Jewish students at the University of California, Berkeley (UC Berkeley) walked off campus after a mob of pro-Palestinian and anti-Israel protesters canceled a lecture featuring Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) soldier Ran Bar-Yoshafat. was forced to leave.
The lecture, titled “Israel at War: Fight the Lies,” was held at the Zellerbach Playhouse on the UC Berkeley campus as a crowd of protesters poured into the area chanting “Long Live the Intifada!” , which was canceled on Monday night. They broke the glass on the door of the building where the event was scheduled to be held.
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BREAKING: Tonight’s event on the campus of the University of California, Berkeley, disrupted by Hamas/Palestinian supporters, video from inside of the room where Jewish students are forced to flee while yelling back. pic.twitter.com/ZaUODEm2xX
— Richie Greenberg (@greenbergnation) February 27, 2024
Additional footage posted on social media showed some anti-Israel demonstrators entering the venue before the event began.
A protester wearing a keffiyeh can be heard telling the student, “You guys need to leave,” to which the student responded, “No, this is a private event. You are not welcome here.”
“This is a private event,” the student continued. “You should leave. Stop threatening Jewish students. You are a common Nazi. You are a Nazi, get out. My grandparents were Holocaust survivors. Harassment of us. Please stop. Leave.”
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Inside the University of California, Berkeley, Jewish students harassed and fought back, and police blocked demonstrators. pic.twitter.com/0ugzoK70nR
— Richie Greenberg (@greenbergnation) February 27, 2024
Other video footage shows protesters banging on glass doors outside the building.
Anti-Israel demonstrators were seen holding placards that read “Students Against Zionism,” “Stop the Genocide,” and “Long Live the Intifada!”
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Continuation from inside the University of California, Berkeley tonight. pic.twitter.com/yPDvYwC8Lx
— Richie Greenberg (@greenbergnation) February 27, 2024
Protesters were also seen breaking the glass of doors and attempting to flee, apparently hoping to avoid responsibility for the property destroyed.
“You got what you deserved!” one protester shouted.
Pro-Palestinian demonstrators then began chanting “Long live the intifada!”
See below:
Video of the moment glass was broken and the crowd scattered at a venue from the University of California, Berkeley this evening. pic.twitter.com/zDjgHBWw8l
— Richie Greenberg (@greenbergnation) February 27, 2024
Another protester yelled something about people’s ancestry and “bloodshed”, adding: “Your arrogance and shame, you’ll be telling your grandchildren you didn’t do anything!”
Bar Jehoshaphat Said Daily Wire, “I don’t feel that way about the IDF, Jews, or even Israel. This means they lack Western values like free speech. To them, I don’t feel guilty.” Guilty until proven otherwise.”
The IDF soldier added that the location of the event changed several times due to safety concerns and that he was asked to arrive on campus wearing a hat to hide his identity.
Bar Jehoshaphat also said that when he entered the room where his lecture was scheduled to be held, he saw about 40 student demonstrators, and that there were hundreds more outside the building.
“I felt really bad for the kids because they were scared,” he said. “The girls were crying because they were attacked, and I think the kids who were spat on were really shocked.The students didn’t expect so many people to be violent, so they just… I think they thought we were just going to chant outside.”
Bar-Josephat also said that the reason UC Berkeley allowed the event to be canceled was because the school basically said, “You can continue banging on doors and spitting on Jews, but I don’t want to.” “I was just talking peacefully, but I had to leave the school.”
“Instead of giving us more security, they gave bounties to those who perpetrated the violence,” he said.
Bar Jehoshaphat added that he and event participants had to find a secret location off campus in order to proceed with the talk.
“Berkeley is on the wrong side of history and is no longer a safe place for Jews,” Bar-Yeshaphat said.
“We are saddened and horrified that our event with Israeli President Ran Bar Yoshalfat was canceled by protesters,” the Hillel chapter at the University of California, Berkeley, said in a statement.
“Breaking windows, intimidating students, and inciting riots are never acceptable and have no place in civil discourse,” the student group continued.
“We are proud of the students who organized this event and who remained steadfast in the face of bullying and threats against Jewish and Israeli students,” they added. “Berkeley Hillel remains committed every day to helping Jewish students fully express their Jewish identity without fear.”
In 1964, Berkeley was the home of the Free Speech Movement, which argued that all political speech should be tolerated on campus. This movement inspired his 1960s generation of activists, who in turn inspired many of today’s activists. Ironically, many of these activists are now opposing free speech.
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