UCLA blocked conservative students on campus from inviting Jihad Watch founder Robert Spencer to a pro-Israel event, according to student groups.
Matthew Weinberg, president of UCLA’s Young Americans for Freedom chapter, said he was “very disappointed in UCLA’s failure to uphold First Amendment rights.” In a press release from YAF. “All we wanted was to have a successful pro-Israel event where people from all backgrounds and positions could freely exchange ideas and hear different perspectives that might not be heard on a college campus. , the school made that impossible. This is just an act of pure cowardice. ”
The Young Americans Foundation, a nonprofit conservative youth organization, invited Spencer to speak on Wednesday, but “the door to the Bruin Observation Room was locked,” YAF said.
Fox News Digital previously reported that UCLA did not respond to the YAF chapter’s request to host Spencer, despite applying for approval several weeks ago.
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On May 6, 2024, in Los Angeles, police arrested several protesters who had gathered in a parking lot on the UCLA campus. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Weinberg told Fox News Digital earlier this month that he initially received no communication from school leaders regarding the application. He said he eventually met with administrators overseeing student participation, but was told there was “no deadline” to approve Spencer as a speaker.
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“For me, the school prioritizes agitators who are not even students, physically assaulting Jewish students, in clear violation of campus policy, over students who engage in a free exchange of ideas like those in the chapter.” The fact that we’re doing that is ridiculous.’ It shows a lack of moral clarity and this needs to be addressed,” Weinberg said earlier this month.
Weinberg said he plans to continue the event and hopes for “the best.”
On May 1, 2024, anti-Israel students set up a pro-Gaza encampment on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles. (Grace Yun/Anadolu via Getty Images)
However, on Wednesday, university officials told the chapter that “the event needs to be moved to a remote location with less traffic. A last-minute change could have a significant impact on the number of participants in the event and the impact of the event.” “This is unacceptable,” YAF’s press release said. said the ordeal was a “clear violation of students’ constitutional rights.”
“For weeks, UCLA administrators have stalled the approval process in an apparent attempt to prevent the incident from occurring,” the group’s press release added.
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University officials reportedly initially told the group that it was “too dangerous to host an event” whose views opposed those of campus agitators who had set up anti-Israel encampments on campus. It is said that YAF and the Mountain States Legal Foundation criticized the school, arguing that refusing to admit Spencer was a “constitutional violation of the heckler’s veto.”
Robert Spencer, Founder of Jihad Watch (Ida Mae Astute/Disney General Entertainment Content via Getty Images)
Conservative student groups claimed that legal pressure appeared to have “prompted” the university to “reconsider” its plans to cancel the event, but “unfortunately, that did not happen.”
“While the branch bravely withstood these attacks and things appeared to be moving forward, there was nothing that could be done about the locked door that administrators refused to open.”
Fox News Digital reached out to UCLA for comment Sunday but did not immediately receive a response.School officials told College Fix. “Misinformation is circulating that the Young America’s Foundation event held at UCLA on Wednesday night has been canceled by the university.”
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“This is false,” the spokesperson said. “This event was held at a designated location after transitioning to a private, recorded event at the suggestion of the organizers and with the consent of UCLA.”
Weinberg told the outlet that UCLA’s campus has become hostile toward Jewish students, but he also criticized the school’s response, saying the incident never happened.
On October 12, 2023, anti-Israel students gather on the UCLA campus. (Luis Cinco/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
“The great thing about this event is that everyone is welcome. I highly encourage students with opposing viewpoints to come and ask Robert any questions they want to ask. At the end of the day, moving forward “The only way to create peace is to have an open dialogue,” he told The College Fix.
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“Having Robert Spencer on board allows us to offer a different perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the Israeli-Hamas war that is not typically heard on college campuses,” Weinberg said.
Spencer said in a YAF press release that schools like UCLA are “radioactive wastelands” of left-wing politics.
“UCLA and other universities today are not institutions of higher learning; they are radioactive wastelands of far-left indoctrination,” Professor Spencer said.
Graffiti in Powell Library on the UCLA campus in Los Angeles on April 29, 2024. (Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
Anti-Israel protests erupted on college campuses across the country, particularly at UCLA and USC in New York City and Los Angeles. Anti-Israel protests on the Columbia University campus began last month, with instigators holding posters referencing the military wing of the terrorist organization Hamas and outlining that Jewish students on campus would be al-Qassam’s “next target.” was caught on camera, and the incident intensified. The same weekend, the rabbi at Columbia University warned Jewish students to leave campus immediately until the situation was calmed down.
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Protests also erupted on UCLA’s campus last month, with agitators setting up encampments demanding that the elite public school sever its financial ties to Israel. After a nine-hour standoff between militants on campus, police succeeded in clearing the position earlier this month and arrested hundreds of people.
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After police cleared the camp, Weinberg appeared on “Fox & Friends” and said the school was “encouraging students to commit acts of violence.”
“This is a disgrace. To me, this looks like a war zone,” Weinberg said. “This shows me that this school is run by a despicable group… It shows me a lack of moral clarity and it also shows the deterioration of our society.”
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“We are encouraging students to commit acts of violence,” he said. “I know several students at the undergraduate level whose professors told them, “Don’t worry about your classes. Go to protests and stand up against Israel.”
Fox News Digital’s Lindsay Kornick contributed to this report.
