At UC Irvine, hundreds turn out to demonstrate in support of Palestine

IRVINE, Calif. — During the two hours protesters at the University of California, Irvine chanted and marched on campus calling for the university to divest financial ties from Israel on Thursday, there was zero visible presence of officers in uniform.

That’s a far cry from the mass pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Southern California Wednesday, where more than 200 people showed up and ultimately resulted in nearly 100 arrests Wednesday evening.

The protest at UCI on April 25 comes amid a growing number of demonstrations that have recently swept across U.S. college campuses calling for universities to cut their financial ties to Israel amid the Israel-Hamas war.

While a security protocol was in place, UCI spokesperson Tom Vasich said the university did not want to escalate the situation.

“We also want to protect (the protesters’) First Amendment rights,” Vasich said.

John Nonato, an organizer who identified himself as a UCI student, said students felt the need to elevate their voices and the student-led movement across the country.

“I want to emphasize that our demands and our focus and purpose of our rallies are clear: Condemning the genocide and calling for Palestinian liberation,” Nonato said.

Before the rally, protesters posted their demands for the university to social media, which included a call for full and immediate divestment from all academic and economic activities with Israel, amnesty for all student protesters and an academic boycott of Israeli institutions.

Promptly at 12:45 p.m. on Thursday, hundreds of protesters clad in black and white keffiyehs and holding up signs that read “UC Irvine, Divest Now” and “Invest in students, not war” gathered in front of Langson Library. They chanted various slogans, including “from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free;” “from Palestine to Mexico, border walls have to go;” and “fund our jobs and education, not war and occupation.”

While USC’s demonstration was described as chaotic and boisterous, the protest at UCI, which lasted until 3 p.m., was peaceful with no interruptions or altercations. Instead of stationing police on campus, several university personnel drove around a golf cart or walked a few hundred feet ahead of the protesters who marched around Ring Road.

Protesters started at Langson Library before passing by the Science Library, the engineering lecture hall and the social ecology school.

While no large counter-protest ensued, one man stood off to the side and quietly held up mini Israel and American flags.

Former UCI economics professor Ami Glazer, who retired in 2020, said he came to show support for Israel. The rally on campus was not a pro-Palestinian protest, he said, but an anti-Israel one.

“I don’t see any message regarding a two-state solution, which I would favor. They hate Israel and Jews,” said Glazer, motioning toward the crowd.

On Thursday, protesters called Israel a “settler state” and said a revolution is the only solution to “free Palestine.”

Demonstrators marched past two Starbucks, where they stopped in front to chant “Starbucks, Starbucks, you can’t hide. We charge you with genocide.”

Many pro-Palestinian advocates have boycotted the giant coffeehouse chain amid the war in the Middle East because of its alleged support of Israel. But Starbucks CEO Laxman Narasimhan has said that “narratives get shaped by external voices disconnected from the brand” and that the company “stands for humanity.”

On Thursday, similar demonstrations formed on the Westwood campus of the University of California, Los Angeles. And USC announced it is canceling its main stage commencement ceremony.

But at UC Irvine, graduation will be business as usual, Vasich said.

“Our commencement is in June, a very different story (from USC),” he said.