Daniel Needlestone

I went to the UCLA campus last night and spent a few hours there before the police dispersed the encampment. I wanted to see the pro-Palestine student protests for myself and get a sense of the atmosphere, energy, and students, as well as the movement's focus and the desired endgame. I wore a t-shirt with a chant that I hoped to use as an engagement opportunity with some students to see their views on various issues and how they perceive peace as an opportunity for the Palestinian people and cause. The chant is slightly modified from the ubiquitously repeated “from the river to the sea…” Here is what I saw: - Right next to the parking lot and main entryway into the campus, a truck was parked with a speaker that loudly broadcast recordings from Richard Medhurst. I was disappointed and disturbed to see a rotating antisemitic symbol on top of the truck with a combined swastika and star of David. I wished that the protest organizers had removed that particular symbol, which was entirely hateful and vile. Many statements, words, and messages were plastered all over the truck, which had a Palestinian flag. - Upon proceeding onto campus, something like 70% of protesters had masks, balaclavas, and kuffiyahs covering their faces – something that we see across college protests as students fear backlash, doxing, and retaliation for their participation. To me, as an outsider, this made the overall atmosphere immensely tense, not seeing peoples’ faces and feeling that people could do whatever they wanted while benefiting from anonymity. The environment was not conducive to dialogue, talking, discussions, debates, or anything of the sort. The message was clear; everyone who attended needed to be onboard with the dictated message and slogans or get out. You could feel the tension as many people looked around, suspicious and mistrustful of other masked protesters whom they didn’t know, fearing infiltrators, undercover cops, and pro-Israel students. As time went on, the tension I felt eased, and I became a bit more relaxed being around so many masked and covered-up faces. - I went with my friend and ally @LucBernard, and we both observed people being wholly intrigued, confused, suspicious, and uncertain about me wearing a T-shirt with the modified pro-peace chant. Neither of us covered our faces, and we wanted to engage people and see what was happening, hear their thoughts, what they wanted, and why they were there. - Thankfully, we encountered many extremely friendly people and very nice students (who were masked), and we asked questions about what’s been happening and got some intriguing details. Still, there was no room or space for bringing different views about the protests or the issue, as everybody was either on the “same page” or there was almost complete conformity with regard to the opinions that protesters espoused about Zionism, Israel, Gaza, etc. My assessment: 1. It was truly disappointing and upsetting that the main entrance had a van with incendiary language and inflammatory rhetoric, not to mention a clearly antisemitic and vile symbol equating the swastika with the star of David. The organizers did not challenge this van; many who passed it showed immense enthusiasm and approval for its presence. 2. I can see how some students, certainly those who are Jewish and or don’t support the protesters and their message, would feel unsafe or intimidated. I felt that tension all around the campus with the masked students and the blocked entryways and barricaded areas – and it was strange to feel uneasy just wearing a t-shirt that promoted peace. Though I want to be absolutely clear: no one attacked me or said anything to me about the t-shirt despite being aggressively eye-mugged by pretty much everyone. Yet, I didn’t feel safe at all to actually have any real or detailed conversations with students about my views, Hamas, Gaza, or pragmatic paths forward. I genuinely feared being jumped by maskless students for simply expressing a view that differed from theirs. 3. There was no room or space for meaningful discussions, engagement, and exploring the building of a sustainable, broad movement with realistic and articulable goals, strategies, tactics, and sophisticated messaging. The slogans, goals, and ethos are based on maximalist, zero-sum aspirations that will never achieve anything for the Palestinian cause. It was clear that a small group of students and organizations developed their platform, and subsequently, the masses are being herded into following it, seemingly mindlessly and without a deep understanding of Gaza, Hamas, Israel, foreign policy, and all the relevant issues. 4. I stand by my assessment that at the current rate and trajectory, this historic opportunity will be squandered and will fail to harness unprecedented empathy for the Palestinian people to fuel actual change and achieve justice, freedom, and peace for the just and urgent Palestinian cause. 5. Most students are sincere and absolutely have their hearts in the right place. They are, however, misguided and are being led by extreme, radical, and genuinely detrimental organizations, voices, and “revolutionary” types who are the worst possible allies and spokespeople for the Palestinian people. If presented with the right balance of information, analysis, assessment, and recommendations, I’m confident that many, if not most, students will likely adjust course and become better-informed protesters and advocates. Nevertheless, it's nearly impossible to imagine a change happening anytime soon, given how entrenched the “pro-Palestine industrial complex” is becoming, and there’s no space for diverse opinions or alternative narratives within the movement. I support free speech and freedom of expression; I oppose vandalism, intolerance, forced conformity, hate, and mindless activism. I commend the intentions of students and their rights to voice their opposition to what’s happening in Gaza as enshrined by democratic principles of liberal societies; I blame radical, unsophisticated, maximalist, hateful, and misguided organizations, activists, and voices for squandering a historic opportunity to drum up support for the Palestinian people and push for an independent state living side by side with a secure Israel – they don’t have to be mutually exclusive.