Pro-Hamas Protesters Stage Violent Riot During Israeli Speaker Event at UC Berkeley, Students Injured

Edited by: Fern Sidman

In a shocking turn of events at the University of California, Berkeley, Jewish students found themselves in a harrowing situation as protesters disrupted a scheduled lecture by an Israeli attorney and IDF reservist. The incident, which occurred at Zellerbach Playhouse on Monday night, left several students injured and the campus community rattled, as was reported by The Jewish News of Northern California.

The atmosphere turned tense as a mass of protesters, chanting slogans such as “Intifada! Intifada!”, descended upon the venue, shattering a glass door and effectively shutting down the event. Jewish students attending or working at the lecture bore the brunt of the chaos, with reports emerging of injuries and physical altercations, as was noted in the report in The Jewish News of Northern California. Two young women sustained injuries, one spraining her thumb while attempting to prevent protesters from forcing a door open, and another allegedly being handled around her neck, resulting in visible marks. Additionally, a third student recounted being spat on amidst the commotion.

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In response to the disruption, campus authorities are likely to face scrutiny over their handling of security measures and their commitment to upholding principles of academic freedom. Additionally, the incident is expected to reignite debates surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and the role of advocacy groups within academic spaces.

Videos circulating on social media depict a disturbing scene of protesters outside the venue, adorned with keffiyehs and masks, shouting anti-Israel chants such as “You can’t run! You can’t hide! We charge you with genocide!” As was reported by The Jewish News of Northern California, the protesters relentlessly banged on the glass door until it shattered. Additional footage shows students attempting to attend the event being led through hallways described as an “underground tunnel of the building” to safely evacuate the premises.

The incident has put UC Berkeley under a harsh spotlight, with growing apprehensions that the university may not be doing enough to ensure the safety of its Jewish student population. Even before the recent events, the university faced scrutiny over the banning of speakers who support Israel by some student groups at the law school, the report in The Jewish News of Northern California indicated. In December 2022, the U.S. Department of Education initiated a civil rights investigation into the university in response to the controversy surrounding the law school.

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A spokesperson for UC Berkeley, Dan Mogulof, strongly condemned the conduct of the protesters. Speaking to The Jewish News of Northern California, Mogulof acknowledged the property damage to the theater, which was still being evaluated, confirming broken windows and at least one broken door, damaged after being forced open. Despite criticism, he pushed back against claims of inadequate police protection, revealing that 19 officers, including the chief of campus police, were present during the incident.

Mogulof expressed shock at the size and aggressiveness of the crowd, describing it as a “mob” and emphasizing the disturbing willingness of some protesters to engage in violent behavior. He stated, “We are deeply disturbed by what happened. It was a terrible experience for the audience,” according to The Jewish News of Northern California.

According to accounts from students and organizers, protesters learned about the location change for the 6:30 p.m. event only minutes before it was set to begin, swiftly disseminating the information on social media. The Jewish News of Northern California also reported that senior Vida Keyvanfar, co-president of Tikvah, described the arrival of the protesters as a “gigantic mob of people stomping, marching, and screaming,” creating a daunting spectacle for those present.

During the infiltration of Zellerbach, one of the mob spit on a Jewish student and called him a “Jew,” pejoratively, as was reported by TheAlgemeiner.com.

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“You know what I was screamed at? ‘Jew, you Jew, you Jew,’ literally right to my face,” the student who was attacked said to a friend. “Some woman — then she spit at me.”

Shaya Keyvanfar, a student, told The Algemeiner that her sister was spit on and that the incident was unlike any she had ever witnessed.

The Algemeiner also reported that Keyvanfar said, “It was really scary. They were pounding on the windows outside — they broke one — they spit at my sister and others. They called someone a dirty Jew. It was eerie.”