The noise, disturbing and dissonant, has been a constant inside the barricaded pro-Palestinian camp at UCLA.
Shortly after protesters, most of them students from the Westwood campus, set up tents on Dickson Court on April 25, pro-Israel counterprotesters appeared with megaphones. Some shouted racist, homophobic and anti-Islamic slurs, according to campers interviewed.
They set up a giant video screen near the camp that played videos of Hamas militants over and over again. They broadcast a stream of loud, disturbing sounds over a stereo (an eagle screeching, a child crying) and blared a Hebrew rendition of the song “Baby Shark” late at night so the campers wouldn't they could sleep.
They returned night after night.
A woman kneels in prayer before a line of CHP officers at a pro-Palestinian camp at UCLA.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles)
Inside the camp, pro-Palestinian protesters, who occupied dozens of tents on the grassy expanse, said they tried to maintain a quiet space during daylight hours when they felt some sense of control. They led Islamic prayers, observed Shabbat and organized grief circles that included breathing exercises and trauma therapy.
“It's still a heavy, emotional space, but it's also a very open, welcoming, loving space,” said Marie, a 28-year-old graduate student who, like many protesters interviewed, declined to give her full name because she feared for her safety. life. her safety, physically and online. “Unfortunately, at night we are harassed and terrorized, which can be really disturbing.”
On Tuesday night, Dickson Court erupted in savagery and chaos. A large crowd of masked counterprotesters, mostly men, attempted to break into the camp, knocking down wooden and metal barriers, spraying bear mace, lighting stink bombs and setting off fireworks near the camp perimeter and, in at least one case, inside the camp.
They pointed their green lasers at the campers' faces, prompting shouts of “Protect your eyes!”
“They attacked us from the physical and psychological front,” said Mona, a third-year student who also did not want to give her last name. “Outside aggressors have been working hard to create a hostile environment and make us feel unsafe.”
A pro-Palestinian protester, second from right, is assaulted by pro-Israeli counterprotesters at a UCLA camp.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
After Tuesday's nighttime tumult — and a slow campus response that a spokesperson for Gov. Gavin Newsom's office called “unacceptable” — the encampment remained. And pro-Palestinian protesters, who demand divestment from Israel and an end to the country's military actions in Gaza, were defiant.
Kaia Shah, 23, a graduate researcher who acted as a spokesperson for the camp, said protesters received notice Tuesday from a university liaison that the camp was illegal and that students who continued to occupy the space could face suspension or expulsion. .
However, he said, “We plan to stay here until we get UCLA to divest itself of its investments.”
Shah described the scene Tuesday night as “violent, terrifying chaos” and said his throat was burning from inhaling all the mace in the air. She and another protester said some of the counterprotesters threatened to sexually assault women inside the camp.
Shah said at one point he saw police cars (it was unclear from which agency) stop, turn in a circle and drive away. “The police came and went while the Zionists violently attacked us,” he said.
Chants of mourning were heard.
Pro-Palestinian protesters at UCLA huddle behind a makeshift barricade under attack by pro-Israel counterprotesters.
(Michael Blackshire / Los Angeles Times)
From inside the camp they shouted: “Free Palestine, free!” and “Hold the line for Palestine!”
Outside, some counterprotesters shouted: “Second Nakba!” referring to the mass displacement and dispossession of Palestinians during the Arab-Israeli War of 1948. Others chanted: “United States! USA!”
As the violence unfolded, Citlali, a 25-year-old from Santa Ana who works for the organization Youth Organize! California and she declined to provide her last name, she said she frantically texted her younger brother, a student who was inside the camp.
“Hey, can you answer? Are you OK?? It’s okay to back out,” she texted.
She said her brother was sprayed with bear mace and left camp Wednesday morning to wash up in his dorm. “It's heartbreaking,” Citlali said. “I couldn't sleep until 4am when he texted me saying he was fine.”
After dawn Wednesday, the UCLA Students for Justice in Palestine chapter posted a list of their needs at the camp: gas masks, skater helmets, shields, “super bright flashlights with strobe light,” EpiPens, inhalers, lunches hot, gluten free food. .
Campus security teams, teachers and California Highway Patrol officers guarded the entrances to the camp Wednesday morning.
Hannah Appel, assistant professor of anthropology, stood at an entrance, where people dropped off medical supplies, masks and water bottles. Only students with bracelets indicating they had previously been at the camp and those who had someone inside vouching for them were allowed entry, Appel said.
“Due to the escalation of violence last night, we have to be very vigilant and careful about who can come and go,” Appel said, before stepping aside to let a student slip between the barricades.
Vanessa Muros, a UCLA archeology researcher, showed up outside the camp with cymbals, maracas and a tambourine. She said a call was sent to students and faculty who participated in a band during a UC academic workers strike in 2022. She musicians were asked to help boost morale in the camp.
“Apparently morale is low there, and playing music or just making noise will help bring people together,” he said.
Pro-Palestinian protesters clash with pro-Israel counterprotesters at a UCLA camp.
(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
Muros has worked at UCLA for 19 years and said he has never seen such chaos on campus. “It's concerning and I feel like the administration will blame the chaos on the students who have been peacefully protesting,” he said.
Renee Tajima-Peña, a senior faculty member, lined up outside Royce Hall to make a donation for the protesters: solar phone chargers, a poncho, some respirators.
“The story has been that all of these students are irresponsible or causing problems,” he said. “I teach here and this camp has been beautiful.”
Tajima-Peña was on campus Sunday when campers scuffled with pro-Israel counterprotesters, who she said spit at students and shouted racial slurs.
“I got pushed by a guy who was a foot taller than me,” he said. “Another woman, a colleague of mine, was also pushed by a guy.
“But the students were very stoic. They didn't want to get involved and they didn't want to escalate the situation. He was very proud.”
Times staff writer Safi Nazzal contributed to this report.
