This post was updated Nov. 19 at 11:52 p.m.

Four people were arrested Tuesday after a protest held by Students for Justice in Palestine at UCLA blocked access to Bruin Walk.

Around 150 people had gathered in Bruin Plaza on Tuesday to protest with SJP at UCLA. In a Sunday Instagram post, SJP called for people to come to Bruin Plaza as part of a nationwide student strike and march in opposition of what it called a genocide. The post also reiterated its demands, which call on the UC and the UCLA Foundation to divest from organizations with ties to the Israeli military and academic boycotts of Israeli universities.

The rally came the day before a strike called by the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees Local 3299 to lobby for increased wages and improved health care coverage. SJP at UCLA, alongside other organizations, held a separate teach-in with the Student Labor Advocacy Project at UCLA to demonstrate solidarity with and discuss the union’s strike.

The rally began when speakers addressed a crowd in Bruin Plaza around 12:20 p.m., denouncing the Israeli military’s attacks on the Gaza Strip and Lebanon. On Oct. 7, 2023, Palestinian political party and militant group Hamas attacked Israeli villages, during which the group killed an estimated 1,200 people. The Israeli military retaliated with a siege of Gaza, killing 43,000 Palestinians thus far, according to the Associated Press. Israel later began airstrikes on and an invasion of Lebanon, which has led to more than 3,500 deaths, according to AP. 

“There are no universities left in Gaza,” a speaker said. “It is a privilege to be here and learn.”

Another speaker said students should take advantage of their access to education in order to protest.

At 12:35 p.m., protesters marched up Bruin Walk to Murphy Hall – inside of which is the office of Interim Chancellor Darnell Hunt – chanting, “Free, free Palestine,” and “UC, UC, you can’t hide, you profit off genocide.” Once the group arrived at Murphy Hall, around five APEX security employees blocked protesters’ access to the building. 

Speakers at the rally called for the UC to support AFSCME Local 3299’s demands to divest from Blackstone, an American private equity firm that they said makes housing less affordable. The University purchased $4.5 billion in Blackstone Real Estate Income Trust shares in 2023, according to Blackstone.

“Blackstone is basically this huge corporate landlord,” one speaker said. “It’s pretty much buying up all the housing, increasing the rent and the price of housing in general, and it’s causing an internal displacement here.”

Organizers at the rally also read out poems whose subjects ranged from the Israeli military’s invasion of Gaza to justice for people experiencing homelessness in the United States. The final poem read was written by Sara Alagha, a former recipient of UCLA’s Immigrant Justice Fellowship. 

One speaker added that the rally also sought to bring attention to AFSCME Local 3299’s impending strike.

“There are workers who are literally driving over 50 miles one way to make it to work because they can’t afford to live near here,” the speaker said. 

Adam Tfayli, president of the Undergraduate Students Association Council, attended the rally outside Murphy Hall and later at Bruin Plaza. Tfayli said he observed the protest to see UCLA’s response to the demonstrations. He added that he hopes the UC bargains fairly with striking employees.

“It’s fair to side with the workers, especially those that work in bad work conditions,” he said. “Everyone should benefit to have good-faith discussions and hopefully come to a resolution and give the workers what they’re asking for.”

Around 1 p.m., protesters left Murphy Hall and walked back down Bruin Walk while reading out the names of Palestinians killed in the Israel-Hamas war. The marchers arrived back at Bruin Plaza around 1:15 p.m., where they walked in a circle and chanted calls for divestment. 

Protesters then lined up at the east end of Bruin Walk and blocked people from entering Bruin Plaza. Multiple people attempted to cross the lines of protesters, with some walking through bushes to avoid being blocked. One student physically engaged with protesters while trying to cross the protest, but they eventually turned and walked around the protest instead. 

Protesters blocking access to Bruin Plaza asked other students to go around Ackerman Union or the Student Activities Center to avoid crossing their “picket line.” Around 1:45 p.m., UCLA Student Affairs staff took pictures of pro-Palestine protesters and asked them to stop impeding access to Bruin Plaza.

Graeme Blair, an associate professor of political science and a member of Faculty for Justice in Palestine at UCLA, said students were answering a call from National Students for Justice in Palestine to walk out of classes to highlight what he called an ongoing genocide in Gaza – a continuation of SJP at UCLA’s efforts since last spring’s Palestine solidarity encampment.

“Today, the genocide continues. Six months later (after the encampment), and what we can do locally is highlight this on our campus and demand that action be taken,” he said.

Around 2:15 p.m., around six counter-protesters, who began to chant “Am Yisrael Chai” and “Free the hostages,” tried to walk through the area that protesters had blocked off while physically engaging with the pro-Palestine protesters.

Then around 2:25 p.m., about 20 UCPD officers wearing riot gear and carrying both batons and less-than-lethal weapons walked in a line down Bruin Walk. Officers did not issue a dispersal order. East Bruin Walk is a designated public expression area, according to UCLA’s Time, Place and Manner policies. 

UCPD officers later stopped blocking Bruin Walk but continued patrolling the area, standing along the walkway. 

Around 3:15 p.m., protesters stopped picketing and provided food to participants. Some physical confrontations between counter-protesters and protesters continued.

As of 4:52 p.m., all protesters and UCPD officers had left Bruin Plaza and Bruin Walk. Nine CSC employees remained patrolling Bruin Walk.

In an emailed statement sent at 5:41 p.m., UCPD administrative division lieutenant Jeff Chobanian said the protesters violated TPM policies. The police department had earlier issued a statement on the social media platform X, saying it was working to stop the protest from blocking a campus thoroughfare.

At 7:32 p.m., UCPD posted on X that three people were arrested for obstructing Bruin Walk, and one person was arrested for interfering with an officer.

“The group violated TPM by obstructing access of community members, using amplified sound, and blocked traffic at Murphy Hall,” Chobanian said in the statement.

Contributing reports by Alexandra Crosnoe, Anna Dai-Liu, Gabrielle Gillette, Izzy Greig, Shaanth Kodialam, Zimo Li, Shiv Patel, Aidan Sun, Kayla Williams and Dylan Winward, Daily Bruin staff.