Probe shows Israel sympathizers sparked UCLA violence
Police stood by for hours as Israel supporters attacked pro-Palestine student protesters
Pro-Israel counter-protesters attacked students in the pro-Palestinian encampment at a US university for several hours, including beating them with sticks, spraying them in the face with chemicals, and launching fireworks as weapons, a New York Times investigation published on 4 May showed.
Students erected the encampment at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA) on 25 April as part of a broader student movement throughout the US to protest Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
On Tuesday, UCLA officials declared the encampment illegal. Later that day, a group of Israel supporters attacked the encampment.
According to The Times’ review of video footage taken by protesters and journalists, the attack began when a group of counter-protesters started tearing away metal barriers that had been in place to cordon off pro-Palestinian protestors.
Security personnel hired by the university are seen in yellow vests, standing by and watching throughout the attack without intervening.
Attacks on the encampment continued for nearly three hours before police arrived.
"Counter-protesters shot fireworks toward the encampment at least six times” and “sprayed chemicals both into the encampment and directly at people’s faces,” The Times stated.
The videos show many of the counter-protesters were wearing pro-Israel slogans on their clothing and blaring loud music, including Israel’s national anthem and “Harbu Darbu,” a popular Israeli song that calls for the annihilation of Palestinians in Gaza and the killing of western celebrities Bella Hadid, Mia Khalifa, and Dua Lipa, all of whom have expressed solidarity with Gaza.
Video shows groups of counter-protesters surrounding and attacking both groups and individual pro-Palestinian protesters. “They could be seen punching, kicking and attacking people with makeshift weapons, including sticks, traffic cones and wooden boards,” The Times writes.
The Times adds that “Except for a brief attempt to capture a loudspeaker used by counter-protesters, and water bottles being tossed out of the encampment, none of the videos analyzed by The Times show any clear instance of encampment protesters initiating confrontations with counter-protesters beyond defending the barricades.”
Despite the violence, police officers remained standing about 100 meters away from the area for roughly an hour without intervening.
At 2:42 am, police officers finally began to move toward the encampment, after which time the counter-protesters left the scene.
The Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) and the California Highway Patrol did not respond to questions from The Times regarding the incident.
Mary Osako, UCLA vice chancellor of strategic communications, also declined to answer questions but issued a statement saying: “We are carefully examining our security processes from that night and are grateful to U.C. President Michael Drake for also calling for an investigation. We are grateful that the fire department and medical personnel were on the scene that night.”
On Thursday, UCLA police arrested 200 people at the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA, claiming the protesters resisted arrest.
The arrests came after university officials declared the encampment an "unlawful assembly" on Wednesday and ordered demonstrators to leave the area.