New joint statement by members of #UCLA’s history department, compiled from testimony of faculty present at encampment during various periods and in response to last night’s police violence against students. We make 6 explicit calls of the university administration. Read at link below.
Circulating word is that #LAPD plans to disperse #UCLA Palestinian solidarity encampment at 6. A number of groups including faculty and campus unions are planning on rallying in defense. Meanwhile an administrator has entered the camp to negotiate
"#UCLA now finds itself in a far more vulnerable place. The attack last night was pure anarchy in which violent thugs were given free rein, seemingly with the tacit support of law enforcement. It placed scores of anti-war demonstrators in the encampment in direct and serious danger.
Moreover, the actions last night do absolutely nothing to assure the security and well-being of Jewish students, staff or faculty"
Catherine Hamilton, 21, told The Times she recognized one who had previously harassed her & taken pictures of her press badge. The individual instructed the group to encircle the student journalists, before they sprayed them with pepper spray, & chanted Hamilton’s name.
As she tried to break free, she was punched repeatedly in the chest & upper abdomen; another student journalist was pushed to the ground & beaten & kicked for nearly a minute.
Hamilton went to the hospital, when the bruising made it difficult for her to breathe.
This is a garbage headline that is fractally wrong and also why biden has lost 20% margin in youth vote in a year. The only violence at the #UCLA encampment was committed AGAINST them by the police and the fascist mobs the police gave carte blanche to. The encampment was NOT chaotic - it was highly orderly, well disciplined, and a place of education and solidarity. The encampment is a protest AGAINST violence sanctioned by the Biden administration.
“White nationalists and neo-Nazis joined forces with Zionists (including some saying they were Israelis) to attack #UCLA’s #Palestine Solidarity Encampment, whose residents included a large number of Jewish students. The assailants were not affiliated with the university. One neo-Nazi was heard shouting, ‘we’re here to finish what Hitler started,’ without any apparent protest from the self-identified Zionists.” #studentprotests#freepalestine https://www.bostonreview.net/articles/uclas-unholy-alliance/
So I knew that cars make you lose your perception of the humanity of others, but I guess I was a little surprised at just how many people were fully ready to ram their car directly into my body as I was walking a picket line. "I will do a vehicular assault to avoid having to walk 10 extra minutes" is peak LA culture.
The counter-protestors at #UCLA included a large number of bona fide antisemites. Their only care for Jewish safety is how to exploit it for political gain.
What I witnessed that Tuesday night chilled me to the bone - one of the men named in this article screamed at me and my colleague that white supremacy will rule and white violence will come. We were standing on the sidelines as observers.
If you’ve always wanted a t-shirt that commemorates the discovery that lead to the Nobel Prize in physics going to the fourth woman in history, now you can buy that shirt!
"“People Could Have Died”: Police Raid UCLA Gaza Protest, Waited as Pro-Israel Mob Attacked Encampment"
"Police in riot gear dismantled a pro-Palestinian encampment using flashbang grenades, rubber bullets & tear gas, & arresting dozens of students.
"The raid came just over a day after pro-Israel counterprotesters armed with sticks, metal rods & fireworks attacked students" while police watched on.
"The strikers are demanding amnesty for grad students and other academic workers who were arrested or face discipline for their involvement in the protests, which union leaders say were peaceful except when counter-demonstrators and other instigators were allowed to provoke unrest"
Our department statement about the shameful actions of Gene Block which put our students at risk. I have much to say about what’s been going on at #UCLA and little of it good. Block must resign.
The students at the encampment, with whom I spent a part of today, are an example of solidarity and democracy. Their right to protest on campus must be defended.
Pro-Israel attackers, armed with sticks and other weapons, attack a Gaza solidarity encampment on the University of California, Los Angeles [UCLA] campus on Wednesday night [David Swanson/Reuters]
They used fireworks, irritant chemical sprays, poles made of metal and sticks made of wood – as well as fists and feet – and more than 100 students were injured, according to protest organisers, some of whom were admitted to hospital.
This week the world found out - #UCLA has the best student run college paper in America. So incredibly proud of the Bruin reporters who fearlessly kept reporting this week even while getting assaulted by vicious right wing mob. Support the Daily Bruin today. 💙💛 https://uclastudentmedia.com/donate/
Proud to be a part of this movement at #UCLA and walk along my colleagues in defense of our students and the broader principles of academic freedom, critical inquiry, and university autonomy.
Broad divestment from sponsors of state violence is—in my view—essential for the mission of an independent university. In today’s context of #Gaza, it’s even more pressing.
Okay, well, seriously don't give a dollar to #JerrySeinfeld and don't watch his upcoming movie. His wife is sending money to "counter-protestors" to do the same good work as the mob at #UCLA.