A fight broke out on Berkeley's campus Wednesday after one person grabbed an Israeli flag belonging to a counter-protester.
An aggravated assault and attempted robbery of an Israeli flag occurred during an altercation at the Free Palestine Encampment just before 7 p.m. Wednesday, a UC Berkeley WarnMe email reported.
An eyewitness told The Daily Californian there was a loud confrontation between pro-Israel counter-protesters and the Free Palestine Encampment, after which a pro-Palestinian protester attempted to grab the Israeli flag from a counter-protester.
Video of the incident doesn't show the "loud confrontation." What it shows is a relatively calm situation until one person raced up and grabbed the flag. Then as the two men fought over it a second man came up and threw several punches at the head of the Jewish man.
VIDEO and 🧵: A group carrying an Israeli flag was attacked at Sproul Plaza at UC Berkeley yesterday evening (Wednesday). I spoke to the woman who recorded this cell phone video showing the assault. pic.twitter.com/JofJFmRq37
— Gabe Stutman (@jnewsgabe) May 2, 2024
The woman who filmed that clip is an undergrad at Berkeley. Here's a description of what happened.
SSI has branches on college campuses all over the U.S., including at Berkeley. Atara said the nonprofit’s president, Ilan Sinelnikov, flew to Berkeley recently to “see what was going on” in the encampment.
— Gabe Stutman (@jnewsgabe) May 2, 2024
Atara said they were standing a “good decent space away” from the protesters. But when protesters saw them carrying the Israeli flag, they started “rallying” around them.
— Gabe Stutman (@jnewsgabe) May 2, 2024
The video shows Atara ask a man covering his face standing near her to please step back. Almost immediately, a man wearing sunglasses grabs the Israeli flag that Atara and Ilan are holding together.
— Gabe Stutman (@jnewsgabe) May 2, 2024
Atara said Ilan suffered a bloody lip, marks on his neck and face, and what turned into a “large bump” on the side of his head. The group filed a police report.
— Gabe Stutman (@jnewsgabe) May 2, 2024
Presciently, when I asked Cohen whether the protest was peaceful, he said it’s peaceful, but only if you follow the protesters' rules. “If someone wanted to walk into the entrance of California Hall with an Israeli flag on their back, it definitely would not be peaceful," he said
— Gabe Stutman (@jnewsgabe) May 2, 2024
The students at the encampment claim they don't know the guy who grabbed the flag.
On Thursday, it was quiet at the encampment, with some people saying those responsible for the confrontation were not part of their demonstration.
"We had one person who I have never seen at the camp, none of us knew, who disappeared immediately after," student Hamza Mahmoud said. "We’re not sure who this person is who just grabbed a flag."
A member of the UC Berkeley Divest Coalition reiterated the same point, saying the person who grabbed the flag isn’t part of the camp.
Is this true? I did notice that the guy who grabbed the flag seemed to be the most aggressive person at the camp. Here he is shouting for "Zionists" to go back to Europe. He also calls them "Talmudic devils."
"Zionists go back to Europe ... Colonizers ... Talmudic Devils" - UC Berkeley protestor screaming at Jews.
— StopAntisemitism (@StopAntisemites) May 3, 2024
The true face of the "Free Palestine" movement. pic.twitter.com/8OyAzVgHFF
He's pointing at the Jewish counter-protesters but he's directing his comments toward the tent camp. The people there don't seem to be reacting to his spiel very enthusiastically. I'd say they look a little uncomfortable.
But what about the other guy, the one who threw the punches? Notice the denials said there was "one person" they hadn't seen before. So was the guy throwing punches also an outsider?
If you watch the video of the attack again (above), you'll notice he's wearing green pants, white shoes and a dark t-shirt. Now look at the video posted by Stop Antisemitism and you'll see the same guy at 14 seconds standing next to the big guy in the red keffiyeh who seems to be some kind of security for the camp. They seem to be talking. So is he a stranger too? It feels like there's more to this story. The guy who threw the punches should be arrested.
Reports say that Berkeley started negotiations to end the camp earlier this week.
UC Berkeley administration has begun negotiations with the UC Berkeley Divestment Coalition and Free Palestine Encampment, which has been occupying the steps in front of Sproul Hall since April 22.
While campus spokesperson Dan Mogulof said campus will neither confirm nor deny that this meeting occurred, The Daily Californian spoke with multiple organizers that were in attendance at the meeting.
That was three days ago and so far those negotiations don't seem to be producing results. On the contrary, the SF Chronicle reports the camp is still expanding.
A pro-Palestinian encampment at UC Berkeley expanded Friday after alumni arrived at Sproul Plaza and set up additional tents.
The encampment was established on April 22, and protesters have said they plan to stay until the university divests from companies doing business in Israel and creates a Palestinian studies program for students.
Around 5:30 p.m. Friday, a group of protesters began erecting tents inside an “Alumni Village,” blocking off a 150-foot stretch of Sproul Plaza adjacent to the encampment. The group constructed a wall by chaining together plastic folding tables and attaching them to the campus kiosks, as well as plastic trash cans. In total, there were 12 tents at the village in addition to the tents outside Alumni Village, which a protest spokesperson said numbered 180.
It seems to me that Berkeley has dodged a bullet so far in the sense that no one has been seriously injured. But as the video above shows, it was a close thing. If one of those punches had connected more solidly, this would have been national news.
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