Criticism of ‘slow response’ police after violent confrontation with LA demonstrators

NOS News•today, 12:05

The governor of the US state of California has criticized what he sees as a slow police response to a confrontation between rival demonstrators at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). A group of pro-Israeli demonstrators attacked a tent camp of pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the university campus in the night from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Only after several hours did the police intervene. Governor Gavin Newsom calls the “limited and delayed” police response unacceptable.

Just before midnight on Tuesday, pro-Israel counter-protesters in hoodies and white masks entered the encampment of pro-Palestinian demonstrators. The first group allegedly threw fireworks and objects such as crush barriers at the other group. Images show how they smashed the barricade with sticks.

A UCLA spokesperson says police were immediately sent to the scene when the fighting broke out, but people on the scene say police did not take action. “Police officers stood at the edge of the lawn but refused to intervene as we called for their help,” a group involved in the tent protest said in a statement.

About three hours after the start of the fighting, the police managed to restore order. The LA Times has obtained a letter in which university president Michael Drake writes to the board that there is “so much confusion” about the violence that he is launching an independent investigation into the response of the university and the police.

Police sources told the newspaper that there were not enough officers available to go to campus. They allegedly tried to stop the violence, but had to withdraw because they themselves were attacked, the sources said.

There is still a police presence on the UCLA campus, but according to CNN the tent camp protest is peaceful. UCLA writes on Twitter that events scheduled for today have been canceled and that all lectures today and tomorrow must be followed from home.

The student protests in the US have been going on for some time. They started at Colombia University in New York, after which activists at other universities took them over. The students want the universities to cut ties with companies with connections to Israel, including arms suppliers.

Negotiations about this between Colombia University and a delegation of the demonstrators have come to nothing. The police then arrested 282 demonstrators yesterday who had occupied Hamilton Hall, the building where the university’s board of directors resides. “We have made it clear that life on campus cannot be disrupted indefinitely by demonstrators who violate rules and laws,” the university administration said.

Biden has said that occupying an academic building is “absolutely the wrong approach” and “not an example of a peaceful protest.” According to the students, the police are adding fuel to the fire with their harsh actions.

Although the protests have generally been peaceful, university authorities and Jewish students have noticed an increase in anti-Semitism at universities since October 7. Several universities received reports of intimidating slogans and anti-Semitism during the protests.

Earlier this year, nine Jewish students from prominent universities told the US Congress about their experiences. They feel unsafe and say they regularly experience physical and verbal violence. Some students have stopped wearing yarmulkes and hide their necklaces with a Star of David.