Trump admin freezes $200M UCLA research funds over antisemitism concerns

President Donald Trump gestures after the th presidential inauguration in the Rotunda of the U S Capitol in Washington D C on Jan File photo by Julia Demaree Nikhinson Associated Press The Trump administration has frozen million in federal UCLA biological and science research funding Friday accusing the university of failing to stem antisemitism on its campus This is not only a loss to the researchers who rely on critical grants stated UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk in a campus wide message It is a loss for Americans across the nation whose work fitness and future depend on the groundbreaking work we do Earlier this week President Trump and Atty Gen Pam Bondi stated the school would pay a heavy price for its restoration of Jewish and Israeli students Several UCLA students had complained of antisemitic incidents on the campus since the Oct Hamas attack on Israel The complaints increased during Israel s ensuing war in Gaza and campus protests that escalated since May last year We reject this cynical weaponization of antisemitism and the misinformation campaign spinning calls for Palestinian freedom as antisemitic stated Faculty for Justice in Palestine at UCLA in a announcement We must name this for what it is a thinly-veiled attempt to punish supporters of Palestinian freedom and to advance the long-standing conservative goal of dismantling higher development City News Facility