Pro-Genocide Mob Attacks Nonviolent Encampment, Beats Students at UCLA Encampment organizers called the assault "nothing less than a horrifying, despicable act of terror." by Jake Johnson, Common Dreams, May 1 https://www.commondreams.org/news/pro-genocide-mob-ucla
A pro-Israel mob violently attacked a Gaza solidarity encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles overnight Tuesday, hurling fireworks at the structure and beating demonstrators as campus security and city police stood by. *Los Angeles Times* higher education journalist Teresa Watanabe reported <https://twitter.com/TeresaWatanabe/status/1785580909795942766> that members of the pro-Israel mob used explicitly genocidal language as they ripped down encampment barriers, yelling, "Second Nakba!"—a reference to the forced displacement of hundreds of thousands of Palestinians from their homes in 1948. . . . "For over seven hours, Zionist aggressors hurled gas canisters, sprayed pepper spray, and threw fireworks and bricks into our encampment," organizers said. "They broke our barriers repeatedly, clearly in an attempt to kill our community." They added that campus security officers left the scene of the violence "within minutes" and "external security the university hired for 'backup' watched, filmed, and laughed on the side as the immediate danger inflicted upon us escalated." . . . The passivity of campus security and Los Angeles police in the face of violence from the pro-Israel mob at UCLA drew comparisons to the occupied West Bank, where Palestinians are regularly harassed and attacked by settlers as Israeli soldiers watch—and often participate. *The Daily Bruin*, which had student reporters on the scene, reported <https://dailybruin.com/2024/05/01/pro-israel-counter-protesters-attempt-to-storm-encampment-sparking-violence> on the scene, reported that "security and UCPD both retreated as pro-Israel counter-protesters and other groups attacked protesters in the encampment." . . . Editorial: UCLA is complicit in violence inflicted upon protesters, failed to protect students UCLA Daily Bruin, May 1 https://dailybruin.com/2024/05/01/editorial-ucla-is-complicit-in-violence-inflicted-upon-protesters-failed-to-protect-students The Biden Administration's Hypocrisy on College Protests Must End While the White House is quick to condemn any allegation of antisemitism at protests, whether verified or manufactured, it has repeatedly failed to condemn verified incidents of anti-Palestinian racism and Islamophobia on college campuses. by Edward Ahmed Mitchell, Shafiquil Mushna, Common Dreams, May 1 https://www.commondreams.org/opinion/biden-hypocrisy-campus-protests . . . Now contrast the White House's lack of response to violent actions motivated by anti-Palestinian hate with the White House's vocal response to inflammatory words that a small number of individuals have allegedly made at or near pro-ceasefire protests on college campuses. . . . On Wed, May 1, 2024 at 3:23 PM John A Imani via groups.io <johnaimani3= [email protected]> wrote: > ---- Forwarded Message ----- > *From:* Anti-Imperialist News <[email protected]> > *Sent:* Wednesday, May 1, 2024 at 12:58:13 PM PDT > *Subject:* [News] UCLA clashes: Pro-Palestinian protesters attacked by > Israel supporters > UCLA clashes: Pro-Palestinian protesters attacked by Israel supporters > > *Police delay intervention into ‘shocking’ attack, featuring masked > vigilantes armed with pepper spray and fireworks.* > Israel supporters attack anti-war protesters at UCLA university in US > Published On 1 May 2024 - > https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/1/ucla-clashes-pro-palestinian-protesters-attacked-by-israel-supporters > > <https://www.facebook.com/sharer/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Faje.io%2Fbcy4cw> > <https://twitter.com/intent/tweet?text=UCLA%20clashes%3A%20Pro-Palestinian%20protesters%20attacked%20by%20Israel%20supporters&source=sharethiscom&related=sharethis&via=AJEnglish&url=https%3A%2F%2Faje.io%2Fbcy4cw> > <https://aje.io/bcy4cw> > > A demonstration against Israel’s war on Gaza at the University of > California in Los Angeles (UCLA) turned violent > <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/liveblog/2024/5/1/live-us-university-protests-spread-amid-growing-calls-to-end-gaza-war> > when a vigilante pro-Israel mob attacked a solidarity encampment occupied > by peaceful pro-Palestinian protesters. > > Witnesses said the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) only intervened > after nearly four hours of the attacks, which started overnight into > Wednesday when masked pro-Israel counter-demonstrators, who appeared in > their hundreds from outside the university campus, hurled fireworks into > the