Students at UC San Diego established a "Gaza Solidarity" encampment on the campus' Library Walk Wednesday, joining dozens of universities around the world where students maintain pro-Palestinian sites. NBC 7 saw a couple dozen people camped out on Friday afternoon.
A rabbi led a peace vigil not far from the camp on Friday evening. Students and faculty of all faiths were invited to attend.
Even though the scene has remained peaceful, Saturday's Sun God Festival, an annual campus music festival, has been canceled due to security concers, according to UCSD's Associated Students office of Concerts & Events.
"We know this news is not easy," UCSD's ASCE said in an Instagram post on Thursday. "The decision was ultimately made with the safety of the students in mind, a value integral to all ASCE programming, and all the possible options were considered and exhausted."
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The UCSDivest Coalition, organizers of the campaign, is calling on UCSD to "end their silence and publicly condemn the destruction of over 80% of schools and all 12 universities in Gaza in a systematic dismantling of infrastructure that UN experts have termed scholasticide," a statement from the organization reads.
"As a Jewish American student, I stand with the many Jewish, Palestinian and people of all backgrounds that demand divestment from the occupation and genocide of the Palestinian people," said Rachel, an undergraduate majoring in biological anthropology. "We are inspired by the Black civil rights movement, the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, and the Jewish concept of Tikkun Olam — to repair the world — to call for a free Palestine.
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"The chancellor and university admin want us to stay silent — not for the benefit of humanity but for the benefit of their own pockets. The call for divestment is now. The call to end to complicity is now," she continued.
UC San Diego's Associated Students passed a resolution last month calling for divestment. The university rejected that call, stating: "The resolution does not align with the position of UC San Diego, which like the University of California and the other nine UC campuses, has consistently opposed calls for a boycott against and divestment from Israel."
The UCSDivest Coalition is specifically calling on the university to issue a statement affirming the right of Palestinian people "to live in freedom and safety in their indigenous homeland" and condemn the actions of Israel, and offer amnesty for all associated with the encampment.
They also want a campus-wide boycott of institutional and research partnerships with Department of Defense contractors, companies named by the Boycott, Divest and Sanction movement and "all Israeli companies, universities, and government agencies.
Numerous San Diego Jewish community leaders and organizations released the following joint statement on Friday:
"We, as Jewish communal leaders in San Diego, stand with our Jewish college students. Like you, we have been watching, with great concern, as pro-Palestinian, anti-Israel protests and encampments have rolled out across college campuses across the country, including a walkout earlier this week at SDSU and an encampment at UCSD.
"We have watched in horror at the misinformation and disinformation on display amongst the protestors, at the students and outside agitators masking their identities with keffiyehs and glasses, in effect, dressing like Hamas terrorists, as if this is something to be emulated. To say these encampments are peaceful does not begin to capture the intended effect, and the intimidation they are meant to cause.
"Many of the protesters on campus are not actually students. On the ground on Library Walk at UCSD are chalked slogans like “From the River to the Sea” and “One solution; intifada revolution.” These words are not about liberation; they are about annihilation. From the River to the Sea is a slogan that calls for the obliteration of the state of Israel, from the Jordan River to the Mediterranean Sea. Calling for “Intifada,” the term commonly used to refer to two periods in Israel known for horrific terror attacks designed to kill Jews, is a call for violence.
"We agree that a university campus should provide a marketplace of ideas, but violence and intimidation are not provided for under free speech. These encampments violate campus protocols to which all students and faculty agree to abide. They are fueled by a campaign of misinformation and by underlying antisemitism, and we appreciate the steps that the university has taken and strongly encourage further action to ensure their code of conduct is honored, the encampment gets shut down, and to hold those responsible accountable for their actions, while protecting the safety of everyone involved.
"Collectively, we are in close contact around this situation, led by Hillel of San Diego and our campus partners. We are extraordinarily proud of the Jewish students who have been strong, resilient, articulate, supportive of one another and who have represented the Jewish people with remarkable care and courage. They have asked that community members not engage or antagonize the protestors. Rather, they have asked that the community attend any of the public events during the student-led Peace in Israel week, May 13-17, which includes important speakers, demonstrations against the atrocities committed by Hamas along with a rally and nighttime shuk.
