Nearly 100 people gathered Friday afternoon to call on the UC to divest from weapons manufacturing and condemn recent airstrikes in Yemen. 

The protest – organized by UC Divest Coalition at UCLA – began at 2 p.m. in the Court of Sciences and featured speeches, a march and chants such as “Yemen, Yemen, make us proud, turn another ship around” and “UCPD, KKK, IDF, you’re all the same.” Many protestors wore keffiyehs and masks to cover their faces while calling for the UC to divest from BlackRock, which funds weapons manufacturing for the Israeli army. 

Protestors traveled from the Court of Sciences to the Starbucks at the UCLA Anderson School of Management and ended in Bruin Plaza around 4:30 p.m.

An Oct. 7 attack by militant group and Palestinian political party Hamas on Israeli villages resulted in an estimated 1,200 people dead, according to the Associated Press. Since then, Israel has launched a ground invasion, air raids and bombings that have killed at least 24,000 Palestinians, according to AP. 

Since Jan. 12, the United States and United Kingdom have launched six rounds of airstrikes on sites used by the Houthis, an Iranian-backed militant group, according to AP. These strikes were conducted in retaliation against the Houthi’s attacks on shipping vessels allegedly linked to Israel in the Red Sea, according to AP.

Mohammad, the media liaison for Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA – which is part of the UC Divest Coalition – said the event was held to draw attention to how Palestinians and those who stand in solidarity with them, such as the Yemeni people, face violence and belittlement. Mohammad was granted partial anonymity for safety concerns.

They added that they believe the U.S. is engaging in acts of terrorism against Yemen because it is conducting airstrikes to influence the Houthis’ actions. 

“It seems as though when it’s not the oppressor engaging in this restriction of economic passage through the Red Sea, it is immediately vilified and turned into a bombardment on innocent people,” Mohammad said. 

Mohammad added that UCLA is violating Palestinians’ rights to freedom of assembly and speech by imposing certain restrictions on their organizing of events. For example, they said an alumni-led Zionist rally held on campus was organized within two days, while they have experienced delays in approval for UC Divest and SJP-related events. 

[Related: Students for Justice in Palestine express event-planning struggles with UCLA admin]

One speaker at the event, who did not give their name, said UCLA administrators allegedly emailed several members of the organizing coalition yesterday to tell them to call off the event. 

“I just wanted to share that several of the organizations in our coalition actually received threatening emails from UCLA administration telling us to actually call off this protest or some of our orgs might get punished or delisted,” they said. “That means we can’t get funding from the UC (and) might not be able to book rooms.”

A Muslim student, who did not give their name, said in a speech at the rally that “the leaders of the free world” demand peace from Muslim communities and countries while practicing the opposite themselves.  

“They always ask us Muslims to prove that we’re peaceful. (They) ask us to try to fit in and conform, tell us to put our heads down, keep quiet and watch as they kill our … community, our family,” they said. “It’s high time we start demanding that they prove they can be peaceful.”

Maya Abdallah, a local college student, said she attended the event to protest what she believes is genocide against Palestinians. 

“It is more necessary than ever to show up to these protests, to these events, and to speak our mind because we are no longer scared of backlash from Zionist entities,” she said. 

She added that it was necessary to hold protests at UCLA since the University invests in BlackRock and Palestinian students have faced violence on campus and in Westwood. 

A UCLA student, who was granted anonymity for safety reasons, said they thought the event was important to show solidarity with Palestinians and bring awareness to the rest of the campus. 

“We’re advocating for a ceasefire and an end to this genocide,” they said. “We are here for peace. We are here for the ending of oppression. And that’s what we stand for.”

Contributing reports by Sharla Steinman, city and crime editor.