Tensions are running high on the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, where hundreds of police in riot gear are deployed violently, ordering peaceful pro-Palestinian protesters to leave the camp or face arrest, fewer than 24 Hours after their camp was attacked by a violent pro-Israel mob.
But hundreds of students, surrounded by police, refused to give in as the standoff continued into early Thursday.
“The attitude within the camp is defensive,” UCLA professor Danielle Carr told Al Jazeera. “The students understand that we face the possibility of serious violence from police and counter-protesters, but … I understand that they will not resist arrest.”
On Wednesday evening, campus authorities sent a message to student protesters inside the Gaza Solidarity Camp informing them that they were in an illegal camp and that they must disperse immediately or face arrest, said Rob Reynolds of Al Jazeera, which reported from the crime scene.
“It may look peaceful, but it’s pretty tense,” Reynolds said. “It looks like the police are starting to arrest the students who actually haven’t committed any acts of violence.”
Armed police with batons and wooden batons patrolled parts of the campus in large numbers.
Buses were parked nearby to take arrested students away, but Reynolds said there would be no resistance.
“The entire focus of the camp was peaceful protest. Even when they were attacked by several hundred Israel supporters… they defended themselves but did not take offensive action against their attackers.”
The violence began with the pro-Israel mob hurling fireworks into the pro-Palestinian camp. Masked and armed with Israeli flags, they tried to dismantle the camp by attacking students with pepper spray, sticks, stones and metal fences. While the police stood by, the students used the metal fences thrown at them to shield themselves.
The police only intervened a few hours after the attacks and allowed the attackers to escape without making any arrests.
“It took several hours for the university to respond and ensure the safety of students. “The irony that the camp will face an attack by militarized police, likely involving tear gas, in the name of student safety is difficult to express clearly how disgusting many faculty members find this,” Carr said.
After classes were canceled on Wednesday, students spent the day reinforcing the barrier around their camp to protect themselves from further attacks. According to protest organizers, more than 100 people were injured in the attack and some were hospitalized.
Reynolds said the mob, which appeared to come from outside the university community, had been present on campus for days. He said it was “puzzling” that it took hours for the police to arrive.
“The mayor and the governor have vehicles and officers from the Los Angeles Police Department and the California Highway Patrol at their disposal to respond very quickly to disturbances of this nature,” he added.
Independent review
UCLA Chancellor Gene Block said in a statement that “a group of instigators” carried out the attack last night, but he did not provide details about the crowd or why the administration and school police did not respond sooner.
“Whatever one may feel about the camp, this attack on our students, faculty and community members was completely unacceptable,” he said. “It shook our campus to its core.”
The head of the University of California system, Michael Drake, ordered an “independent review of the university’s planning, actions and law enforcement response.”
The university faculty has sharply criticized the administration. 200 members have signed a letter calling for a series of demands, including that police not be unleashed on the student camp and that no student be punished for exercising their right to freedom of expression.
Muslim organizations in the US have also criticized university officials and police for failing to intervene and protect them from pro-Israel attackers. “The community needs to feel that the police are protecting them and not allowing others to harm them,” said Rebecca Husaini, chief of staff at the Muslim Public Affairs Council.
U.S. political analyst Eric Ham, co-author of The GOP Civil War: Inside the Battle for the Soul of the Republican Party, said the student-led campus protests were just the latest sign of public disdain for the Biden administration’s role in the war against Israel Gaza.
“We have already begun to see the impact of these protests and demonstrations [are having]but more importantly, the backlash that many people are feeling regarding President Biden’s handling of this conflict,” Ham told Al Jazeera.
The chaotic scenes at UCLA came just hours after New York police broke into a building occupied by anti-war protesters at Columbia University on Tuesday evening and broke up a demonstration that had paralyzed the school.
According to an Associated Press tally, arrests have occurred at least 38 times since April 18, when campus protests broke out across the United States. More than 1,600 people were arrested at 30 schools.