This post was updated May 9 at 11:34 p.m. 

Around 60 faculty members held a press conference Thursday to call for amnesty for students arrested while demonstrating in support of Palestine and for UC divestment from companies with ties to the Israeli military.

The rally, which was held outside the Charles E. Young Research Library at 11 a.m., followed a letter that received over 800 signatures in 48 hours from UC faculty.

In the letter, faculty demanded that Chancellor Gene Block resign immediately, that all legal charges be dropped with full amnesty for all students, staff and faculty, and that UCLA offer a full disclosure of its investments. The letter also called for divestment from military weapons companies and supporting systems.

In a different letter May 1 that has since garnered nearly 1,100 signatures, UC faculty condemned the university’s lack of action during the April 30 attack on the Palestine solidarity encampment and called on it to not mobilize police against students protesting inside. Following the police sweep of the encampment May 2, departments and institutes have condemned the university’s choice, and some have called for Chancellor Block to step down.

[Related: UCLA academic departments release statements condemning handling of encampment]

Since the encampment sweep, as well as UCPD arresting 44 pro-Palestine protesters at Parking Structure 2 on Monday morning, classes have been moved online for the entirety of the week.

Members of UAW Local 4811, which represents the University of California academic student employees, graduate students, academic and postdoctoral researchers, will be voting May 13-15 on whether or not to go on strike. If the vote goes through, academic senate faculty members will not perform any struck labor through the rest of the quarter, said Matt Barreto – a professor of Chicana/o studies and political science – during the conference.

Several medics who were inside the encampment said they provided urgent care and triage for students, faculty and community members during both the attack and police sweep. A medic said it was chilling to watch police officers fire rubber bullets at students.

At least 15 encampment members required emergency services, and most were taken to emergency rooms in private vehicles, the medic said.

“Had we not been present to administer this essential care, would EMS and law enforcement have left these injured people to die?” they said.

Representatives from various departments read statements from during the press conference. Erin Debenport, associate director of the American Indian Studies Center, read the center’s statement published Friday. The nine faculty who signed the statement said they are committed to free speech and the right to nonviolent protest without fear of retaliation.

Natalie Masuoka, an associate professor of Asian American studies and political science, said the Asian American studies department denounces Block’s decision to call LAPD, California Highway Patrol and the Los Angeles Sheriff’s Department to disband the encampment.

Alden Young, vice chair of the Department of African American studies, said his department also rejects Chancellor Block’s creation of an Office of Campus Security, which he said the UCLA Academic Senate did not consent to.

Susan Slyomovics, an anthropology and Near Eastern languages professor who is Jewish, said Block misrepresented Jewish students in his statements on campus antisemitism and dismantling the encampment. In one statement April 30, Block said the tactics used by both protesters and counter-protesters put many students, including Jewish students, in a state of anxiety and fear.

“He has spoken of his concerns about the fears experienced by Jewish students and drawn a supposed connection between addressing campus antisemitism and dismantling the encampment of Palestine solidarity in front of Royce Hall,” Slyomovics said. “In doing so, he has misused Jews.”

After faculty members read their statements, Barreto read faculty demands and said that they are evaluating the possibility of withholding labor until UCLA meets them.

In a letter distributed at the conference, faculty requested that California Attorney General Rob Bonta open an independent investigation into the actions of UCLA administration as well as actions of UCPD, LAPD and CHP, in addition to the current investigation from Chief Safety Officer Rick Braziel.

The letter also called for the UC to provide a financial and health care assistance fund for students who needed medical assistance or who had to replace lost valuables after the encampment sweep.

Faculty members then marched to Murphy Hall to deliver their letter to Block. They chanted slogans such as, “One, two, three, four, Gene Block, you’re out the door. Five, six, seven, eight, amnesty, it cannot wait.”

Barreto said that the UCLA Academic Senate’s legislative assembly will host a vote of no confidence in Block this week, which would determine if Block is fit to continue occupying his chancellor position.

When the group arrived at Murphy Hall, APEX Security – a security firm hired by UCLA – blocked members from entering and refused to accept the letter.

In an interview with The Bruin, Young said faculty were not informed that Murphy Hall would be closed. He added that he also saw a student outside the rally attempt to enter the building from the door facing Dickson Court, but the student was not told an alternative route.

“The university administration’s declaration of the peaceful student protesters as unlawful and unauthorized spurred violence, alongside repressive tactics, that created an environment of fear and distress for our community,” Young said at the press conference.

Contributing reports by Alexandra Crosnoe, Catherine Hamilton and Dylan Winward, Daily Bruin staff.