House committee probes numerous allegations of antisemitism at three top med schools

UPDATED

Three top medical schools are under investigation by the Republican-led House Education and Workforce Committee for numerous allegations of antisemitism. 

Committee Chairman Tim Walberg recently sent memos to the medical schools at the University of Illinois, University of California San Francisco, and University of California Los Angeles, demanding all documents and communications regarding antisemitic complaints fielded by the universities in recent years.

The memos demand “answers from school leaders on their failures to address antisemitism, as required under Title VI of the Civil Rights Act,” states a news release about the probes, launched Aug. 25.

“Chairman Walberg outlines numerous examples of antisemitic conduct and harassment at these institutions and underscores the medical schools’ legal responsibility to combat discrimination on campus,” the release states.

The letter sent to the UCLA Geffen School of Medicine alleges that faculty, administrators, and visitors routinely participate in hateful actions that threaten and discriminate against the school’s Jewish population.

For instance, it states that in March 2024, an activist named Lisa “Tiny” Gray-Garcia taught UCLA Med’s mandatory Structural Racism and Health Equity class. “During the event Gray-Garcia allegedly demanded the students scream ‘Free, Free Palestine’ alongside her,’” the memo alleges.

In another example, in a UCLA Class of 2025 group chat on Oct. 7 a student compared the actions of Hamas to a “‘slave rebellion’ and said that Israeli families were ‘overseers’ and therefore didn’t deserve to be mourned,” according to Walberg’s memo.

The memo cites 12 different examples in all from UCLA. The list also includes a February 2024 required panel for first-year med students called “Compassion, Empathy, and Our Hippocratic Oath: A Conversation About Difficult Dialogues.”

A UCLA medical professor alleged that at this event “a Jewish panelist was told that his perspective was not relevant while another panelist espoused anti-Israel rhetoric, denied the School’s antisemitism issues, and claimed that faculty with power and privilege suppressed criticism of Israel,” according to the memo.

In a statement to The College Fix, a UCLA David Geffen School of Medicine spokesperson said “antisemitism has no place at UCLA’s medical school. Protecting the civil rights of our Jewish community members remains a top priority.”

“We are committed to fair processes in all our educational programs and activities, consistent with federal and state anti-discrimination laws and continue to take specific steps to foster an environment free of antisemitism and other forms of discrimination and harassment,” the statement read.

In his memo to the University of Illinois College of Medicine, Rep. Walberg wrote that “Jewish students are experiencing hostility and fear at the university.”

He cites multiple examples, including that posters raising awareness about the Oct. 7, 2023, terrorist attack against Israeli citizens were quickly taken down, and a Holocaust survivor seminar in November 2023 was cancelled with no explanation. 

“A UICOM surgeon posted online comparing Israel to the Islamic State and repeatedly comparing Israelis to the Nazis,” the memo also alleges.

“…[And a] student who sought to organize a medical colloquium session on antisemitism in medical school admissions was allegedly told by UICOM deans that ‘now is not the time.’”

In his letter to UCSF, the congressman stated he believes Jewish students have removed Jewish symbols from their social media pages due to the alleged hostility and fear on campus. What’s more, “Jewish patients are reportedly hiding their identities when seeking medical care at the university,” the memo states.

The complaint also cites a March 2024 situation involving UCSF’s cancer center, which was vandalized with antisemitic language that allegedly said, “Free Palestine from Nazi Israeli Schweine!”

It also cites a UCSF-branded presentation in 2024 in a Continuing Medical Education course that “featured the baseless claim that ‘Israel trains our US police forces to perpetrate violence against BIPOC communities.’”

The memo cited another other course on music and dementia, which allegedly issued a trigger warning before playing a Hebrew song.

“In addition, UCSF requires students to take a ‘Justice and Advocacy in Medicine’ class that allegedly promotes anti-Israel ideological activism,” the memo alleges.  

The University of Illinois College of Medicine and the University of California, San Francisco, did not respond to requests for comment from The College Fix.

Rep. Walberg told each university to hand over all documents and communications related to reports or complaints of antisemitism by Sept. 8.

Do No Harm Research Director Ian Kingsbury told The College Fix the committee’s concerns are valid.

“Antisemitism has been festering on college campuses for a long time and combusted after October 7th. Medical schools are no exception to this phenomenon, and the evidence is clear that the three schools identified here are particularly problematic,” he said via email.

Do No Harm is an advocacy group that works to advance meritocracy in medicine and expose harmful policies related to DEI and gender transitioning.

“Medical schools have a legal obligation to protect the civil rights of students. They also have an ethical obligation to focus on medical training and not fanning the flames of radical activism,” Kingsbury said.

“The fact that medical schools are (with good reason) under scrutiny for tolerating or encouraging antisemitism is an indictment of how they have strayed from their mission of training skilled physicians. I would like to see an inquiry into anti-Jewish admissions practices in medical schools. I have heard compelling and troubling indications of such practices,” he said.

Editor’s note: This article has been updated to include a comment from Do No Harm.