Dozens of arrests
Police clear pro-Palestine protest camp in Los Angeles
May 2, 2024, 4:20 p.m
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There have been anti-Israel protests at various US universities for several weeks. After an outbreak of violence the evening before, the police in Los Angeles are now clearing a barricaded tent camp. Dozens of demonstrators are arrested.
After the evacuation of pro-Palestinian protests at Columbia University in New York, the police in Los Angeles also moved against a tent camp on the campus of the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA). According to consistent US media reports, officials tore down barricades early in the morning (local time). According to the TV channel CNN, dozens of demonstrators were arrested and taken away.
The authorities declared the camp on the UCLA campus an “unlawful gathering” on Wednesday evening (local time). According to the Los Angeles Times, several thousand protesters subsequently gathered around the barricaded tent camp and opposed the emergency services and initially pushed them back from the camp. Violence had already broken out the previous night when supporters of the opposing side tried to tear down the protest camp themselves.
Protests against Israel’s actions in the Gaza war and for solidarity with the Palestinians have broken out at various US university locations in recent weeks. Mostly it involves the demand for universities and companies to cut financial relationships with Israel. While some Jewish students participate in these protests, others feel threatened and stay away from campuses. Critics accuse the radical part of the protest movement in particular of anti-Semitism and trivializing Hamas.
The terrorist organization denies Israel’s right to exist and triggered the Gaza war with an unprecedented massacre on October 7th. Opposite them are protests in many places that show solidarity with the Israeli side and demand the release of the hostages still held captive by Hamas. Anti-Semitic acts had increased on campuses since October 7th. Islamophobic attacks too.