UCLA Chancellor Gene Block has now become the focus of the chair of a congressional committee over whether he and his administration did enough to protect Jewish students on the Westwood campus amid tensions surrounding a now-disbanded pro-Palestinian encampment.
On Tuesday, Rep. Virginia Foxx, R-N.C., chairwoman of the House’s Education and the Workforce Committee, sent a letter to UC leadership asking for all documents, communications and security videos related to alleged antisemitic incidents on campus.
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Unmasking counterprotesters who attacked UCLA’s pro-Palestine encampment
“I am horrified by UCLA’s negligent and incomprehensible reaction to antisemitic violence and exclusion on its campus,” Foxx wrote in the letter. “UCLA’s leaders have allowed their campus to become a severe and pervasive hostile environment for Jewish students, standing by as students, faculty and affiliates were assaulted and harassed.”
Criticism of Block amid the turmoil that unfolded on campus in early May is not new. Block is also coming under fire from Republican congressmembers for what they said is the harm the encampment caused to Jewish students, and he is scheduled to testify at a May 23 hearing of Foxx’s Committee.
Such criticism was amplified after April 30 clashes on the campus’s Royce Quad. That’s when in a nighttime assault, pro-Israeli counter-protesters stormed the pro-Palestinian encampment, sparking sporadic violence into the night. Law enforcement ultimately responded, but the delayed response sparked ire ranging from students to the governor’s office.
During the encampment attack more than 150 protesters were assaulted with pepper spray and bear mace and at least 25 protesters were transported to emergency rooms, according to a statement from volunteer medics who responded.
The day after the attack, Block issued a statement expressing his “sincere sympathy to those who were injured last night, and to all those who have been harmed or have feared for their safety in recent days.”
House Education and the Workforce Committee Chair Rep. Virginia Foxx R-N.C., speaks during the hearing on “Columbia in Crisis: Columbia University’s Response to Antisemitism” on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, April 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana)
He vowed that the university would conduct a thorough investigation both of its own security procedures and of the attack itself, which “may lead to arrests, expulsions and dismissals.”
But the Jewish Federation of Los Angeles said it was appalled at the events that took place and that “the abhorrent actions of a few counter-protesters last night do not represent the Jewish community or our values.”
The organization cited a lack of leadership from the chancellor and the UCLA administration, which enabled the “chaos we witnessed last night,” and called on the chancellor and the university to immediately close the encampment and meet with leaders of the Jewish community to talk about steps the school will take to ensure safety for everyone on campus.
The organization said the administration allowed an environment to be created that made students feel unsafe for months, including allowing illegal encampments “in violation of its own laws” and “has been systemically slow to respond when law enforcement is desperately needed.”
Multiple investigations have been launched into UCLA’s response and in law enforcement, which a day later, in a massive sweep cleared the encampment and arrested more than 200 protesters.
Block said it was necessary to clear the encampment because it created a dangerous environment and interfered with the university’s ability to educate students.
“In the end, the encampment on Royce Quad was both unlawful and a breach of policy,” he said in a May 2 statement. “It led to unsafe conditions on our campus and it damaged our ability to carry out our mission. It needed to come to an end.”
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA – NOVEMBER 17: UCLA Chancellor Gene Block, second from left, talks with UC Regents chair Rich Lieb, left, and Regents chair Michael Drake, right, before a discussion in San Francisco, Calif., Thursday, Nov. 17, 2022, about UCLA’s desire to join the Big 10. (Karl Mondon/Bay Area News Group)
It all led up to Foxx’s letter this week at a time when for months congressional leaders have called multiple university presidents to testify on issues related to antisemitism on campus in the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas attack on Israelis.
Roughly 1,200 were killed when Hamas launched its surprise attack on Oct. 7, when thousands of militants rampaged across southern Israeli military bases and sleepy communities on a Jewish holiday. Another 250 were taken captive into Gaza, according to Israeli authorities. The ensuing war sparked by the assault has killed more than 34,700 Palestinians, according to local health officials.
But in essence, university officials, including Block, have face criticism from both sides of the on-campus tension over the war.
On one hand, pro-Isreali counterprotesters say campus officials aren’t doing enough to protect their safety and against speech and actions that they say have gone over the line into anti-semetic hate. On the other hand, Block faces fierce criticism over security on campus, the university’s sweep of the encampment, along with the initial protesters’ demands – including divestment from entities that do business with Israel.
The UCLA Academic Senate first considered a no-confidence vote against Block in a May 10 emergency meeting, but did not reach a decision and continued the motion to Thursday.
Over two-thirds of Academic Senate members approved the motion to take a vote of no confidence, however the results of the no confidence vote itself were not available by press time.
If passed, the vote would have no legal power to force action and Block had announced plans last year to step down this summer. Nevertheless, it would mark a dark moment for his career by expressing the faculty’s belief that his failure of leadership was severe enough to merit firing.
Block had long planned to stepped down from his chancellorship in July.
