UCLA’s student government has sparked fury by issuing a vile statement condemning an Israeli hostage speaking on campus.
The Undergraduate Students Association Council claimed hosting Hamas torture survivor Omer Shem Tov “obscured the broader reality of ongoing state violence.”
UCLA was quick to slam the group’s comments and one member broke ranks to brand it “blatantly disrespectful” and revealed it was released without everyone present to vote on it.
The college’s Hillel brought in the 23-year-old to discuss his harrowing 505 days in the tunnels under Gaza at the hands of the terrorists after he was snatched during the October 7 massacre.
He spoke at an event to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day on April 14 — which was attended by chancellor Julio Frenk — and was widely celebrated by the university’s Jewish students.
But a week later the Undergraduate Students Association Council decided to wade in with the pointed letter to UCLA Hillel and the college administration whining that a “single narrative was elevated.”
The group, led by president Diego Bollo, said: “While we affirm the humanity of all people impacted by violence, we reject the selective platforming of narratives that obscure the broader reality of ongoing state violence.
“Israel is currently continuing to carry out what has been widely identified by human rights advocates as a genocide in Gaza, while also expanding its illegal military campaign into Lebanon.
“In this context, elevating a single narrative, absent of critical political and humanitarian framing, serves to legitimize and normalize these ongoing atrocities.”
The letter has sparked fury across the college and Jewish Californians, with one member quickly breaking ranks and saying she had no part in it.
Talia Davood, who is Jewish and on the council, said: “What left me particularly speechless was the decision to bring this forward on the night of Yom HaShoah — a day dedicated to mourning the six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust.
“Condemning Omer Shem Tov for sharing his lived experience… is not only inappropriate, but blatantly disrespectful.”
She noted that while the decision to condemn the event passed unanimously among those present, not all council members were in attendance.
She added: “I want to recognize that not all officers present tonight were at the meeting last week. I also want to make it clear that my office condemns doxxing of any kind.”
UCLA’s Hillel was also outraged by the letter, with Director emeritus Rabbi Chaim Seidler-Feller branding it “completely ridiculous.”
He said: “You can’t present the narrative of your experience without it being called ‘one sided. There has to be a counter-story to persecution. Is there a counter-story to killing people?”
The Hillel added in a joint statement with Students Supporting Israel at UCLA: “Members of UCLA student government have once again shown they are anti-dialogue, anti-learning, anti-truth, anti-student, anti-Jewish and antisemitic in condemning our event.”
The event went ahead as planned without incident. Shem Tov has been touring America recounting his horrific experiences at the hands of Hamas since he was taken on October 7, 2023.
He was one of the dozens of revelers kidnapped from the Nova music festival and driven into Gaza, where he was forced underground and into darkness with little water and one small meal a day.
Meanwhile his tormentors forced him to carry UN-stamped food packages through their terror tunnels. Shem Tov spent 54 days in captivity with a friend who had gone with him to the festival.
That friend was then released, while Omer was forced into a small cell in a tunnel 120 feet below ground, unable to even stand up. Later, Shem Tov’s captors moved him to a bigger tunnel that had no natural light.
Shem Tov said the only way he survived nearly two years as a hostage was talking daily to God and reading a small Torah his captors allowed him in exchange for running their bombs through tunnels.
He was released looking emaciated and with a shaved head in February last year following a ceasefire arrangement between Israel and Hamas, where he was forced to kiss a terrorist on the head.
UCLA released a statement following the student body’s letter, saying: “The event’s message was one of resilience and respect for human rights and dignity — a message we support.
“We stand by UCLA Hillel, UCLA Y&S Nazarian Center for Israel Studies and the UCLA chapter of Students Supporting Israel’s invitation to have this very important dialogue, which occurred on Yom HaShoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day.
“We firmly stand against violence of any kind. Omer Shem Tov spoke with students and other members of the community with the chancellor and Dr. Felicia Knaul in attendance, and the event occurred without any disruption.
“We will review the process by which this letter was issued. The condemnation of such a peaceful event to share a story of resilience in the face of extreme suffering is antithetical to the values of our Bruin community.”
UCLA has been under increased scrutiny following months of protests and encampments over Israel’s war in Gaza.
The Trump administration filed a lawsuit against the university and moved to restrict its funding, alleging it failed to address anti-Semitic harassment and a hostile environment for Jewish and Israeli students.
The DOJ has reportedly sought a $1.2 billion settlement while also targeting previously suspended research grants.
Jewish students make up an estimated 9% of UCLA’s undergraduate population, or roughly 3,100 to 4,000 students.