UC Berkeley shares names of students, staff with feds amid antisemitism investigation

BERKELEY — The names of more than 160 students, staff and faculty members at the University of California, Berkeley, have been handed over to the federal government in cooperation with an investigation into antisemitism on college campuses.

Individuals were notified that their personal information was shared with the Department of Education’s Office for Civil Rights last week, university spokesperson Janet Gilmore confirmed in a statement.

The Department of Education and U.S. Justice Department have been investigating the University of California for months with the goal of determining whether the university system was discriminating against students, staff and faculty by permitting antisemitism on campuses, according to a Justice Department press release.

In an Instagram post, UC Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine called the Department of Education’s investigation a “witch hunt over fabricated claims of antisemitism,” and the university’s cooperation “craven” and “corrupt.”

The student group claimed the university had previously assured students, staff and faculty that their identities would be protected. Informing individuals that their information had been shared two weeks after doing so only added to what the group described as a “betrayal,” and a “hollow gesture of transparency that only underscores Berkeley’s duplicity.”

The decision to comply with the federal investigation was made by the University of California’s systemwide Office of the General Counsel “in compliance with its legal obligations to cooperate with the agency,” Gilmore said.

The university had provided numerous documents to the Office of the General Counsel in recent months that included names of people in the reports, Gilmore said. That information was subsequently shared by the Office of the General Counsel to the federal government on Aug. 18, according to a photo of the emailed notice shared by UC Berkeley Students for Justice in Palestine. That notice was dated Sept. 4.

“We were aware of guidance from the Berkeley Division of the Academic Senate last spring and concerns from students that individuals be notified if their information is released to the federal government. We are committed to transparency and supporting our campus community while complying with federal investigations,” read the university’s statement.

Institutions of higher education, including Cal, have faced major scrutiny in recent years for their handling of student protests against the Israeli government and its military actions in Gaza. Students and faculty have demanded that universities disavow Israel’s bombing campaigns, which the Associated Press reported have killed more than 64,000 people in Palestine and were in response to the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants which reportedly left 1,200 people dead and saw 251 others taken as hostages.

In response to demonstrations, which included encampments on and occupations of university property, the system banned camping on campus and the shielding of one’s identity, along with taking other measures meant to “end antisemitism on campus,” according to the UC system website.