UCLA Chancellor Gene Block plans to tell a Republican-led House committee Thursday that “in hindsight” the university should have acted to “immediately remove” a pro-Palestinian camp on campus “if and when the “The safety of our community was put in danger.” risk,” according to his initial statement obtained by The Times.
Block, who led UCLA amid months of tense protests over the war between Israel and Hamas that culminated in a violent mob attack last month on the camp, faces questioning from members of the House Education and Workforce Committee. of Representatives on the rise of anti-Semitism on campuses.
It will be the first time the president of a California university addresses the panel, which has faced university and K-12 leaders in hearings since the war between Israel and Hamas broke out in the fall. A hearing in December included explosive testimony that leaders at other schools stumbled over when asked how their campuses would handle calls for the genocide of Jews. Their responses contributed to the resignations of the presidents of Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania.
In Block's statement, he explained his response to the encampment established on April 25, which he said “tested the limits” of the University of California's approach to de-escalation strategies with campus protests that prevent the use of law enforcement to remove protesters “unless absolutely necessary to protect the physical safety of the community.”
He said he decided to vacate the camp on April 28 after violence broke out at opposition rallies. He said protesters were notified in writing two days later that the camp was an illegal assembly and would be dismantled if activists did not disperse.
“But before the necessary police resources could be mustered to clear the camp, which had become a focal point of contact, the assailants attacked the camp that night,” the statement said. “In hindsight, we should have been prepared to immediately remove the camp should the safety of our community be put at risk.”
Block, who is Jewish, said in his statement that “as a public university, UCLA is subject to a dual legal mandate: We have a legal obligation under the First Amendment to protect free speech on campus, as well as a legal obligation under the federal law. law to protect students from discrimination and harassment. This balance is not always easy to achieve.”
He said that since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7 and the retaliatory war in Gaza, the balance “has been especially difficult. … I am fully aware that many of our Jewish students have had to confront rhetoric and images on campus that any reasonable person would find repugnant. Believe me, I understand your pain. I have lived it myself.”
Among his examples, he planned to cite an incident at UCLA where an art exhibit showed him “with exaggerated facial features reminiscent of caricatures of Jews during the Nazi era.”
“As we all know, being an American sometimes means being asked to tolerate offensive and even hate speech protected by our Constitution. But there are limits. At UCLA, we draw the line when speech escalates into intimidation, threats, and harassment of others,” Block’s statement reads.
At Thursday's hearing, Block will be joined by the presidents of Northwestern and Rutgers universities, where administrations have reached agreements with students to tear down pro-Palestinian encampments but have not accepted protesters' demands to divest from Israel.
After a 17-year career at UCLA, Block, a biologist, had announced plans to step down as chancellor at the end of July to focus on research. His time at the helm of one of the country's leading public universities is ending in controversy and intense criticism over his handling of protests and free speech on campus amid a rise in anti-Semitism.
A House committee spokesman said Wednesday that UCLA and the other universities “have done nothing but appease anti-Semitic agitators on their campuses,” adding that the schools will be held accountable for failing to protect Jewish students.
Democrats, who make up 20 of the committee's 44 members, plan to attack Republicans for not being serious about combating anti-Semitism, according to a House Democratic aide. House minority members have called the hearings an attempt by House Republicans to use the college riots for political gain, noting that no similar hearings have been called on anti-Muslim or anti-Arab hate, which has also increased.
Three Californians serve on the committee: Republican Rep. Michelle Steel and Democratic Reps. Mark Takano and Mark DeSaulnier.
Tensions continued to resonate this week at UCLA and elsewhere within the 10-campus University of California system:
- On Wednesday, UCLA replaced its police chief, John Thomas, after he was blamed for a severely delayed police response on April 30, when a mob violently attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment in the center of campus.
- On Tuesday, UCLA submitted documents to the House committee in response to a request from its chair, Rep. Virginia Foxx (R.N.C.), for all communications and security videos related to alleged anti-Semitic incidents at UCLA since the October 7 and related documents. to the camp.
- On Monday, unionized UC Santa Cruz graduate students went on strike in response to the crackdown on protesters at UCLA and other UC campuses, in a possible prelude to strikes at UCLA. A digital flyer says UCLA faculty and students will demonstrate Thursday afternoon at Tongva Steps in support of “holding Gene Block accountable and preparing to strike.”
Last week, Block survived a “no confidence” vote by the UCLA Academic Senate, which represents 3,800 tenured and tenured faculty. In an exactly split count, half of the voting members supported censuring Block, but the measure did not pass because it required a simple majority.
Previously, internal and external investigations were announced into UCLA's response to the camp, which lasted from April 25 until police dismantled it on May 2, arresting more than 200 people.
