post protests, UCLA creates high-level post to oversee campus safety - bringing in the guy who reviewed Uvalde shooting

[Celerity]

9. Jewish students say pro-Israel violence at UCLA protest camp undercut their advocacy

https://www.timesofisrael.com/us-jewish-students-say-pro-israel-violence-at-ucla-protest-camp-undercuts-advocacy/

Counter-protesters attack a pro-Palestinian encampment set up on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as clashes erupt, in Los Angeles on May 1, 2024. (Etienne Laurent/AFP)

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The day after Tsives went viral, another video of clashes did so as well. This time, it showed pro-Israel activists physically attacking the perimeter of the school’s anti-Israel encampment as well as at least one protester. The demonstrators arrived just before midnight on Tuesday night, many dressed in black clothing with white masks. Photographs and videos from the scene show numerous fights breaking out, objects being thrown into the camp, and at least one firework being set off. Security guards were present at the scene but did not intervene. Police eventually cleared the area around 3 a.m.

UCLA canceled classes on Wednesday. Los Angeles Mayor Karen Bass condemned the violence as “absolutely abhorrent and inexcusable” and called for an investigation. According to The Los Angeles Times, at least 15 people were injured, though it is unclear if anyone was arrested. As of Wednesday afternoon, the area remained restricted to law enforcement and credentialed media, while campus and LA police maintained a heavy presence. Police began clearing the encampment early Thursday morning, clashing with protesters and making arrests as they moved into the area.

Among those condemning Tuesday night’s pro-Israel violence are Jewish leaders in LA, and Jewish students at UCLA, which, according to Hillel International, is home to 2,500 Jewish undergraduates among a total of about 32,000. Tsives, who said he witnessed Tuesday night’s clash, said the incident “slows down” those who advocate for Israel. He also laid blame on the university administration, which he said should have removed the encampment days ago when it was found to violate campus rules. “If you’re a student who’s not biased in this situation, and you’re looking at the sides, and you see a pro-Israel mob rush what they think is a peaceful encampment — even though we know this is not a peaceful encampment — it makes us look really bad,” Tsives said. “I’m here to let them know, this was a small group of what the majority of the Jewish people actually believe. We don’t support what they did.”

That message was echoed by the LA Jewish federation in a rare statement criticizing the actions of Jews on campus. Like Tsives, the federation also said the violence was a result of the administration’s failure to act. “We are appalled at the violence that took place on the campus of UCLA last night,” the Wednesday statement said. “The abhorrent actions of a few counter-protestors last night do not represent the Jewish community or our values. We believe in peaceful, civic discourse. Unfortunately, the violence at UCLA is a result of the lack of leadership from the Chancellor and the UCLA administration. The Chancellor has allowed for an environment to be created over many months that has made students feel unsafe.”

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UCLA clashes: Police criticised for 'delayed' response to violence

The office of California's governor has criticised the police response to violence on campus at the University of California, Los Angeles.

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-68937775



A masked pro-Israeli group assaulted a pro-Palestinian student camp, before officers were called to the campus. Governor Gavin Newsom's spokesperson said the "limited and delayed" police intervention was "unacceptable". Hundreds of police swarmed the campus early on Wednesday morning after more than two hours of fighting. State officials and university leaders have said they immediately deployed security personnel to the tent camp on Dickson Plaza when clashes erupted just before midnight on Tuesday.

But several people on site said law enforcement did not act quickly enough. "Law enforcement simply stood at the edge of the lawn and refused to budge as we screamed for their help," UC Divest at LA, a group involved in the encampment, said in a statement. The BBC has contacted UCLA and LAPD for a response. The university declared the pro-Palestinian encampment, in the shadow of its Royce Hall, an illegal gathering on Tuesday.



Footage online shows that, as midnight approached on Tuesday, a large pro-Israeli group donning black outfits and white masks arrived on campus and attempted to dismantle barriers. Campers, some wearing goggles and helmets, and others carrying placards and umbrellas, rallied to defend their makeshift space.

Dylan Winward, a reporter with the Daily Bruin student newspaper, said the counter-demonstrators had thrown objects including "fireworks, a scooter, water bottles and tear gas". The Bruin also said on social media that four of its reporters had been assaulted and sprayed with an irritant early on Wednesday morning by attackers who recorded the incident on their mobile phones. "Tonight they escalated to a whole new level, they started inciting violence," one pro-Palestinian student activist told the BBC.

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A pro-Palestinian demonstrator (C) is beaten by counter protesters attacking a pro-Palestinian encampment set up on the campus of the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as clashes erupt, in Los Angeles on May 1, 2024. (AFP)

Details on Identities of the Violent Pro-Israel Protesters at UCLA?

https://talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/details-on-identities-of-the-violent-pro-israel-protesters-at-ucla

This is a brief follow up on my post earlier that touched on the violence on Tuesday night at UCLA. As I noted, and has been widely reported, on Tuesday night a small contingent pro-Israel counter-protesters attacked the Gaza encampment on campus. This group appears to have been willfully violent and focused on tearing down the barricades of the encampment, throwing various projectiles at pro-Gaza demonstrators, throwing anywhere from one to four firecrackers into the encampment and using something like pepper spray or other similarly noxious spray on people in the encampment. In short, a group of vigilantes or thugs who went in to break up the encampment and terrorize the protestors. But as far as I can tell there’s no clear information on who these people were. And I’ve seen no evidence that any of them were or have been arrested.

There seems to be uniform agreement that they didn’t appear to be students and that they were mostly or all men. But from there any agreement breaks down. One spokesperson for the encampment said they appeared to be teenage boys. Another witness said they appeared to be grown men, and too old to be students. These contradictory accounts aren’t surprising. It was nighttime. The thugs were wearing balaclavas or other face coverings and it was a chaotic situation. But it seems important to have some sense of who these people were, not only so they can be arrested and punished but for our general understanding of what happened. This article in The Forward is by a Jewish UCLA history professor, David N. Myers, who was at the daytime demonstrations and counter-demonstrations and was one of several professors who interposed themselves between the two groups to try to deescalate the situation. He has this paragraph about the Tuesday night violence.



Some subset of the daytime counter-protestors seems like the most logical place to start. But Myers appeared to be talking about general similarities and, if I’m understanding him right, suggested the connection mainly to argue that university administrators had reason to think something like this was coming and should have been more prepared. In any case, this was a pretty big deal. So I’m surprised that we still don’t seem to know the actual identities of these people and that — at least as far as I can tell — there have yet to be any arrests. If you’ve seen news reports that shed light on this can you send them in?

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