encampment. > > The attackers, carrying Israeli flags, then tried to tear down the > pro-Palestinian camp, assaulting students with pepper spray, sticks, stones > and metal fencing. Police stood by, failing to protect students, who > re-commandeered the metal fencing thrown at them to shield themselves, said > Joey Scott, an investigative journalist speaking to Al Jazeera from the > scene. > > Before the police arrived, a group reportedly piled on one person who lay > on the ground, kicking and beating them until others pulled them out of the > scrum. > > Eventually, Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass issued a statement on X early on > Wednesday morning that police were responding to requests for support from > the UCLA administration. LAPD confirmed their intervention at about 2am > (09:00 GMT). > > “Horrific acts of violence occurred at the encampment tonight and we > immediately called law enforcement for mutual aid support,” Mary Osako, a > senior UCLA official, told the campus newspaper the Daily Bruin. > > Reporting from Los Angeles, Al Jazeera’s Rob Reynolds said the student > protesters had stood their ground. The number of injured was not yet known, > but reports on social media indicated that some people have been led away > with injuries, he said, as he described the “really shocking and ugly scene > of violence”. > > The vigilante mob appeared to come from outside the campus. “They appear > to be all largely people who are not of student age and they’re not from > the UCLA campus, but what they’re doing is trying to harass and attack the > pro-Palestinian demonstrators,” said Reynolds. > > Bass called the violence “absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable”. > > The antiwar group said that “law enforcement simply stood at the edge of > the lawn and refused to budge as we screamed for their help. The only means > of protection we had was each other” as the attack went on for more than > seven hours. > > “The university would rather see us dead than divest,” it added in a > statement posted on X. > > Nationwide escalation > > The UCLA attack is the latest escalation in two weeks of demonstrations > <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/4/29/mapping-pro-palestine-campus-protests-around-the-world> > against Israel’s war on Gaza that have spread to universities across the > United States, and to some universities in other countries. > > Pro-Palestinian students at UCLA had occupied campus grounds for the past > two days, calling for the divestment of the university’s financial ties to > Israel. > > Late on Tuesday, New York City police arrested dozens of pro-Palestinian > demonstrators holed up in an academic building on the Columbia University > <https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2024/5/1/new-york-city-police-enter-columbia-campus-as-gaza-protest-escalates> > campus in Manhattan and removed a protest encampment that the Ivy League > school had sought to dismantle for nearly two weeks. > > Columbia’s police action happened on the 56th anniversary of a similar > move to quash an occupation of Hamilton Hall by students protesting against > racism and the Vietnam War. > > Just blocks away from Columbia, at The City College of New York, > demonstrators were in a standoff with police outside the public college’s > main gate. Video on social media showed officers shoving people around as > they cleared them from the street and pavements. Many arrested protesters > were driven away on city buses. > > Scott said he believed the delayed police response to the UCLA violence > would serve as “inspiration” to potential attackers, seeking to force > pro-Palestinian protesters to drop their demands. > > “If they are trying to quell future violence, they have done a terrible > job of that because it appears to be fully endorsed,” he said. > > Al Jazeera’s Reynolds said the mob at UCLA reminded him of “settler > violence on the [occupied] West Bank > <https://www.aljazeera.com/tag/occupied-west-bank/> without the use of as > much lethal force, but this is clearly a violent, uncontrolled mob that is > bent on mayhem”. > > One member of the pro-Israel mob carried a large yellow flag with a crown > and, emblazoned with the word “Messiah”. “These are symbols of radical, > far-right Jewish groups,” said Reynolds. > > It was not known how the mob had organised. > Questions and comments may be sent to [email protected] > > To unsubscribe contact: > http://freedomarchives.org/mailman/options/news_freedomarchives.org > ------------------------------ > > _._,_._,_ > > -=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Groups.io Links: You receive all messages sent to this group. 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