Pro-Palestine UCLA students ‘chanting for death and destruction’ of Israel on Oct. 7 anniversary

On the somber three-year anniversary of Hamas’ Oct. 7 massacre of 1,200 people in Israel, masked pro-Palestinian students wielding megaphones and wearing keffiyehs protested at UCLA, chanting, “Long live the intifada!”

A group of about 75 students and other supporters gathered on the university grounds in Westwood Wednesday. 

Egged on by Students for Justice in Palestine organizers, the crowd chanted, “Resistance is glorious, we will be victorious” and “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

About 25 UCLA police officers and public safety aides on e-bikes closely watched the demonstration.

One protester, who identified herself to the California Post only as “Ella,” stood beside a banner reading “Resist the siege of today” and accused the university of supporting “violence and carnage.”

“Our school is invested in the genocide of the Palestinian people — our school profits off the violence and carnage through their investment in war and weapons,” said the 21-year-old, who wore a medical mask.

Jewish student Eli Tsives, 21, from the Bay Area, proudly held the Israeli flag as he looked on. 

“I’m here to peacefully counter protest and to show other Jewish students here at UCLA that we don’t have to be afraid of these masked individuals that are coming onto our campus, whether they are students or not and they are chanting for the death and destruction of our ancestral homeland,” he told The Post. 

“They are calling for the genocide of Jews. I’m here to show Jews that there’s no need to be afraid of them and we also have a voice,” the senior, majoring in political science and Chinese, added of the SJP.

“They do want to instigate things,” Tsives’ friend, Stiven Gourvis, 22, a senior majoring in psychology, said of the demonstrators. “We’re all for a two-state solution if it’s done the right way. But these people are not. They want a one-state solution and through violence,” he continued.

Three years ago to the day, Hamas-led militants attacked southern Israel from Gaza, killing about 1,200 people, mostly innocent civilians, and taking 251 hostages. They attacked communities, military bases and the Nova music festival, triggering the war in Gaza.

Signs in the UCLA crowd Wednesday included “Gaza will rise.”

Richard Mejia, director of emergency communications for UCLA, told The Post the protest was “one of many First Amendment demonstrations that happen on campus year-round.”

“We’re content-neutral as far as what they’re about and always encouraging the expression of First Amendment speech,” he added.

UCLA was rocked by violence in 2024, when a pro-Palestinian encampment was set up. At one point, there were hours of fighting before police restored order.

Officers dismantled the camp in May that year, arresting more than 200 people. 

Another protest in June ended with nearly 30 arrests after demonstrators vandalized campus property, disrupted final exams and injured police and security personnel, according to university officials.

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