Pro-Palestinian protests continue at other Southern California universities after UCLA encampment raid

While the pro-Palestinian encampment at UCLA was dramatically broken up in a law enforcement raid early Thursday morning, similar protests remained and in some cases grew at other universities throughout Southern California in the next several hours.

Pro-Palestinian protests, which appeared to be peaceful as of 1 p.m. Thursday, were visible at UC Irvine, Cal State Long Beach and Chapman University.

According to the Daily 49er, CSULB’s student-run newspaper, protesters blocked the entrances to Brotman Hall fountain courtyard while demanding that the university divest from companies that do business with Israel. The newspaper said a small number of pro-Israeli protesters arrived at the scene, but no instances of violence have been reported.

After the scene at UCLA early Thursday, UC Irvine’s encampment continued. There were no reports of counter-protesters as of the early afternoon as dozens of pro-Palestinian protesters camped out on campus.

Last week, the University of California released a statement claiming that divestment from Israeli-associated businesses was not an option.

“The University of California has consistently opposed calls for boycott against and divestment from Israel,” the statement reads. “While the University affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses.”

According to the OC Register, a spokesperson for UC Irvine said there were no updates on whether police would be called to disperse the encampment. The report said a similar encampment was taking place at nearby Chapman, in Orange, with about 50 students taking part.

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