US police, armed and ready, forcefully entered a sit-in site at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) early on a Thursday to break up a demonstration in favour of the Palestinians, previously targeted by pro-Israeli protestors the former evening.
This interference by the police at the crack of dawn on the UCLA campus represents the recent upsurge in friction at educational institutions across America, as disputes over Israel’s actions during the Gaza conflict have instigated violent confrontations amongst students and the authorities.
At sundown on Wednesday, law enforcement officers geared for action began to infiltrate the UCLA grounds in the vicinity of a network of tents packed with protestors, a live video broadcast of the events relayed.
Local broadcaster KABC-TV calculated the protesters in the encampment to be between 300 and 500, with another estimated 2,000 rallying beyond the barriers in solidarity.
Yet, the police conglomerate remained on the outskirts of the tent city for several hours, only starting their forceful intrusion into the protest site at about 3:15am local time (10:15am), incarcerating those who resisted to go. The incursion was fronted by baton and shield-carrying officers of the California Highway Patrol.
The demonstrators, armed with impromptu shields and umbrellas, tried to hamper the police manoeuvre by outnumbering them, all the while chanting “push them back” and directing bright beams towards the law enforcement officers.
Some had even outfitted themselves with hardhats, safety glasses and mask respirators, foreseeing the intrusion, just a day after the establishment had deemed the public gathering to be illegal.
In the meantime, hundreds of additional pro-Palestinian campaigners outside the tented area expressed their disgrace towards the police through shouting “shame on you”, banging on drums, brandishing Palestinian flags, and even advancing onto the university premises. Many had donned the traditional Palestinian scarf known as the keffiyeh.
Contrastingly, a considerably smaller assemblage of protestors brandishing Israeli flags encouraged the police’s proceeding to shut down the protest site, chanting “Hey hey, ho-ho, the occupation has got to go”.
Ahead of the siege, police repetitively implored over loudspeakers for the protestors to vacate the site, contained within a plaza approximately as large as a football pitch, situated between the iconic twin-tower auditorium Royce Hall and the principal undergraduate library.
Following a violent altercation after hours on Tuesday night at UCLA’s outdoor protest camp between its inhabitants and masked individuals countering their cause, the University decided to suspend all classes for that day. Until the late-night altercation, which included both sides engaging in physical fights and using pepper spray, the camp’s inhabitants had been largely peaceful. The pro-Palestinian group members, who had set up the camp the previous week, reported being targeted with fireworks and assaulted with bats and sticks.
University executives blamed the strife on “agitators”, pledging to investigate the incident. The violent outbreak persisted for a few hours during the early hours of Wednesday before order was reinstated by the police. California governor Gavin Newsom’s spokesman later reprimanded the “insufficient and sluggish campus law enforcement reaction” to the chaos, labelling it as “inexcusable”.
As an augmented law enforcement contingent stormed the campus on Wednesday night to dismantle the camping area, some demonstrators were heard expressing their displeasure at the police asking, “Where were you yesterday?”.
Columbia University is also mentioned, as it initiated the suspension of pro-Palestinian protesters who disregarded an ultimatum.
Thursday and Friday would see the UCLA campus, home to almost 52,000 students — a mix of undergraduate and graduate scholars — functioning partially, University officials advised.
Further, the police operation on Wednesday night was a day following when law enforcement in New York City apprehended pro-Palestinian activists who had commandeered a building in Columbia University and removed a protest camp from the Ivy League institution’s campus. New York’s mayor, Eric Adams notified that approximately 300 individuals were held from Columbia and City College of New York, with many of them being charged with trespassing and vandalism.
The contentious incidents in UCLA and New York are seen as part of the largest United States student activism wave since the anti-racism marches and demonstrations in 2020.
The Hanover police department in New Hampshire mentioned that on Wednesday, ninety pro-Palestinian protesters, including students and outsiders, were arrested at Dartmouth University. All were charged with resisting arrest and criminal trespass.
This eruption of protests comes after an attack in southern Israel by Gaza Strip-based Hamas militants on October 7, and the subsequent retaliatory Israeli offensive in the Palestinian region.
Recently, pupils have been organising protests and establishing tent settlements in numerous educational establishments across America, demanding an immediate stop to the battles in Gaza and requesting institutions to cut ties with businesses that back the Israeli government. Many of these institutions have required police assistance to suppress the rallies.
Counter-protesters have accused the demonstrators, across the nation, of promoting hatred against Jews. Those siding with Palestinians, including Jewish individuals who oppose the actions being driven by Israel in Gaza, argue that they’re unfairly labelled as anti-Semitic for expressing condemnation of the Israeli government and support for human rights.
The dilemma has become politically charged in the lead-up to the impending US presidential election in November, with accusations from Republicans that some university moderators are ignoring anti-Semitic language and intimidation. (Source: Reuters)