The Trump Justice Department is attempting to use an accusation of tolerating an "antisemitic hostile work environment" for Jewish faculty and students to claw back hundreds of millions in federal funding promised to UC Berkeley and other schools.

The Justice Department made an example on Friday of Columbia University, which had been the most prominent school making headlines during the height of pro-Palestinian protests last spring, saying that it would be canceling $400 million in federal funding for the school. And now, as the New York Times reports, nine other schools are on a list being circulated at the DoJ of schools that will be "investigated" for similarly allowing an "antisemitic hostile work environment" by tolerating student protests and anti-Israel rhetoric last year.

Republicans in Congress had already, last spring, made examples of a handful of university presidents, and forced the resignation of Harvard University President Claudine Gay. Now, representatives from the DoJ will reportedly be making "visits" to Harvard, UC Berkeley, UCLA, and six other schools make final determinations about whether their funding will be cut.

The Department of Education put out its own release Monday saying that 60 universities were sent letters "warning them of potential enforcement actions" if they don't prove their commitment to protecting Jewish students from harassment.

A press release from the DoJ last Wednesday announced that the University of California at large was under investigation for violations "under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964."

"This Department of Justice will always defend Jewish Americans, protect civil rights, and leverage our resources to eradicate institutional Antisemitism in our nation’s universities," said Attorney General Pamela Bondi in a statement.

And the release adds that the DoJ "has the authority to initiate investigations against state and local government employers where it has reason to believe that a 'pattern or practice' of employment discrimination exists."

The 10 schools nationwide are collectively being accused of "continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students," despite these protests largely having ended, and despite the fact that many of the protesters — particularly at Columbia — were Jewish themselves.

Anticipating these actions, UC Berkeley put out a statement in early February saying it "has an unwavering commitment to confronting antisemitism as part of our support for a campus community where all can feel safe, respected, and welcome regardless of their origins, identities, beliefs, or perspectives."

The university put out an additional statement Saturday saying, "We will respond to any complaints or allegations through the process prescribed by the DOJ."

Last April and May, a tent encampment at UC Berkeley grew to 175 tents, with students pushing the UC Regents to commit to divesting from any of its investments linked to Israel, in solidarity with the Palestinian people. The protesters disbanded and removed the final tents in mid-May, ahead of the university's commencement ceremonies.

While the Department of Education's list of 60 universities sent warning letters has the veneer of covering both public and private institutions across the country, the DoJ's reported list of 10 schools under serious investigation is pretty concentrated to high-profile liberal instituations in blue states. Other schools on the list include George Washington University, Johns Hopkins University, NYU, Northwestern University, the University of Minnesota, and USC.

The Trump administration escalated its attack on Columbia over the weekend with the ICE arrest of a prominent Palestinian activist, Mahmoud Khalil, attempting to deport him despite his having a green card. As ABC News reports, a federal judge blocked that effort.

Trump made an example of Khalil in a Truth Social post, referring to him as a "Radical Foreign Pro-Hamas Student," and vowing, "We will find, apprehend, and deport these terrorist sympathizers from our country -- never to return again."

Previously: East Bay 'Scholar-Activist' Pleads Guilty to Firebombing UC Berkeley Police Car

Photo: Jeremy Huang