Thread by @UR_Ninja

NEW: Masked Israel Supporters Attack UCLA’s Palestine Solidarity Encampment with Weapons // Thread 🧵

unicornriot.ninja/2024/masked-is…

For 5+ hours last night in Los Angeles, pro-Israel Zionist agitators violently beat, pepper sprayed & threw fireworks at hundreds of college students & protesters as they held UCLA’s Palestine solidarity encampment while security & police stood by idly. 🧵
unicornriot.ninja/2024/masked-is…

Despite the prolonged, violent attack on UCLA students by masked pro-Israel vigilantes, the Palestine solidarity encampment stayed intact with students repelling the continuous onslaught as they defiantly chanted “we’re not leaving” & “Free Palestine.” 🧵

unicornriot.ninja/2024/masked-is…

UCLA students kept the encampment together despite the violent attack with a policy to not engage and acting in a defensive posture while being punched, pummeled, kicked, hit with projectiles and sprayed with chemicals by masked Israel supporters. 🧵

unicornriot.ninja/2024/masked-is…

After the Zionist attack on pro-Palestine protesters at UCLA, a communique from a group of "autonomous UCLA students" was sent to media stating the students feel like the violence they faced was “aided and abetted by [the] administration.” 🧵

Full story: unicornriot.ninja/2024/masked-is…

The Israel supporters that attacked UCLA students, many donning all black with masks on, became more emboldened as the night went along. A large police contingent that showed up hours into the attack waited as dozens more attacks occurred. [See vids] 🧵

https://twitter.com/FilmThePoliceLA/status/1785654963915588036

Israel supporters harassed and assaulted media throughout the night as they violently attacked the anti-genocide protesters at UCLA's Palestine solidarity encampment. [One example among dozens posted to social media is featured in video below] 🧵

https://twitter.com/m0thercity/status/1785558648649064639

During the violent attack on the Palestine solidarity encampment at UCLA last night, an Israeli supporter was recorded screaming “second Nakba” referring to the violent mass expulsion of 750,000 Palestinians in 1948 to make way for the state of Israel. 🧵

https://twitter.com/TeresaWatanabe/status/1785580909795942766

Masked Israel Supporters Attack UCLA’s Palestine Solidarity Encampment

Al Jazeera’s @RobReynoldsAJE said during their live broadcast that to him, the scenes were “reminiscent of settler violence” against Palestinians in the occupied West Bank. 🧵

https://twitter.com/ananyaUCLA/status/1785570793386291514

At UCLA last night, pro-Palestinian students were violently attacked while reportedly "eating lentils" by a "unilateral, surprise attack by Zionists." They sustained over 100 injuries as they ultimately held their ground throughout the night. 🧵

https://twitter.com/m0thercity/status/1785593008693579901

Content Warning: Over 100 pro-Palestine students & protesters at UCLA sustained injuries from violent Israel supporters during the prolonged assault last night - with at least 20 concussions. The wounded were treated by street medics on the scene. 🧵

unicornriot.ninja/2024/masked-is…

After covering the pro-Israeli mob attack on UCLA's Palestine solidarity encampment, at least four journalists with the campus’ newspaper, the Daily Bruin, were reportedly targeted and assaulted by the Israeli supporters. 🧵

https://twitter.com/dailybruin/status/1785630090027753724

Dozens of journalists documented last night's prolonged assault by Israel supporters on UCLA students. See a 6.5 hour live stream from independent journalist William Gude (@FilmThePoliceLA) of the violent events. 🧵

With several hundred tents, the UCLA Palestine solidarity encampment is one of the largest and most contentious encampments among the 50-plus campus pro-ceasefire encampments across the nation. As of April 27, over $67,000 had been raised by the pro-Israeli side through a GoFundMe to counter the demonstration. The campaign featured donations by celebrities including Jessica Seinfeld, wife of comedian Jerry Seinfeld.

Attacks on the encampment have been ongoing for several days and have been done primarily by middle-aged adults against young college students. Zionist instigators such as boxing gym owner David Kaminsky have been documented spitting on protesters and yelling anti-Black slurs. 🧵

Masked Israel Supporters Attack UCLA’s Palestine Solidarity Encampment With Weapons: unicornriot.ninja/2024/masked-is…

Attacks on the UCLA Gaza solidarity encampment have been ongoing for days & have been done primarily by middle-aged adults against young college students. Zionist instigators have been documented spitting on protesters and yelling anti-Black slurs. 🧵

https://twitter.com/JVPBayArea/status/1785591436936958144

The night before the large scale assault on the UCLA encampment, many of the same outside Zionist attackers attempted to breach the barricades playing the same repeated Israeli children's song over speakers as they did during the attack. 🧵

https://twitter.com/PplsCityCouncil/status/1785219270030565731

A student-led, anti-genocide, pro-Palestine movement has swept the nation over the past two weeks with Gaza solidarity encampments popping up across the country calling on educational institutions to divest from Israel and weapons manufacturers. 🧵

unicornriot.ninja/2024/masked-is…

Just hours before the Zionist mob assault on UCLA began, on the other side of the country, the NYPD carried out a massive and violent operation to clear an occupied building of students and protesters at Columbia University, arresting ~50 people. 🧵

https://twitter.com/AJEnglish/status/1785584193738846396

This new wave of student-led anti-genocide encampments have been excessively & violently repressed by militarized police forces. 1,000-plus college students, protesters, & faculty have been arrested over the last two weeks - with more happening today at campuses across the nation. 🧵

