On International Holocaust Remembrance Day, UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk issued a video statement that said hate of any kind—including antisemitism—has no place on UCLA’s campus.
“With antisemitism on the rise across the nation, it is more important than ever that we remember our shared humanity and practice empathy and respect,” Frenk, who has served as chancellor of UCLA since Jan. 2025, said. “This moment calls for decisive action grounded in moral clarity. Hate—of any kind—has no place at UCLA or anywhere. We must choose kindness by lifting up dialogue and stamping out intolerance and bigotry in all forms.”
In the video, Frenk speaks about what he calls the “defining moment of my life,” when his paternal grandparents were forced to leave Germany during the 1930s – his father was 6 years old at the time. They were “driven out of their home by an intolerable climate of antisemitism and hate,” Frenk says.
“Members of my family who did not make that decision [to flee Germany] perished,” he says in the video.
A series of coincidences resulted in his father’s family leaving Europe for Mexico, where they found a more welcoming environment. It was a nation “poorer in material wealth but richer in what mattered the most then and now—kindness to strangers,” Frenk says.
Meanwhile, his wife—health economist Felicia Knaul—is the daughter of a Holocaust survivor.
Frenk, who made history when he was named UCLA’s first Latino chancellor, began his tenure at a time when UCLA was still reeling from the anti-Zionist encampments that swept the public university in the aftermath of Oct. 7. Since becoming chancellor, he has launched the Initiative to Combat Antisemitism, bringing together members of the UCLA community and civic leaders to mobilize efforts to address campus antisemitism. Led by Stuart Gabriel, a professor at the UCLA Anderson School of Management, it’s described as a “standing initiative,” reporting directly to Frenk, that convenes “leaders from diverse backgrounds, faiths and perspectives” in combating antisemitism.
Last year, during an online event organized by Jews United for Democracy and Justice, Frenk spoke of the Trump administration’s threats to the university’s federal funding in light of allegations of antisemitic and civil rights violations on the Westwood campus. During this appearance, Frenk acknowledged a “rise in antisemitism at American universities…and part of that definitely affected what happened here at UCLA.”
Frenk was one of many local leaders who spoke about the importance of combating hate on International Holocaust Remembrance Day. Held every year on Jan. 27, the day marks the anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau. On Nov. 1, 2005, the United Nations General Assembly formally adopted a resolution designating the day one of commemoration for the victims of the Nazis.
Local efforts marking International Holocaust Remembrance Day included a ceremony this past weekend organized by Jewish Federation of the Greater San Gabriel and Pomona Valleys. It was a 25-hour Holocaust commemoration and vigil at Pasadena City Hall. For 24 hours straight, participants read aloud the names of Holocaust victims.
As we mark #InternationalHolocaustRemembranceDay, we honor the memory of the 6 million Jewish victims & all those lost in the Holocaust. I share my personal story today as a reminder of why compassion matters & how the power of human connection can combat antisemitism & hatred. pic.twitter.com/yxP1rRp8AL
— Julio Frenk (@UCLAchancellor) January 27, 2026
