Recently, the University of California, Los Angeles has faced protests and civil disturbance after a pro-Palestinian encampment was set up and counter-protestors followed.
Hundreds of arrests have been made by local police due to violence from both sides. Officials from UCLA declared that the encampment was illegal and warned protestors that they would face consequences if they didn’t leave.
UCLA students started the encampment in late April to protest the deaths of over 30,000 Palestinians occurring since Oct. 7, 2023. They demanded that their university divest from companies which profit off of the occupation, apartheid, and genocide in Palestine.
On Tuesday night, pro-Israel demonstrators attempted to pull down barricades, and groups of protesters were found shoving, kicking, and beating each other with sticks. The violence had been quelled by morning, hours after police arrived.
Authorities have not released information about injuries.
Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass referred to the violence as “absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable” in a social media post declaring that city police were on the scene.
After the standoff on Tuesday night, classes at UCLA were canceled for the next day as officials were investigating the incident. Students were urged to stay away from the area where the violence took place.
Given the recent protests not only at UCLA but at colleges and universities around the country, President Joe Biden released a statement urging for peace.
”There is no place for hate speech or violence of any kind, whether it’s antisemitism, Islamophobia or discrimination against Arab-Americans or Palestinian-Americans,” Biden said.
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block released a statement on Thursday morning explaining that the community was in “deep pain” from the recent events and the university’s approach to the encampment was to support students and minimize disruption.
“We had allowed it to remain in place so long as it did not jeopardize Bruins’ safety or harm our ability to carry out our mission,” Block wrote. “But while many of the protesters at the encampment remained peaceful, ultimately, the site became a focal point for serious violence as well as a huge disruption to our campus.”
