On Wednesday, a group of radical pro-Palestinian activists occupied a building at the University of California, Berkeley, just hours after administrators and protesters struck a deal to end the weeks-long “camp.”
of Daily Californianthe student newspaper of the University of California, Berkeley; report:
On Wednesday afternoon, a group of pro-Palestinian protesters stormed and occupied the Anna Head Alumni Hall.
By 3:15 p.m., the demonstrators had gathered in groups of about 30 people and carried Palestinian flags as well as signs reading “Liberate Gaza” and “Avenge Al Shifa.” [Al-Shifa is a hospital in Gaza that was taken over by terrorists, and where the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) killed and arrested hundreds in battles last month, with zero civilian casualties.] According to photos shared on Instagram, there appear to be protesters inside the hall as well.
…
“We are occupying the venue because saying ‘Liberate Palestine’ is not enough,” said a speaker at the venue. “Behind our words we must have actions.”
The university said the students who occupied the building were not party to the agreement it had with the camp.
Pro-Palestinian protesters occupy a vacant building owned by the University of California, Berkeley, at Channing Way and Bowditch Street on Wednesday, May 15, 2024, in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Santiago Mejia/San Francisco Chronicle via Getty Images)
Before, Daily Californian reportprotesters agreed to disperse their camp in exchange for the university’s promise to consider a broader investment strategy, but not specifically withdraw from Israel.
of Daily Californian I got it.:
In exchange for the campaign’s withdrawal, Finance Minister Carol Crist agreed to “support a comprehensive and rigorous review of our investments and socially responsible investment strategies.”
The agreement, first signed and sent to campaign negotiators in early May, includes Christ’s plan to ask the UC Berkeley Foundation to expedite hearings on investment concerns and the chairman of the Regents Investment Committee. It included a call for the development of a broader framework for ethical investment strategies. Finally, we established the University of California, Berkeley Divestment Task Force, which is comprised of students, faculty, and staff.
As part of the agreement, the Foundation’s Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Committee will hear community concerns about specific industry sectors, including weapons manufacturing, mass incarceration, and the surveillance industry. Should the ESG Committee consider “the issue… serious enough to consider”? The agreement states “divestment,” and the committee plans to establish a divestment task force in consultation with students and the administration.
But in a separate letter, Crist, president of the University of California, Berkeley, told the Senate that divestment from Israel is “unacceptable.”
I acknowledge the UCB Divest Coalition’s demand for complete divestment from Israel. As the University of California Chancellor’s Office has stated, such sales will not be allowed. The established criteria do not in any way restrict investment in companies based on whether they do business with Israel.
The University of California as a whole was denied Divest from Israel or boycott Israeli universities over concerns about academic freedom. But as Breitbart News has pointed out elsewhere, boycotts and divestments from Israel may also be illegal under California’s anti-boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS) law. be.
The country has seen a wave of pro-Palestinian and often pro-Hamas, pro-terrorism and anti-Semitic campus protests, with students seizing university property and staying overnight in “encampments”. is taking.
Until Wednesday evening, the University of California, Berkeley, was one of several universities that had agreed to break up the camp after pro-Palestinian activists reached an agreement with administrators. Some witnessed police intervene to remove and arrest protesters. Still others saw the encampment simply disband, without any demands being met.
In some protests, such as the one at Columbia University, activists escalated their tactics, including occupying buildings.
Joel B. Pollack is a senior editor at Breitbart News. Breitbart News Sunday Sunday nights from 7:00 PM to 10:00 PM ET (4:00 PM to 7:00 PM PT) on Sirius XM Patriot. He is the author of a recently published e-book.The Zionist conspiracy (and how to join it)‘ is now available on Audible. He is also the author of an e-book. Neither Free nor Fair: The 2020 US Presidential Election. He is the recipient of the 2018 Robert Novak Journalism Alumni Fellowship. Follow him on Twitter @joelpolak.
