Ongoing Demonstration/New Report

The Daily Bruin is providing a so-called "live feed" regarding a demonstration on campus. In reverse chronological order, below is the feed to this time of posting:

2:21 p.m. – At 2:20 p.m., three demonstrators hung a new sign on Perloff Hall to replace the one that CSC took down. The sign read, “UCPD is Fascist” and “Abolition now!”

2:12 p.m. – At 2:10 p.m., 12 CSC private security officers biked to directly outside Perloff Hall and ripped down a sign put up by demonstrators, carrying it away. The sign read, “By soul, by blood.”

1:47 p.m. – UCLA Fire Marshal Ricardo Barboza told the Daily Bruin the structure erected in Dickson Court North violated section 105 of the Los Angeles City Fire Code. A media liaison for the demonstrators declined to remove the structure, claiming it is a religious expression.

1:03 p.m. – In an Instagram story, Faculty for Justice in Palestine at UCLA said students have refused to take down the sukkah. Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine separately said in an Instagram post that UCLA has threatened a police sweep of the Sukkot shelters.

12:39 p.m. – At 12:30 p.m., around 30 protesters chanted, “UC, UC, you can’t hide, we charge you with apartheid.”

12:18 p.m. – In a tweet to its X account, UCPD called the demonstration “unauthorized” and said officers were monitoring the situation.

12:02 p.m. – A representative from UCLA Student Affairs told organizers of the sukkah that the temporary structure is in violation of the university’s Time, Place and Manner policies. He asked demonstrators to leave the area and remove the structure. The representative added that if demonstrators did not remove the sukkah, the matter would be handled by the Office of Campus Safety.

11:40 a.m. – At 11:40 a.m., around 40 demonstrators gathered for a “teach-in on divestment.”

11:17 a.m. – People wearing keffiyehs and face masks have affixed pink tape that reads, “DANGER” to two trees at the perimeter of Dickson Court North.

11:05 a.m. – Around 50 demonstrators, many of whom are wearing keffiyehs and face masks, chanted “Lebanon will be free” and “Gaza will be free” around 11 a.m.

11:01 a.m. – At 10:50 a.m., around 50 demonstrators in Dickson Court North began chanting “Disclose, divest, we will not stop we will not rest,” “Free, free Palestine” and “Israel is a terrorist state.”

10:52 a.m. – Demonstrators hung a green banner reading “By soul, by blood” from Perloff Hall and played music in Dickson Court North. UCLA did not respond in time to requests for comment about whether the demonstration conforms to university Time, Place and Manner policies.

10:44 a.m. – Benjamin Kersten, a doctoral student in art history and a member of Jewish Voice for Peace at UCLA, said participants are using their observation of Sukkot to call for the UC to divest from “companies that facilitate genocide, apartheid and occupation.”

10:29 a.m. – Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA began a sukkah for Palestine on Monday morning. The gathering, which Graduate SJP deemed an encampment in an Instagram story, is for the weeklong Jewish harvest holiday of Sukkot and follows similar actions at UC Berkeley and Columbia University.

Source: https://dailybruin.com/2024/10/21/live-graduate-students-for-justice-in-palestine-demonstration.

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A new UCLA task force report on antisemitism on campus was also released today.* It's not known whether the timing of the demonstration was in some way related to the release.

From the Report: ...To address bias and to promote a more inclusive and safe space for Jewish people, Israelis, and all members of the UCLA community, the Task Force recommends a 5-prong approach. First, we recommend the enhancement of relevant training and education among UCLA community members. Second, we recommend a substantial review and overhaul of the current discrimination reporting system. Third, we recommend that the University clarify rules. Fourth, we recommend consistent, timely, and effective enforcement of laws and rules (including new California legislation recently signed into law by Governor Newsom). Finally, we provide additional specific actions to protect and support persons of Jewish and Israeli identities. Addressing the campus climate and adopting and implementing recommendations outlined in this report are necessary to provide a safe, accessible, and non-discriminatory environment for all community members and to assure that UCLA adheres to and advances its community goals.

In sum, this report provides new evidence, assessment, and recommendations pertinent to the recent rise of antisemitism and anti-Israeli bias at UCLA. It is vital that the University address these matters in a timely manner to prevent attrition of Jews and Israelis from UCLA and to mitigate discrimination and antisemitism on campus. The Task Force is prepared to begin our next phase of work with administrators and other groups on campus through the Dialogue Across Differences Initiative to model and promote the values of intellectual engagement, empathy, active listening, critical thinking, and collaboration. We look forward to engaging with administrators, leaders, groups on campus, and the entire campus community to ensure an inclusive, accessible and non-discriminatory campus environment that upholds Bruin Values and principles of democracy... 

Report at https://www.antisemitismreport.org/.

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*Task Force Members include Sarah Blenner, JD, MPH (Fielding School of Public Health), Stuart Fine, BS (David Geffen School of Medicine); Stuart A. Gabriel, PhD (Anderson School of Management, Task Force Chair); Kian Kohanteb (College of Letters and Sciences); Deborah Lehman, MD (David Geffen School of Medicine); Maytal Sarafian, BA (School of Law); Richard Steinberg, JD, PhD (School of Law); Jonathan Zasloff, JD, PhD (School of Law) and additional members who prefer to remain anonymous.