On April 25, 2024, a student protest began at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) to protest the administration's investments in Israel. The occupation, self-titled as the 'Palestine Solidarity Encampment', was a part of pro-Palestine protests on university campuses campaigning for divestment from Israel. The encampment was attacked multiple times by counter protestors, leading to clashes. On May 2, the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) raided and dismantled the encampment, arresting the protestors and ending the occupation.
Background On April 17, pro-Palestinian protestors at Columbia University began an occupation protest on its campus to protest Columbia's investments in Israel amid the Gaza war. The protest, as well as its forced dismantling (when university president Minouche Shafik authorized the New York City Police Department to storm the campus and conduct mass arrests) sparked a series of nationwide protests and encampments for divestment.
Protesters have alleged that UCLA invests in organizations that do business either in, or with, Israel. The protestors gave BlackRock as an example of such a company that does business in Israel which they believe is part of UCLA's investment portfolio.
Occupation
April 25 On April 25, students and faculty set up the encampment. They released a list of demands, including UCLA's divestment from companies that profit off the Gaza war, a disclosure of where the UC system is investing tuition money, the UC system to cut ties with city police departments who police student activism, an end to academic collaboration with institutions that are profiting and collaborating with Israel, and an immediate and permanent ceasefire.
Protestors erected wooden barricades and displayed signs that included slogans such as "UCLA says Free Palestine" and "UC has blood on its hands." The 'Palestine Solidarity Encampment' group was set up, which includes the UC Divest Coalition, Students for Justice in Palestine, and Jewish Voice for Peace. IfNotNow was also present at the protests. The group posted online a list of demands for the administration, which includes divestment from Israel, calling for a ceasefire, and an academic boycott of Israel.
Members of pro-Israel groups included the Israeli American Council and United Jewish Coalition and other protestors in support of Israel surrounded the encampment. Some minor skirmishes between protestors were reported.
April 26–29 On April 26, the administration released a statement saying that it prioritized the safety of students and minimizing disruption, but also that it supported free expression on campus and was therefore not requesting law enforcement at that time. UCLA police patrolled the perimeter of the encampment. Some Israeli and Jewish students said they felt uncomfortable. Pro-Palestinian protestors requested UCLA to not send in police. On April 27, pro-Israel counter-protestors raised more than $50,000 in three hours on GoFundMe to fund a screen and loudspeaker. Jessica Seinfeld, the wife of American comedian Jerry Seinfeld also posted on her social media account on Instagram that she had donated $5,000 to the counter-protestors.
On April 28, the administration created a physical barrier to separate dueling protestors. Later in the day, demonstrators broke through and a confrontation ensued. It was unclear what side broke through the barrier, and the administration condemned the violence. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators also clashed with police. Members of the Harriet Tubman Center for Social Justice held a solidarity demonstration with the pro-Palestinian protestors.
On April 29, faculty organized a walkout in solidarity with the protestors. Pro-Palestinian protestors set up metal barricades and appointed guards to block access to counter-protestors and media. Counter-protestors shouted through microphones and played loud music in front of the encampment early in the day. Later, a group of around 60 counter-protestors tried to breach the encampment, which led to heavy clashes. Security and UC officers with riot gear briefly intervened to separate the protestors. During clashes, counter-protestors released mice at the encampment. In response to the attack, the Council on American–Islamic Relations called on UCLA administration to investigate it as a hate crime.
April 30
A brief altercation between campus security and a disabled man occurred when the man tried to walk through a pathway blocked by the protest. The man said he was aware of the demonstrations, but didn't know that major pathways were blocked. Later in the afternoon, the UCLA Chancellor Gene Block shared a message with the UCLA community addressing the situation, stating that UCLA was increasing security presence on campus, removing barriers established by the encampment, and that the "student conduct process has been initiated, and could lead to disciplinary action including suspension or expulsion" for any UCLA faculty, staff or students involved.
Video of a female Jewish student's bleeding head went viral. The student was admitted to the ER and is reported to be in stable condition. The victim identified herself as Elinor Hess and claimed that she was shoved down when she reached to grab her flag, which fell down, and was kicked and pulled by the hair before she lost consciousness.
In an email to students, UCLA announced the extended closure of Powell Library and Royce Hall from 5:00pm Tuesday, April 30. The facilities are planned to reopen Monday, May 6.
May 1–2
Counter-protester attack On May 1, around 10:50 PM, a pro-Israeli group attacked the pro-Palestinian protesters' camp for nearly four hours, attempting to breach the barricades surrounding the encampment. The attackers, reported to have come from outside campus, carried Israeli flags and assaulted students with sticks, stones, poles, metal fencing, and pepper spray. They played loud audio of a child crying, threw wood and a metal barrier into the camp, and threw at least six fireworks into the encampment, including one directly at a group of protesters carrying injured people.
