Tensions Rise at UCLA Pro-Palestinian Encampment After Violent Attack
Events at the entrance to the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA on Wednesday were orderly and quiet, save for the constant drone of a police helicopter circling overhead.
Those hoping to enter lined up and organizers told them ground rules: No contact with police or reporters. Ignore counter-protesters. Do not litter. No smoking or drinking.
But despite the relative calm, tensions remain high. Just hours earlier at night, a group of pro-Israel counter-protesters stormed the camp, tearing down barricades and attacking protesters with metal pipes, mace and pepper spray. Fireworks were also set off in the camp.
Classes at UCLA were canceled Wednesday and the administration issued a statement condemning “horrible acts of violence” against the camp, which was set up to protest Israel’s war in Gaza.
Camp spokesperson Anna, who declined to give her last name, said dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters were injured or pepper-sprayed in attacks that lasted from late Tuesday night into the early hours of Wednesday.
She added that the attack occurred in part under the watchful eye of police, who intervened hours after the violence began.
“The police did nothing,” she told Al Jazeera on Wednesday, noting that she was still feeling the effects of being pepper-sprayed and beaten by pro-Israel contingent attackers. She said she spent hours helping other injured people.
“They came at us with metal pipes. Many people were taken to hospital with serious injuries. Only one person was left in a wheelchair. Another person’s hand was completely smashed.”
In a statement to Al Jazeera drafted anonymously, members of UCLA Broadcast News echoed that assessment, saying campus police have done little to help the pro-Palestinian camp.
“Campus security and the UCLA Police Department continued to stand by but failed to intervene as students were relentlessly harassed by counter-protesters. No steps were taken to protect UCLA students,” they wrote.
“Furthermore, when the Los Angeles Police Department and California Highway Patrol were called to the scene, they did not intervene against violent protesters for an hour.”
During the day Wednesday, the space formerly used by pro-Israel protesters was largely empty, with several large Israeli flags fluttering in the breeze. However, reports of increased police presence led to suspicions that the pro-Palestinian camp would be cleared later in the day.
As of press time, UCLA police and CSC Los Angeles, the security and event management company employed on campus, had not responded to Al Jazeera’s questions.
Anna believes the police’s indifferent response to last night’s violence stands in stark contrast to the way law enforcement has aggressively suppressed pro-Palestinian protests on campuses across the country.
In New York City, for example, an estimated 282 protesters were arrested overnight when police cleared demonstrations at Columbia University and the City College of New York.
As of Wednesday, there was a heavy police presence on the UCLA campus, with about a dozen patrol cars facing in the direction of the encampment.
Still, it was a soporific scene: Demonstrators listened quietly to speeches while police checked cellphones. Occasionally someone would come over to question him, but they were largely ignored.
Anna told Al Jazeera that Tuesday night’s attack was the culmination of several days of harassment.
She said pro-Israel counter-protesters were “increasingly aggressive”. There was even an attempt to break into the camp the night before.
Anna pointed out that counter-protesters also set up loudspeakers at night and played some songs over and over again in an apparent attempt to deprive the demonstrators of sleep and disturb their inner peace. She compared their methods to those used by the Israeli military against Palestinian prisoners.
But she stressed that students at the camp did not want violence to interfere with their message.
They prefer to focus on Israel’s war in Gaza, which has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, mostly women and children, and displaced more than 90 percent of the enclave’s population.
Despite reports of human rights abuses by Israeli forces, the U.S. government remains staunchly supportive of Israel’s military offensive.
Protesters on campuses like those at UCLA are demanding that universities stop investing in companies seen as involved in Israel’s war and occupation of Palestinian territories. They also called for an end to the university’s relationships with Israeli institutions.
Anna said, “Despite the incredible violence we experienced last night, it’s not about us as students. It’s about us as students bringing attention to the plight of Palestinians and the genocide in Gaza. It’s about attracting so many people to What comes to this camp is our love for Palestine, for the dignity of Palestinian life and freedom.”
The attack on the encampment was one of the most violent manifestations of rising tensions on college campuses across the United States.
Students across the country set up encampments, occupied buildings and engaged in other acts of civil disobedience against U.S. support for the war.
However, university administrators and elected officials, including President Joe Biden, have claimed that the protests contained anti-Semitic incidents that created an unsafe learning environment for Jewish students.
However, protest organizers at UCLA and elsewhere denied the accusation. Since the war in Gaza began nearly seven months ago, on October 7, Jewish, Arab and Muslim communities have all reported an increase in harassment and discrimination.
“These protests turned violent only at the behest of pro-Israel demonstrators, many of whom are not even students at the institution,” members of UCLA’s broadcast news department wrote in a statement to Al Jazeera.
“As students, we should not have to worry about the safety of our campus, especially as we exist as a community in our campus spaces.”
Still, since December, Congress has held two hearings specifically examining allegations of campus anti-Semitism, and the presidents of four top universities have been subpoenaed for questioning. Two of the principals have now resigned.
On Wednesday, the House took further action to combat anti-Semitism on campuses.
It passed a bill to add a definition of anti-Semitism to civil rights law, which could punish criticism of Israel. While the bill has yet to come to a vote in the Senate, critics worry that any resulting law could be used to withhold funding from universities involved in pro-Palestinian activism.
Faced with pressure from lawmakers to crack down on the protests, many universities have called on police to disperse protesters, including two prestigious Ivy League schools, Columbia and Yale.
Still, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement Wednesday condemning the “abhorrent act of violence” and calling for an independent investigation following the overnight attack at UCLA.
California Governor Gavin Newsom also issued a statement saying those who engage in illegal actions “must be held accountable” but did not specify that pro-Palestinian demonstrators were among the groups targeted.
Still, Anna urged politicians to do more to support UCLA protesters and protect their right to free speech.
Anna said, “The overwhelming support has come from other students, community members, and loved ones. So far, I have not seen any prominent politicians condemn the attack we suffered last night as much as they condemned Jewish students for anti-Semitism on campus. Feeling insecure due to Zionist activities.”