California Faculty Association backs bill to roll back campus antisemitism protections

The California Faculty Association (CFA) supported AB 2551, a bill that was reshaped from a health‑care measure into a higher‑education proposal. In its amended form the bill would have repealed campus‑safety protections added to the California Education Code after the surge in antisemitic incidents following the Oct. 7 conflict. Widespread outcry led to the removal of the repeal language, but the measure still advanced. CFA legislative‑action chair Melina Abdullah described the effort as a first step toward ending “time, place and manner” restrictions that she said protect students from harassment.

Student leaders have reported a wave of antisemitic actions on campuses nationwide. Tessa Veksler, president of the student government at UC Santa Barbara, faced hateful signs and threats. Similar incidents have occurred at NYU, Ohio University, Pomona College, Cornell, George Washington University, the University of Oregon, Swarthmore, Michigan, Maryland, the New School and Stanford. Federal prosecutors have filed charges in Michigan, and Title VI civil‑rights investigations have been opened at an unprecedented number of institutions. A 2026 Brandeis University study found that nearly half of Jewish undergraduates reported prejudice, with more than a third describing a hostile campus climate.