Dueling Gaza Protests at UCLA Draw Hundreds as USC Sees Peaceful Demonstration

Corinne Purtill, Ian James, Paige St. John, Safi Nazzal, Teresa Watanabe

Sun, April 28, 2024 at 3:05 PM EDT

Pro-Israeli and Palestinian demonstrators clashed in a large and noisy demonstration at UCLA on Sunday. (Dania Maxwell / Los Angeles Times)

Demonstrators supporting and opposing Israel over the war in Gaza clashed in a large and noisy demonstration at UCLA on Sunday, shouting slogans and pulling at police barricades not far from where pro-Palestinian students have maintained a tent encampment for days.

By late morning, a rapidly growing crowd, hundreds strong, had gathered on the grass at UCLA’s Dickson Court, and protesters were yelling obscenities at one another.

The protest came one day after police were called in at USC, where pro-Palestinian protesters returned with tents and reestablished an encampment in Alumni Park, days after 93 people were arrested in campus demonstrations.

At UCLA, Israel supporters draped in the country’s flag and waving smaller U.S. and Israel flags attempted to make their way to the front of a screen set up on the lawn by those opposing the pro-Palestinian demonstrations. To one side, group of men and women in keffiyeh scarves linked arms, attempting to block access to the stage, demonstrators screaming and shouting even as speeches started.

A flier distributed in advance said Sunday’s UCLA counterprotest was organized by the nonprofit Israeli-American Council, which on Thursday used social media to denounce pro-Palestinian demonstrations across U.S. campuses.

“It is utterly unacceptable that any university campus should become a platform for pro-terror and anti-American activities,” the statement read in part, calling the protests “overtly antisemitic.”

“We demand that university leaders and governing bodies nationwide exhibit zero tolerance for organizations that support terrorism and violence ... [and] take swift and decisive action as permitted by law to halt these violent demonstrations.”

A GoFundMe campaign purporting to support the UCLA counter-demonstration had collected some $66,000 by Sunday morning.

At the center of their conflict is the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas that killed 1,200 people and took 240 hostages, and Israel's retaliatory war on the Gaza territory. Gaza health authorities say Israeli forces have killed more than 34,000 Palestinians. The United Nations says roughly 2 million civilians in Gaza are now living in near-famine conditions.

The conflict has ignited demonstrations at university campuses across the United States in recent weeks, and resulted in the arrests of more than 700 people, according to various news sources.

At both UCLA and USC, the protests have been organized in support of Palestinians in Gaza, and have drawn counter protesters to the outskirts of the encampment to rally against Hamas and call for release of the remaining Israeli hostages.

"The Jewish students at UCLA are brilliant and resilient and they’re proud and they’re loud,” Dan Gold, executive director of the Hillel at UCLA, told demonstrators from the pro-Israeli stage set up on the campus lawn Sunday. “We are on the right side of history.”

Across the lawn, demonstrators carried signs that ranged from a hand-made "Free Hugs Jewish Students" to pre-printed "I go bananas for Israel." One woman separated from pro-Palestinian demonstrators and was confronted by pro-Israel demonstrators before being ushered to the exit without violence. Pro-Palestinian demonstrators erected a plywood barricade around their camp. Through gaps in the wood, a person waving a large Palestinian flag could be seen.

The director of UCLA's Nazarian Center, a nexus for both social and political Israeli studies, took to X on Saturday to voice support for those who oppose Israel's blockade and destruction of Gaza. But Dov Waxman drew the line at a demand for UCLA to sever connections to Israeli universities and foreign study programs.

"The Center is devoted to the academic study of Israel and has no ties to the Israeli government," Waxman wrote. Further, Waxman singled out one of the groups he said is organizing campus protests, Students for Justice in Palestine. Waxman said the group has voiced support for Hamas.

"I know that many people in the pro-Palestinian movement don’t support Hamas and don’t praise the October 7 massacre, but groups like SJP lead the movement on many college campuses, exploiting the sympathy that many students rightly feel for the suffering of Palestinians," Waxman said. "Students and faculty demonstrating in support of Palestinians shouldn’t ignore the fact that the organizers of these demonstrations are, in many cases, ideologically committed to eradicating Israel and expelling Israeli Jews, supportive of violence against Israeli civilians, and willing to ignore or even justify Hamas’ strategy of sacrificing Palestinian civilians for their political ends."

USC has been roiled by bitter controversy over the rescinding of a graduation speaking slot for valedictorian Asna Tabassum and the subsequent cancellation of the "main stage" commencement ceremony. Los Angeles police arrested 93 demonstrators earlier in the week, and tension was renewed Saturday after pro-Palestinian protesters reestablished a tent encampment in Alumni Park.

Demonstrators at USC beat drums and put up banners reading “Free Palestine,” “We are all Gaza,” and “Stop Funding Genocide.” According to witness reports and university statements, two structures were vandalized with spray-painted messages — the Tommy Trojan statue and a fountain in Alumni Park. The LAPD issued a "tactical alert" Saturday evening, temporarily sending dozens of squad cars to the campus. After police left, students said, dozens of protesters ate dinner and settled into their tents.

USC's campus has been closed to the general public since Friday, with access restricted to residents and registered visitors. Further steps were hinted at with the approach of commencement ceremonies starting May 8. The traditional central ceremony has been canceled but separate events for individual schools are still planned.

"While the university fully supports freedom of expression, these acts of vandalism and harassment are absolutely unacceptable and will not be tolerated. President Carol Folt has made numerous attempts to meet with the students but they have declined these offers," campus communications vice president Joel Curran said in an emailed statement Sunday. "We are hoping for a more reasonable response Sunday before we are forced to take further action. This area is needed for commencement set up early this week.”

At previous UCLA demonstrations, hundreds of students, faculty and alumni gathered without arrests or suspensions. Students in the encampment chanted “Free Palestine” and other antiwar messages, along with the more controversial “intifada” and “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.” In one case witnessed by The Times, a demonstrator entered the pro-Palestinian encampment and shoved a woman to the ground.

UCLA has used private security guards on bicycles and metal barricades to separate the factions.

“UCLA’s approach to the encampment is guided by several equally important principles: the need to support the safety and well being of Bruins, the need to support the free expression rights of our community, and the need to minimize disruption to our teaching and learning mission,” Mary Osako, vice chancellor for Strategic Communications, said in a statement to the campus on Friday.

“It’s also important to note that we are following University of California system-wide policy guidance, which directs us not to request law enforcement involvement preemptively, and only if absolutely necessary to protect the physical safety of our campus community.”