"We all want to see peace in the Middle East. We want to see the more than 130 hostages still held in Gaza home safely, and an end to the fighting. And every single one of us wants to see our college students free to enjoy all that a university education entails without fear, intimidation or harassment simply because they are Jewish, or support the right of Israel to exist."
UCSD Hillel, a campus Jewish organization, put out a post on Instagram calling for safety for Jewish students.
"Jewish students should be able to express their Jewish identities and support for the Jewish state without fear, in a learning environment free of hostility," the organization's post read. "As always, we are resilient in the face of these challenges. Our doors are always open, and we will continue to serve as a safe space for Jewish students."
A little later in the day, UC San Diego's chancellor, Pradeep Khosla, released the following statement:
"Today, at approximately noon, campus community members and non-affiliate individuals arrived on campus and set up several tents on the grass adjacent to Library Walk. This activity is in violation of campus policy, which prohibits unauthorized encampments.
"We are encouraged that the protest activities on our campus have been peaceful to this point – and reiterate the importance of adhering to our campus Principles of Community. Campus police and security teams are on site to ensure campus safety and continuity of campus operations.
"UC San Diego fully supports the right to peacefully protest and express views on campus; however, we are also fully committed to protecting the physical safety of all individuals in our community and upholding the rights of all students, faculty and staff to continue to work, study and carry out the academic mission of the university without undue disruption.
"Our focus remains squarely on maintaining a safe campus environment free from discrimination and harassment and continuing the operation of our academic mission without disruption. We implore all campus community members to treat each other with dignity and respect. We remind all students, faculty and staff that sanctions for violating university policy and/or the law can include interim suspension, suspension, dismissal or legal action. We will provide further updates as they become available."
The Protest at the University of San Diego on Wednesday
On Wednesday, a fairly sizable crowd of protesters gathered on the main quad of the University of San Diego shortly after noon for what organizers described on social media as a Requiem for the Dead and Dying in Gaza.
The students and other pro-Palestinian supporters were peaceful, mostly lying prostrate on the ground or sitting in concentric waves around speakers, with many holding signs, including one that read "Arresting Kids Is Not Self-Defence"
At least three Palestinian flags were spotted flapping in the breeze.
If there was any police presence at the scene, it was difficult to detect with SkyRanger 7 flew over the campus.
An Instagram post that went up before the protest said, "The Gaza @ USD faculty coalition is organizing a memorial THIS Wednesday, May 1st, and are inviting you to join in this moment of solidarity!" and "Stand With Us As We Pray for All the Lives Lost." The post also called for protesters to wear all back, a call to action responded to by a large percentage of those attending.
The announcement stated the protest was scheduled for 12:30-2 p.m.
Protest Tuesday at SDSU
The encampment comes a day after hundreds of San Diego State University students staged a walkout with demands for the university to sever financial ties with Israel amid the ongoing war in Gaza.
That action, organized by Students for Justice in Palestine at SDSU, San Diego 4 Palestine Coalition and SDSU's Middle Eastern and North African Student Union, began at 1:30 p.m. Tuesday at Hepner Hall followed by a march through campus at 2:30 p.m.
A social media post circulated by the student groups said that among other demands, they want SDSU to "divest financially from Israel's war on Gaza and occupation in Palestine." They called on SDSU President Adela De La Torre "to acknowledge the genocide and discrimination on campus."
SDSU addressed Tuesday's walkout with the following statement: "As a public university, and as aligned with our institutional values, San Diego State University must allow for constitutionally protected free speech and an individual's right to acts of peaceful protest.
"As a diverse campus community, this also means that those within our campus community will have varying values, ideas and points of view. We both expect and encourage all those within our campus community to engage in respectful conversations and interactions, as detailed in SDSU's Principles of Community. SDSU does not accept any instance of harassment or discrimination. Additionally, university safety professionals and administrators from the division of Student Affairs and Campus Diversity continue to be in contact with members of our Jewish, Islamic, Arab, and Palestinian communities, in addition to other campus community members.
"We strongly encourage all who choose to gather to adhere to laws and university policies."
While there were no reports of violence emerging from the walkout by mid-afternoon, a local law enforcement presence was formed.
Protests also continued Wednesday at USC and UCLA, with encampments formed by protesters who have vowed to occupy public spaces on campus until their demands are met. Protest encampments also emerged Monday at UC Irvine and UC Riverside.
