Jewish UCLA student said protesters blocked him from walking to class

UCLA protest: Jewish student blocked from class

A Jewish first-year UCLA student said he was blocked from walking to class by pro-Palestinian demonstrators.

LOS ANGELES - A Jewish first-year student at UCLA says blocked him from walking to class Monday. He posted video of the interaction on social media Monday afternoon, where it has already gained tens of thousands of views.

"This is a shame this is happening in the year 2024," said Eli Tsivis, the UCLA first-year student from the video. "This is exactly what would happen in 1930s Germany when Jewish students were blocked out of universities [by] fellow German students."

Tsivis was carrying pepper spray with him Tuesday while walking on campus. He said some of his classmates don’t feel safe at school with the current camp-in demonstration taking place.

Pictures shared with FOX 11 from inside the encampment show graffiti on buildings and walkways. In addition, someone wrote "Step Here" with sidewalk chalk next to the Star of David.

"This is just full-on antisemitism at its clearest extent," said Tsivis.

Counterprotesters continued to try and access the closed-off encampment Tuesday. Only certain people with wristbands are allowed in.

On Tuesday, FOX 11 tried speaking with several pro-Palestinian demonstrators who all refused to go on camera.

A large section of UCLA’s main quad is closed off by private security workers along the gated encampment.

"Just seeing the divide of our student population right now, it’s kind of scary," said Owen Mosley, a UCLA student.

"A lot of students, me included, would just like to see this end at some point," said Stephon Lopez, another UCLA student. "Whether giving into their demands, or by letting them know you’re allowed to protest, but life needs to continue. Midterms are right around the corner."

Mary Osako, Vice Chancellor for UCLA Strategic Communications, shared a written statement about the camp-in demonstration with FOX 11.

"Yesterday some physical altercations occurred among demonstrators in Royce Quad," said Osako. "In response, we have taken several actions to significantly increase our security presence, including adding greater numbers of campus law enforcement, safety personnel and student affairs monitors. There was also a report of a student’s access to class being blocked by demonstrators yesterday. This kind of disruption to our teaching and learning mission is abhorrent, plain and simple. As such, we’ve taken several, immediate actions: Our student conduct process has been initiated, and could lead to severe disciplinary action including expulsion or suspension. The barriers that demonstrators used to block this student’s access to class have been removed and we have staff located around Royce Quad to help ensure that they will not go up again. We have also engaged law enforcement to investigate. While the demonstration remains largely peaceful, our campus must remain a place where we treat one another with respect and recognize our shared humanity — not a place where we devolve into violence and bullying."