Pro-Palestinian protesters set up encampment at UCLA

A boy waves a Palestinian flag at an encampment on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus Thursday, April 25, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong)

LOS ANGELES – One day after nearly 100 people were arrested following pro-Palestine protests on the campus of USC, a similar protest emerged Thursday on the Westwood campus of UCLA, with participants forming an encampment of tents outside Royce Hall.

By mid-morning, several dozen protesters were sitting and milling around inside the encampment, which was established around 4 a.m. The encampment slowly grew as the day wore on, with dozens of tents being erected and more protesters gathering.

Organizers of the “Palestine Solidarity Encampment,” similar to their counterparts at USC, issued a list of demands that include divestment of all University of California and UCLA Foundation funds from companies tied to Israel, along with a university call for an immediate and permanent ceasefire in the Israel-Hamas war and an academic boycott by UC against Israeli universities, including a suspension of study-abroad programs.

“For 201 days, Israel has murdered, injured, starved, disappeared, displaced and kidnapped Palestinians with impunity,” according to a message posted online by organizers of the UCLA encampment, including the UC Divest Coalition at UCLA, Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace UCLA.

“For 201 days, the world has watched in silence as Israel has murdered over 30,000 Palestinians. today, UCLA joins students across the country in demanding that our universities divest from the companies which profit off of the occupation, apartheid and genocide in Palestine. Now, more than ever, we must rise in solidarity to demand that the world centers Palestine, that the genocide is immediately ended and that our university is no longer complicit in human rights violations.”

Participants erected a makeshift wooden fence alongside the encampment and displayed signs with slogans such as “UCLA Says Free Palestine,”

“Blood on the UC Hands” and “When people are occupied, resistance is justified.”

It was not immediately clear if all of the participants in the UCLA action were students.

“Our top priority is always the safety and wellbeing of our entire Bruin community,” Mary Osako, vice chancellor of UCLA Strategic Communications, said in a statement Thursday morning. “We’re actively monitoring this situation to support a peaceful campus environment that respects our community’s right to free expression while minimizing disruption to our teaching and learning mission.”

Around midday, a small group of counter-protesters, some holding Israeli flags, began gathering in the area. The day remained mostly peaceful, but early Thursday evening some brief shoving matches broke out, prompting a quick response from campus security, which worked to keep the two groups apart.

There were no reports of injuries or arrests.

On Wednesday, hundreds of people took part in a pro-Palestine protest and attempted “occupation” of Alumni Park on the USC campus. That event ended with 93 arrests of people who refused to disperse from the area on the private campus.

The USC campus remains closed to the general public Thursday, but open to students, staff and faculty with proper identification.

Late Wednesday afternoon, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles issued a statement calling protests at USC and other college campuses across the nation “alarming.”

“Antisemitism, hate, and intolerance towards Jewish students has no place on any campus,” according to the federation. “JFEDLA is working to ensure the safety of every Jewish student across Los Angeles. While we believe in peaceful civic discourse, these protests have escalated to the point of creating a dangerous climate for Jews on campus.” (CNS)