Police in riot gear gathered this Wednesday night on the campus of the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) and ordered a group of pro-Palestinian protesters stationed in a camp to leave the area under threat of arrest, one day after violent incidents occurred at the same location.
In the heart of the camp, which gathered hundreds of people and tents in a large area of the campus, what looked like a small city emerged between the barricades. As the sun set, some protesters performed their Muslim prayers, while others sang resistance chants, exchanged protective equipment such as goggles and surgical masks, and discussed strategies for dealing with tear gas. Wearing helmets and headscarves, the bustle of conversations was mixed with chants broadcast through a megaphone.
A few built homemade shields out of plywood in case they ran into police, who formed lines in another part of the campus. “For rubber bullets, who wants a shield?” asked one protester.
🇺🇸 | El video muestra el diseño interior completo del UCLA, las tiendas de campaña que incluyen lugares médicos, de comida y para dormir, y a los miembros reforzando las barreras perimetrales improvisadas mientras la policía se dispone a ingresar al área.
pic.twitter.com/4OKutZbAcl— Alerta News 24 (@AlertaNews24) May 2, 2024
Meanwhile, on the steps of the campus, a crowd of students, alumni and neighbors gathered around the tents. Sitting, they listened attentively and applauded several speakers who joined in the chants in support of Palestine. Nearby, a small group of students with signs and t-shirts expressing their support for Israel and the Jewish people demonstrated peacefully.
The police presence and repeated warnings contrasted with the calm of the previous night, when protesters attacked the camp in support of Palestine. At that time, they threw traffic cones, sprayed tear gas and tore down barricades, causing clashes that lasted for several hours before police intervention. Despite the clashes, no arrests were made, although at least 15 protesters were injured. The response considered lukewarm by the authorities was the subject of criticism from political leaders, Muslim students and activists.
Ray Wiliani, a resident of the area, mentioned that he showed up at UCLA this Wednesday afternoon to support the pro-Palestine protesters.
“We must stand up,” he said. “Stop”.
Elsewhere, police made arrests in New Hampshire and dismantled tents at Dartmouth College. In Oregon, officers responded to the Portland State University campus as authorities there attempted to end a library occupation that began Monday.
The chaotic scenes at UCLA unfolded hours after New York police stormed a building occupied by anti-war protesters at Columbia University on Tuesday night, dispersing a protest that had paralyzed the school.
According to a count by The Associated Press, since April 18 there have been at least 38 incidents of arrests in protests on college campuses in the United States. More than 1,600 people have been arrested in 30 schools.
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said in a statement that “a group of instigators” showed up the night before to “violently attack” the camp in support of Palestine, although he did not provide details about the group or why the university or the university police had not intervened before.
“Regardless of what one thinks about the camp, this attack on our students, teachers and community members was totally unacceptable,” Block said. “It has shaken our campus to its foundations.”
Block promised the university will conduct a thorough investigation. Authorities have not clarified whether all of the protesters were students.
The head of California universities, Michael Drake, ordered an “independent audit of the university’s preparations, its actions and the response of security forces.”
“The community should feel that the police are protecting them, not allowing others to harm them,” said Rebecca Husaini, chief of staff for the Muslim Public Affairs Council, at a news conference in which some Muslim students gave details about what occurred during the night.
Speakers questioned the version provided by the university, which stated that 15 people were injured and one hospitalized, arguing that the number of injured people taken to hospital was considerably higher. One of the students reported that he had to go to the health center after receiving a blow to the head with an object handled by one of the attackers.
Several students who participated in the press conference shared that they had to support each other during the attack and not trust the police. In addition, they noted that many of the members of the pro-Palestinian camp remained calm and avoided confrontations with the opposing side. UCLA canceled classes on Wednesday.
Protest camps demanding universities cut business ties with Israel or companies that support the war in Gaza have spread to university campuses across the country, marking a student movement unprecedented in this century. The police response has been reminiscent of that used decades ago against much larger movements protesting the Vietnam War.
In Madison, a clash broke out early Wednesday after police, protected by shields, removed all but one tent and pushed back protesters. Four officers were injured, including a state trooper who was hit in the head with a skateboard, authorities said. Four people were accused of attacking security forces.
These developments take place in an election year in the United States, raising questions about whether younger voters will support President Joe Biden’s re-election, given the strong support his administration has given to Israel.
In some cases, student leaders and university officials have reached agreements to limit disruptions to campus life and upcoming graduation ceremonies.
Brown University in Rhode Island, for example, agreed to consider a vote on divestment from Israel in October, apparently the first American university to accept such a request.
Student demonstrations began in Columbia on April 17 to protest the Israeli offensive in Gaza, which was in response to the deadly Hamas attack on southern Israel on October 7.
The militants killed 1,200 people, most of them civilians, and took about 250 hostages.
Israel and its allies have labeled the student protests as anti-Semitic, while critics of Israel maintain that these accusations are used to silence the opposition.
Although there have been some anti-Semitic comments among protesters, protest organizers, some of whom are Jewish, say it is a peaceful movement to defend Palestinian rights and denounce the war.
Meanwhile, other protest encampments were cleared by police, resulting in arrests, or voluntarily set up at universities across the country, including City College of New York, Fordham University, Portland State University in Oregon, Northern Arizona in Flagstaff and Tulane in New Orleans
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