While students are pouring onto campuses for the start of a new semester, the fascist assault on universities continues to escalate. But not without the sparks of noncompliance and pushback which urgently need to ignite a bright fire of nationwide resistance. The unfolding showdown over UCLA—where a growing number of the UCLA Jewish community united in a stirring open letter—signals an urgent moment and a call to action for everyone who cherishes the university as a sanctuary of intellectual inquiry and scientific truth.

The Trump administration has frozen $584 million in research funds at UCLA and is demanding an unprecedented $1 billion settlement, invoking bogus allegations of “campus antisemitism.” Those allegations are based on the Trump-approved twisted definition of this term by the IHRA, which leads to equating any criticisms of Israel and its actions to antisemitism. (See Draw the Line! Stop the Censorship and Thought Control in the Teaching of Palestinian and Israeli History! Universities—as Institutions—Must Refuse to Comply with Trump’s Fascist Takeover!)

This is not an isolated case. It is part of a broader fascist drive to impose censorship and obedience on universities—currently zeroing in on how they teach the history of Palestine and Israel. Harvard University is reportedly negotiating a deal with the fascist administration. If accepted, it would set a chilling message: universities coerced into compliance through financial blackmail, with academic freedom turned into the next victim of Trump/MAGA fascism.

In this context, the open letter “Jews in Defense of UC” is especially significant. Signed by more than 350 Jewish faculty, staff, students, and alumni across the UC system, it denounces the fine as “misguided and punitive.” The signers, who come with sharp differences on Israel and Zionism, are united in making this message clear: punishing universities will not make Jews safer, but it will seriously weaken academic freedom for all.

Letter co-organizer Ariela Gross, a professor at UCLA School of Law, said the letter is intended to convey to the UC Board of Regents—the ultimate decision-makers of UC’s response to Trump’s demands—that Jewish members of the campus community "really want to fight."

"We do not want to back down," she said. "And we don't think that you can negotiate with an extortionist. It seems particularly important for Jewish community members to [express this], given that this is being so cynically done in our name—antisemitism is being used as the fig leaf excuse for all of these actions."

The stakes could not be higher. Universities represent the centers of critical thought in society, the sanctuaries of the search for scientific truth and intellectual curiosity. According to UCLA professor David N. Myers, who helped organize the letter, the possibility of UC and Harvard striking deals with Trump risks setting a dangerous precedent.

"It's hard not to see some method in the madness to try and bring down these two institutions," said Myers, a professor of Jewish history. "If they agree to a settlement, then probably every subsequent institution will do the same. What I find dangerous is not just the bankrupting of these extraordinary institutions ... but also the attempt to impose supervision and restraints on scholarship and intellectual discourse."

What is being battled out here is whether universities remain centers of discovery and dissent—or become obedient tools of the fascist reshaping of society. Academic institutions must refuse to be extorted into submission. Faculty and students must defend academic freedom with urgency and courage. Administrators must not bargain their institutions away to the fascist regime. Communities beyond campuses must demand that universities stand firm and not capitulate.

The line must be drawn here, and it must be drawn now.