UCLA police dismantle ‘sukkah,’ ordering pro-Palestinian protesters to disperse

One person was arrested at UCLA Monday night for allegedly failing to disperse after the university’s Police Department ordered about 40 protesters to leave Dickson Court North, where they had set up a “Gaza solidarity Sukkah” and several tents, authorities said.

Student protesters set up a sukkah Monday morning to celebrate the Jewish holiday of Sukkot and demand the university divest from companies that do business with Israel and call for an end to the Palestinian conflict. By Monday evening, the students had set up a number of tents.

At 3:20 p.m., the UCPD issued a statement saying students were gathering in a non-public space, using unauthorized structures and loud noise — all in violation of protest policies enacted in September in response to mass Palestinian protests. that shook the campus in April.

According to the Daily Bruin, a group of pro-Israel protesters arrived at Dickson Court North around 8:00 p.m., and pro-Palestine protesters began dismantling their tents at around 8:20 p.m.

The department issued an order to disperse after ten minutes, after which most of the protesters left the area, according to UCPD. Hired security guards then removed the sukkah, according to Bruin.

Sukkot is a week-long Jewish holiday that celebrates the autumn harvest and commemorates the biblical story of the Israelites wandering in the desert for 40 years after escaping slavery in Egypt. During this time, Jews eat, sit and pray in outdoor structures known as sukkahs to commemorate the fragile structures their ancestors lived in after fleeing Egypt.

Organizers of the student protests said they were using the holiday to draw attention to the displacement and deaths of Palestinian and Lebanese people by Israel.

“I refuse to consider Sukkot normal if investment in universities continues to fund the killing of Palestinians,” protest organizer Leah Jacobson said in a statement. “The principle of pikuach nefesh, or saving the soul, requires us to set aside other laws in order to preserve human life. I am here combining my Jewish practice with my support for Palestinian freedom.”

Protesters want the university to divest from manufacturers of weapons and surveillance systems that do business with Israel such as Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, Northrop Grumman and Boeing.

The UC system has also objected to requests for funding deferrals saying it interferes with the academic freedom of the university community. The UC plan also states that tuition and fees are the primary sources of funding for the University’s core activities and that none of these funds are used for investment purposes.