Pro-Palestinian protesters occupy the grounds in front of Royce Hall at UCLA on April 29.
Dear Editor,
The students at UCLA, USC, Claremont, Columbia and throughout the U.S. are demanding that universities divest from the Israeli government and private companies, among other demands, to protest the seven months of savage bombing and war on the Palestinian people. Currently 35,000 have been killed (70% of them women and children).
For many Asian Americans families, the UC system has been a familiar and generational institution. Overall, 40% of all students are Asian. At UCLA 38%, at Irvine a majority 55% are Asian, and 40% at UC Berkeley. We all know people who are currently students, faculty or involved with UC campuses in some way. Many of the students who came to the boycott pickets and rallies in Little Tokyo to protest gentrification have been students at UCLA.
April 30, 2024: “About 150 ‘masked men’ with Israeli flags and white hockey-style masks were allowed to enter the UCLA campus. They began to break down the student encampment and assaulted and beat pro-Palestinian students for over three hours. One of the ‘masked men’ was seen beating and kicking an elderly woman who confronted them.” – Encampment participant
Although UCLA authorities obviously knew about the violence going on, no authorities intervened for over three hours. This is clear evidence that university leaders and the LAPD exercised discriminatory treatment towards the pro-Palestinian students by allowing the pro-Israeli “masked men” to commit vicious assault and battery. Freedom of thought and the constitutional right to free speech were not protected that night.
Shamefully, many U.S. universities like the UC system have millions invested in companies like General Dynamics and Coca-Cola, which contribute to the apartheid Israeli regime. University presidents and leaders have remained stone silent as 12 universities in Gaza were bombed into rubble by the Israeli Defense Forces. 88,000 Palestinian students have been denied their education since the bombing began.
We demand that campuses maintain free thought and speech. We condemn and call for investigations into the violent beatings and assaults by the masked thugs and the failure of the UCLA authorities to demand law enforcement intervention.
We support the students at UCLA, USC and ALL students, faculty and people to express themselves freely and safely!
Sincerely,
Little Tokyo Against Gentrification
Save Our Seniors Network
Jtown Action & Solidarity
Greater Los Angeles JACL