Masked Israel Supporters Attack UCLA’s Palestine Solidarity Encampment With Weapons: unicornriot.ninja/2024/masked-is…

After the pro-Israeli mob violently attacked UCLA students for over five hours last night, "a group of autonomous UCLA students" sent a communique to Unicorn Riot with four points they felt "important to express." 🧵 [Read the statement in full below]

"Communique from a group of autonomous UCLA students after Zionist attacks on night 6 of Palestinian Solidarity Encampment.

we are a coalition of autonomous affinity groups and frustrated security leadership members in the UCLA encampment dedicated to the Palestinian resistance.

we are inspired by the encampments all over the country and the UCLA camp specifically, and are honored to be in community building this space with our comrades. However, we are also frustrated with shit going down and hope to put this out for others who feel the same in the camp or students who feel similar in other encampments across the globe.

the following is just a few points we feel are important to express, especially following the zionist attacks on our camp, including but not limited to chemical weapons, explosive devices, and psychological terror aided and abetted by administration.

1. Against Leadership

we want to stress that we are attacking leadership as a concept, not individual leaders. While we appreciate and are inspired by SJP, JVP, etc. leadership we need to stress that we need to move past “leadership” and towards autonomy.

we have noticed a trend of the desire to appear peaceful for the media taking precedent over the right of protestors to self defense, mirroring the world’s response to Palestinians’ right to self defense in the face of blatant fascist attacks and eliminationist violence.

we cannot allow our resistance movement to demand obedience over safety in the same way as western imperialist forces against the colonized.

2. Abolition Begins in the Encampment

NO FUCKING PEACE POLICE. Advocating for non-violence while we are actively under attack is bullshit.

we are not here to recreate the outside world in this encampment. We are here because we know a different world is possible, and are actively working towards it.

stressful situations lead to responses that are engrained in us, such as hierarchy and policing, but we can fight this.

think about in what ways we can work to dismantle the cops in our heads.

3. Fuck your Fire Code – Against Any Collaboration

anyone working with admin (fire marshalls, construction crews, etc.) are collaborating with cops and interacting with them puts us at risk.

it is one thing to keep up appearances of obedience when necessary and do what we want when the coast is clear, but actual collaboration is not an option.

in a post 9/11 amerikkka the use of “safety” as an excuse for increased policing should not be a tactic we fall for anymore.

the class nature of certain employees on campus does not necessarily make them our allies.

4. On Grace and Solidarity

Our position within this movement necessitates that we, as comrades, are in constant solidarity with each other even as we learn and grow.

for many of us, organizers included, this is our first radical direct action. People in this camp might not know things that people who are more experienced in direct action understand and we need to hold space to teach each other and make mistakes without vitriol or withdrawing our solidarity.

our petty differences and mistakes cannot be an excuse for us to not have each others backs in the face of violence and repression.

with these points being said, we want to stress the need to escalate for Gaza.

ALL POWER TO THE STUDENTS!
ALL POWER TO PALESTINE!"

Masked Israel Supporters Attack UCLA’s Palestine Solidarity Encampment With Weapons: unicornriot.ninja/2024/masked-is…

At least 34,500 Palestinians have been reported killed by Israel in Gaza since Oct. 7, 2023 with ~13,000 missing under the rubble. (450+ Palestinians have been killed in the occupied West Bank.) 🧵

See Unicorn Riot's latest frontline report from Gaza: unicornriot.ninja/2024/gazan-fam…

With the brutal war on Gaza raging on, Israel continues to commit documented war crimes and atrocities by bombing journalists, aid workers, hospitals and civilians. These crimes against humanity are added to the list of actions that Israel has taken that are deemed ‘plausible’ acts of genocide with their widespread bombings and collective punishment on the Palestinian people since the Hamas-led attacks against Israel on October 7, 2023. 🧵

Last month, Unicorn Riot heard from a few Palestinians directly impacted by Israeli violence; including a man looking for his brother’s and nephew’s remains and a doctor at Al-Shifa Hospital who spoke after Israeli forces withdrew from a two week-long siege; the director of Abu Youssef al-Najjar Hospital who spoke about receiving the seven World Central Kitchen aid workers that were killed by Israeli bombings; and civilians and journalists who were recently bombed by Israel.

Ongoing War Crimes: Israel Targets Journalists, Aid Workers, Civilians in Gaza - Full special and videos: unicornriot.ninja/2024/ongoing-w…

Catch up on all Unicorn Riot coverage of pro-Palestine protests and frontline coverage from Gaza and the occupied West Bank. 🧵

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