UC Berkeley Walkout Grows Tense as Bay Area College Students Mark 1 Year of War in Gaza

Updated 5:25 p.m. Tuesday

A walkout at UC Berkeley in support of the Palestinian people, one year into the deadly siege that followed Hamas’ surprise attacks in Israel last October, grew tense on Tuesday afternoon amid a standoff with pro-Israel counterprotesters.

As hundreds of people gathered at Sproul Plaza, the site of last school year’s pro-Palestinian encampment, a group of about half a dozen counterprotesters draped in Israeli flags walked across the steps behind the speakers and started shouting things like, “Bring them home.”

Some of the pro-Palestinian protesters formed a circle around them, and both sides shouted at each other.

Despite the tense mood, students like Yousuf Abubakr of Students for Justice in Palestine were undeterred. He said although he doesn’t believe student protests will be enough to “free Palestine,” he believes it will help move the needle.

“We enjoy the fact that, you know, we piss off university officials,” Abubakr said. “The fact that they had these new encampment and new masking policies, I smile because it’s like … we have their attention.”

As a man chanted, “No Zionist racists,” Jewish transfer student Ethan Tallman said he came out to show his support for the Israeli community.

“[My] reasons are for the hostages, for their families, and for the world to see that they matter,” Tallman said, adding that he found the crowd overwhelming.

Signs carried by the protesters included messages like “No Votes for Genocide,” featuring the image of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris.

Sameeha Ahmed, who studies cognitive science and public health at Berkeley, said Tuesday morning that she planned to take time away from the busy midterm season to participate in the walkout.

“We’ve gotten to a point in the movement where I think people are able to sort of turn a blind eye toward the horrors that are happening in Gaza just because this has been going on for so long. People are becoming so desensitized to all of the injustice that’s been occurring,” said Ahmed, who added that she is focused on the call for the University of California to divest from Israel and its war effort.

“I think that makes it all the more imperative for us to … continue showing that we are not going to stand for this any longer,” Ahmed said.

In a social media post, a group calling itself UC Berkeley Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine wrote “The university, too, has blood on its hands. The University of California system has long committed to war and destruction through research and development of nuclear weapons, drones and other military technologies — as well as investments in weapons manufacturing, fossil fuel, and settler industries profiting from this atrocity.”

The group also cited accusations that the UC has supported the firing, arrests and investigations of professors, the approval of military surplus for UC police forces, and the chilling of free speech.

In a statement, Stett Holbrook, a UC Office of the President spokesperson, said while most protests over the past year were peaceful and lawful, administrators have had to take steps to address some that were not.

“In some instances, campuses faced significant disruptions due to protests that resulted in violence, vandalism, class and research interruption, and restricted access to public spaces,” he said. “While we provide many opportunities and venues for the expression of diverse viewpoints at UC campuses, activities that violate the law, University policy, or both, will not be tolerated.”

Holbrook added that UCPD’s equipment is not military surplus, military-grade nor designed for military use.

“The University’s use of this equipment provides UC police officers with non-lethal alternatives to standard-issue firearms, enabling them to de-escalate situations and respond without the use of deadly force,” he said.

UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof said the campus had been planning for walkouts and other events since July. “We’re aware what moment in time we’re in,” said Mogulof.

Meanwhile, at San Francisco State University, protesters were back at the picket lines and faculty-led teachouts after a midday rally.

During the event, a crowd of about 200 broke into chants like, “Not another penny, not another dollar, we won’t pay for Israel’s slaughter,” and “I can’t even pay my rent; still more bombs are being sent.”

Speaker Omar Zaza told the demonstrators that enough was enough.

“We are here because we feel the connection because we’re suffering through the connections,” Zaza said. “So long as they keep putting money towards genocide, we say no. We are here to do a critical education project where all of us are united as students and as teachers and as people embodying multiple roles. And this work that we’re starting today on Oct. 8 is just the beginning.”

SFSU student Rithik Hemanth came to support the Students for Gaza picket, in part because he sees conditions for Palestinians and students on campus as connected. He cited Gov. Gavin Newsom’s recent signing of SB1287, the “Equity in Higher Education Act: prohibition on violence, harassment, intimidation, and discrimination,” which some see as an assault on free speech and student protests.

“We’re out here to demand that our money, our taxpayer dollars goes to our education, towards these classrooms that are falling apart — every single one that have mold in them and everything — instead of the genocide that’s currently occurring and the war machine across the world,” Hemanth said.

In August, pro-Palestinian student organizers announced they had worked with SFSU to identify for divestment four companies tied to weapons manufacturing or the war in Gaza.

Bobby King, an SFSU spokesperson, said the university was not engaged in any unusual planning for Tuesday’s events but said he had not heard of any disruptions to operations at the school.

“SF State has a long tradition of honoring the rights of its community members to peacefully protest while preserving a safe campus environment, and we expect that will continue today,” King said.

KQED’s Azul Dahlstrom-Eckman and Samantha Kennedy contributed to this report.