Jewish UCLA student blocked from entering campus by pro-Palestinian activists

A Jewish student at the University of California, Los Angeles, shared footage on Monday of being denied access to his on-campus class by pro-Palestinian activists occupying the college.

Instagram user Eli Tsives shared footage of him showing his student ID to the activists, who repeated "We are not engaging" while blocking his attempts to walk to his class. 

The activists are recorded lining up in front of Tsives, preventing his bypass. 

"They didn’t let me get to class using the main entrance! Instead, they forced me to walk around. Shame on these people!" the student wrote. 

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A post shared by Eli Tsives (@tsiveseli)

Later that evening, UCLA Chancellor Gene Block sent the following message to the university community:

"Dear Bruin Community:

This past Thursday, a group of demonstrators — both members of the UCLA community and others unaffiliated with our campus — established an unauthorized physical encampment on part of Royce Quad, joining those who have set up similar presences at universities around the country. 

Many of the demonstrators, as well as counter-demonstrators who have come to the area, have been peaceful in their activism. But the tactics of others have frankly been shocking and shameful. We have seen instances of violence completely at odds with our values as an institution dedicated to respect and mutual understanding. In other cases, students on their way to class have been physically blocked from accessing parts of the campus.

UCLA supports peaceful protest, but not activism that harms our ability to carry out our academic mission and makes people in our community feel bullied, threatened and afraid. These incidents have put many on our campus, especially our Jewish students, in a state of anxiety and fear.

In response, we have taken several immediate actions. We have significantly increased our security presence in the area, including adding greater numbers of law enforcement officers, safety personnel and student affairs mitigators. We have also engaged law enforcement to investigate the recent acts of violence. 

The barriers that demonstrators used to block access to buildings have been removed, and we have staff located around Royce Quad to help ensure that they will not go up again. With regard to these incidents, our student conduct process has been initiated, and could lead to disciplinary action including suspension or expulsion. 

We continue to encourage anyone who experiences discrimination to report it to our Civil Rights Office. If you feel you are in danger, contact UCPD.

I recognize that the suffering in the Middle East has had a profound impact on our campus, and we continue to hope for a peaceful resolution. While Bruins hold a variety of perspectives on this conflict, we must all protect the wellbeing of our peers and maintain an environment safe for learning. This is a commitment I call on our community to uphold as we navigate the weeks ahead.

Sincerely,

Gene D. Block

Chancellor"

Violent clashes on UCLA campus

On Sunday, two demonstrators broke through the barriers separating pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian demonstrations, NBC News reported. The incident quickly escalated into clashes between the two groups.

Members of both factions shoved one another and shouted slogans and insults, and in some cases traded punches. Pushing and shoving persisted for some time among pockets of demonstrators, but campus police armed with batons eventually separated the sparring groups.

Only a few days prior, a Native American woman was attacked by the pro-Palestinian demonstrators while holding a sign that read: "Hamas supporters are not welcome on native land."

Protests on US campuses

In the past two weeks, pro-Palestinian protests have spread to college campuses across the US, triggered by the mass arrest of over 100 people at Columbia University more than a week ago.

Since then, hundreds of protesters from California and Texas to Atlanta and Boston have been arrested as they emulated the encampments used by Columbia students to call attention to the humanitarian crisis in Gaza.

Administrators, including those of Columbia, have said the protests, as unauthorized, break school rules, disrupt learning and have fostered harassment and antisemitism.

Protesters are demanding a ceasefire in the war with Hamas and the divestment of university assets in companies involved with the Israeli military, and an end to US military assistance to Israel.