forcibly remove protesters due to free speech concerns.
Bar-Ilan University President Arie Zaban called the disruption “disappointing and infuriating,” emphasizing that “academia is based on the pursuit of the truth.”
This is also not the first time the DOJ under the Trump administration has launched a probe into a school suspected of harboring anti-Semitic sentiment.
In February, the DOJ announced that the Federal Task Force to Combat Anti-Semitism would visit 10 universities, including Columbia University and Harvard University, that experienced anti-Semitic incidents since Oct. 2023.
“No one should feel unsafe or unwelcome on campus because of their religion,” said Senior Counsel Leo Terrell at the time.
On the whole, however, rates of anti-Jewish discrimination remain high.
In September, a study from the Anti-Defamation League (ADL) and World Union of Jewish Students (WUJS) found that 78 percent of Jewish students hide their religious identity and 81 percent conceal their Zionist identity. Many reported threats or attacks, particularly Orthodox students and Jewish women.
Campus Reform has contacted the University of Nevada, Las Vegas for comment. This article will be updated accordingly.