A video investigation suggested pro-Palestinian protesters did not initiate any confrontation but acted in defense. The counter-protesters called for a "Second Nakba", referring to the ethnic cleansing of Palestinians in 1948, and played the Israeli national anthem and Harbu Darbu on loudspeakers during the attack. According to The Guardian, counter-protesters included several far-right activists involved in anti-LGBTQ+ and anti-vaccine campaigning. The Boston Review reported that Zionist counter-protestors joined forces with white supremacists and Neo-Nazis, and that "One neo-Nazi was heard shouting, 'we’re here to finish what Hitler started,' without any apparent protest from the self-identified Zionists."
Security personnel hired by UCLA refused to intervene and stood aside during the attack. LAPD officers arrived by 1:45 AM but waited at least an hour before intervening. None of the counter-protesters were known to have been arrested by May 3, though UCLA was investigating the attackers with help from LAPD and FBI by May 7. Witnesses said the LAPD intervened after nearly four hours of attacks by the pro-Israel counter-demonstrators. One counter-protester said, "We were all waiting for the LAPD to show up and they never did". Both the LAPD and the university's hired security faced criticism for not protecting the encamped students. An Al Jazeera English correspondent on the scene reported, "There seems to be absolutely no police intervention whatsoever."
Fifteen people were reported injured, including one who was hospitalized. Student journalists for the Daily Bruin described being targeted by the counter-protesters and punched, kicked, and beaten. It was reported that law enforcement did not track injuries related to the attack, but the encampments' organizers said that more than 150 students were "assaulted with pepper spray and bear mace" and that at least 25 were transported to local emergency rooms for fractures, severe lacerations, and chemical-induced injuries.
On May 15, CNN identified a number of the violent counter-protesters, but UCLA police refused to comment on whether they would press charges. A report found one counter-protest group raised funds through GoFundMe, with Jessica Seinfeld and Bill Ackman donating $5,000 and $10,000, respectively.
Forced disbandment In the evening, law enforcement in riot gear issued a dispersal order to over a thousand people who had gathered in support of the encampment, stating anyone who refused to leave could face arrest.
Following the previous night's dispersal order, an estimated 200 to 400 students remained on campus. At around 1:30 a.m. on May 2, LAPD officers broke into the encampment but were forced to retreat after they were outnumbered. After an hour, officers of the California Highway Patrol equipped in riot gear arrived at the campus to confront the protesters. Police reportedly fired a stun grenade, surrounded the encampment from all four sides, and began tearing down its walls, arresting 210 protestors for failure to disperse, reportedly including at least one professor. Police were seen firing rubber bullets at the student protestors and methodically dismantling the encampment, that was cleared by the morning.
Additional protests post-occupation
May 6 On the morning of Monday, May 6, UCPD arrested 44 pro-Palestine protestors, 35 of whom were students, in Parking Lot 2. Four of those arrested were previously arrested in the May 2 raid on the encampment. Police found "bolt cutters, super glue, padlocks and other items that indicated [that the protestors had] intended to vandalize and occupy a building on campus." 42 of the protestors were charged with "conspiracy to commit a crime" with the other two "for obstructing a peace officer"
In parallel, approximately 50 protestors staged a sit-in protest at Moore Hall. UCPD responded by closing the building, after which the protestors moved to Dodd Hall. The protestors then moved to Bruin Plaza to continue their protest. A person claiming to speak for behalf of the local chapter of the Students for Justice in Palestine group told the Daily Bruin that the group would not allow for business as usual to continue at the university, and they wanted to "disrupt the university’s finances".
On the same day, UAW Local 4811, the chapter representing over 48,000 University of California workers under the United Auto Workers union, issued an authorization to vote for a strike, with the vote scheduled to take place May 13 thru 15.
May 23 On the morning of May 23, the day that chancellor Block testified in front of the House Education Committee, a small group of protesters set up a small encampment on the patio of Kerckhoff Hall. The number of protesters eventually reached several hundreds within a few hours. In the early afternoon, the UCPD issued a dispersal order and the protestors voluntarily left, marching towards the administration building, Murphy Hall, where they were joined by several hundred other protestors. With security denying access to the protestors to Murphy Hall, the protestors crossed the street to Dodd Hall. Some protestors were able to enter Dodd Hall, where they barricaded themselves, with the rest of the protestors blocking access to the building. Some counter-protestors attempted to enter Dodd Hall, but were denied entry by the protestors. In the late afternoon, the protestors decided to leave voluntarily just prior to the police entering the building through a back entrance. No arrests were made, and there were no reports of injuries.
June 10