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WASHINGTON, Aug 6 (Reuters) – President Donald Trump’s<\/u><\/a> administration has frozen $584 million in federal funding for the University of California, Los Angeles, UCLA, opens new tab<\/u><\/a> said on Wednesday after the government reprimanded the university<\/u><\/a> over pro-Palestinian protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Trump administration has threatened to cut federal funds for universities over pro-Palestinian protests<\/u><\/a> against U.S. ally Israel’s war in Gaza<\/u><\/a>. The government alleges<\/u><\/a> universities, including UCLA, allowed antisemitism during the protests.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Large demonstrations took place at UCLA last year. Protesters, including some Jewish groups, say the government wrongly equates<\/u><\/a> their criticism of Israel’s military assault in Gaza and its occupation of Palestinian territories with antisemitism, and their advocacy for Palestinian rights with support for extremism.<\/p>\n\n\n\n “Currently, a total of approximately $584 million in extra-mural award funding is suspended and at risk,” UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk said in an update on the university website.<\/p>\n\n\n\n University of California President James Milliken separately said the institution agreed, opens new tab<\/u><\/a> to have talks with the federal government to restore its funding. Milliken said funding “cuts do nothing to address antisemitism.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n The White House had no immediate comment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Last week, UCLA agreed to pay over $6 million to settle a lawsuit by some students and a professor who alleged antisemitism. It was also sued this year<\/u><\/a> over a 2024 violent mob attack<\/u><\/a> on pro-Palestinian protesters at the height of the campus protest movement.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government has in recent weeks settled its probes with Columbia University<\/u><\/a>, which agreed to pay over $220 million, and Brown University<\/u><\/a>, which said it will pay $50 million. Both institutions accepted certain government demands. Talks to settle with Harvard University<\/u><\/a> are ongoing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rights advocates have raised concerns about academic freedom and free speech.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The government has also attempted to deport<\/u><\/a> foreign student protesters but faced judicial roadblocks. Stanford University’s<\/u><\/a> student-run newspaper sued the Trump administration on Wednesday, saying student writers censored themselves and turned down assignments related to Gaza to avoid being targeted for deportation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Rights advocates have noted a rise in antisemitism<\/u><\/a>, anti-Arab bias and Islamophobia<\/u><\/a> due to the war. The Trump administration has not announced equivalent probes into Islamophobia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n