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Many Jewish UCLA students avoiding campus fearing anti-Semitism

A California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer detains a protestor while clearing a pro-Palestinian encampment after dispersal orders were given at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, on May 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. The camp was declared ‘unlawful’ by the university and over 100 protestors who refused to leave were detained during the operation. Pro-Palestinian encampments have sprung up at college campuses around the country with some protestors calling for schools to divest from Israeli interests amid the ongoing war in Gaza
A California Highway Patrol (CHP) officer detains a protestor while clearing a pro-Palestinian encampment after dispersal orders were given at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) campus, on May 2, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. The camp was declared ‘unlawful’ by the university and over 100 protestors who refused to leave were detained during the operation. Pro-Palestinian encampments have sprung up at college campuses around the country with some protestors calling for schools to divest from Israeli interests amid the ongoing war in Gaza
Mario Tama/Getty Images

Some Jewish students at UCLA feel they have to hide their Jewish identity, while others are avoiding campus altogether because of anti-Semitism from demonstrators.

"This past week, we've seen swastikas drawn on random buildings, so to be on campus right now, it is a scary thing to do," one Jewish student told KNX News' Emily Valdez.


He said during the peak of the encampment, it was almost impossible to avoid the demonstrators as they chanted "from the river to the sea" -- a phrase that many Jews feel is a not-so-subtle threat to their lives.

The Jewish students who are willing to be on campus are spending their time at Hillel protected by an armed guard, and many actively hide their Jewish identity to avoid harassment.

"At first, I was more so accepting of their right to protest and everything, [but] when they started to get really loud and a bit aggressive...I definitely did feel more scared to walk on campus just to express my Jewishness and feeling that it's more important than ever to hide my necklace, which was pretty sad to me," said one student.

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As for the rest of the semester, students hope the university, along with the police, enforce the no encampment rules.

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