This morning, UCLA Palestine affinity groups called for the “occupation” of the Engineering IV building, stating their intent to rename it the Adnan Al-Bursh Liberated Zone after a Palestinian orthopedic surgeon who died in an Israeli prison in April 2024. Their announcement included a demand for the UC Regents to hold a public meeting with anti-Israel protesters. (1)
During the protest, demonstrators blocked access to the building, preventing students and faculty from entering during finals week. Banners (2) were hung from the rooftop displaying slogans such as:
- Honor Our Martyrs
- UCPD KKK IOF YOU’RE ALL THE SAME (pig)
- Don’t Look Away—Keep Your Eyes on Palestine
- Adnan Al-Bursh Liberated Zone
- Glory to Our Martyrs
- Free Gaza
Red paint was splattered across the exterior of Engineering IV, the word Gaza was carved into a table, and security cameras were disabled with duck tape. (3) Although the UC Divest Coalition has claimed affinity with union efforts on campus in the past, it was campus facility workers who were left to clean up their vandalism.
The banners were taken down after about forty minutes as police arrived, at which point protesters left the area without incident. Around thirty demonstrators—one-third of whom appeared to be non-students—returned to their original staging location outside the Luskin Conference Center. There, they read a letter from Mahmoud Khalil in which he termed himself a political prisoner.
Khalil, a Columbia student on a Green Card who ICE detained, was a leading organizer of the illegal encampments at Columbia University. His involvement included attempts to occupy a building that resulted in the injury of a janitor, as well as the distribution of Hamas-sanctioned propaganda. Jewish students have reported that his actions made them feel unsafe. Under U.S. law, a green card holder may be subject to deportation if they “endorse or espouse terrorist activity or persuade others to endorse or espouse terrorist activity or support a terrorist organization.”
At around 1:30 p.m., protesters walked to Rolfe Hall, where they appeared to store protest materials in faculty offices. (4) Rolfe Hall houses several offices of faculty known to support Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and those affiliated with Faculty for Justice in Palestine (FJP). Protests are scheduled to continue throughout the week.
Photos taken by author
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