CBS News editor in chief Bari Weiss canceled an upcoming lecture at the University of California-Los Angeles as students were expected to protest — and some staff objected to hosting her — according to a report.
Weiss was slated to give the annual Daniel Pearl Memorial lecture on Feb. 27 on “The Future of Journalism,” but the exec — who is a staunch advocate of Israel — pulled out of the event earlier this week amid concerns for her safety.
The university has been at the center of intense national scrutiny, including federal investigations and legal action on claims of systemic antisemitism, since Hamas’ Oct. 7, 2023 attack on Israel and the war in Gaza sparked campus protests.
UCLA’s associate vice chancellor Steve Lurie told the Los Angeles Times that the university had been prepared to “implement a comprehensive security plan for this event” and that it “developed in coordination with campus safety and external law enforcement partners.”
But a number of employees at the university’s Burkle Center and the International Institute voiced opposition to hosting her, according to the Times.
UCLA also expected a large number of student protesters, the publication reported.
“We always follow our security team’s guidance,” a CBS News rep told The Post on Friday. “This situation is no different. We are working with the university to reschedule for a different date.”
Taking precautions are not new for the news boss, who is often surrounded by a phalanx of bodyguards when attending events — and even at CBS News’ Midtown offices in New York, The Post previously reported.
Super agent Jay Sures, who reps some of CBS News’ top talent from Norah O’Donnell to Tony Dokoupil and serves as a member of the University of California Board of Regents, backed Weiss’ decision to cancel her UCLA lecture given the school’s recent history.
“As someone who has paid the price with having my personal security violated as a consequence of being outspoken about rampant anti Israel and anti semitic sentiment on college campuses, I fully understand why Bari would cancel,” Sures told The Hollywood Reporter.
“Why in the world would she put herself and her family in harms way? I understand why she would do this in the environment we live in today,” he added.
Sures, who is also Jewish and a vocal supporter of Israel, had been targeted by two anti-Zionist groups on campus. Last February, over 50 members of the groups gathered at Sures’ home and threatened that he must “divest now or pay.”
As part of the protest, the students imprinted their hands, which had been submerged in red paint to symbolize the spilling of blood, all over Sures’ garage door and cordoned the area with caution tape, The Daily Bruin reported at the time.
Following a 2024 pro-Palestinian encampment that restricted access to Jewish students, UCLA reached a $6.13 million settlement last July to resolve a federal lawsuit, which claimed it enabled antisemitism on campus.
UCLA also agreed to a permanent court order to stop the exclusion of Jewish members from campus life.
The Trump administration announced in August it was freezing $339 million in research grants to UCLA because it believes the West Coast public university committed a slew of civil rights violations related to antisemitism, affirmative action and allowing transgender athletes to compete in women’s sports.
