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After classes were canceled at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) on Wednesday amid ongoing safety concerns stemming from anti-Israel protests on the campus, the university has been forced to move courses remotely on Thursday and Friday.
The new guidelines said campus operations "will be limited" through the end of this week. "Per Academic Senate guidance on instruction, all in-person classes are authorized and required to pivot to remote tomorrow and Friday," read a statement from Bruins Safe Online.
"Please continue to avoid campus and the Royce Quad area," it added. The campus remains open; however the university is urging students to avoid Dickson Plaza (Royce Quad) as police have ordered an evacuation due to an unlawful assembly.
The statement comes amid a massive anti-Israel demonstration, where protesters have erected a fence to keep out law enforcement officers. Police remained on the sidelines until Thursday morning, when officers from multiple agencies were given permission to begin moving onto the campus and to restore order.
In the safety statement, UCLA said Geffen Academy, Lab School and Early Care and Education will remain closed Thursday. Additional guidance will be shared on Friday.
"Employees are encouraged to work remotely wherever possible and should consult with their supervisors. Events and research activities are encouraged to go remote or be rescheduled wherever possible," the statement added.
Fox News Digital's Lawrence Richard contributed to this update.
UCLA professor Nir Hoftman joined "Fox & Friends" on Thursday to discuss the anti-Israel encampment on his campus and said there is a "bigger issue" than antisemitism at U.S. universities.
Hoftman, who is Jewish, said the real problem with the encampments seen nationwide is there is no "law and order" enforced on college campuses.
"When you have no law and order, when you have chaos, vigilantes, then the people that want law and order lose and the terrorists win," Hoftman said.
"Now that every policeman is inside the campus, who's enforcing the rest of the city?" he asked. "And that's what's missing here, all along. This isn't about a war in the Middle East. It's about our entire system of life."
Hoftman said that despite the antisemitism he has witnessed on campus, he has no plans to leave UCLA.
"This is my home," he said. "I've had a 50-year relationship with UCLA. I'm not leaving. You know, we take it back."
A statue of the Rutgers mascot with an "On Strike" sticker at the university's main campus in New Brunswick. (Michael Nigro/Pacific Press/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Rutgers University on Thursday announced that final exams and other academic activities scheduled on its College Avenue campus in New Brunswick would be postponed because of anti-Israel agitators.
"Due to anticipated escalation of protest activities and out of an abundance of caution for the safety of our students, exams and other academic activities scheduled to take place before noon today on the College Avenue campus have been postponed," the school said in a statement.
The university did not provide new dates for the exams. The school said more updates will follow and advised students to contact their deans for more information.
Anti-Israel protesters formed an encampment at Rutgers University's College Avenue Campus on Thursday. The encampment is organized by Students for Justice in Palestine and the Endowment Justice Collective, according to NJ.com.
“In light of Rutgers University, President Holloway, Board of Governors, the Joint Committee on Investments not acknowledging their Palestinians students and not responding to our divestment request we will not leave Voorhees Mall the same way Palestinians in Gaza refuse to leave their homes until our demands are met,” the groups said in a statement Thursday. "This morning we will tell the university that we are not going to our final exams and ask our teachers to cancel them.”
A student who defended the American flag at a North Carolina campus Tuesday from an anti-Israel mob, said the protesters would have had to yank the flag from him over his "dead body."
Anti-Israel protesters targeted the American flag on The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill's quad — which had been flying at half-mast after four Charlotte officers were killed in the line of duty. At one point, they replaced it with a Palestinian flag – enraging students and inspiring members from the Pi Kappa Phi fraternity to take action.
"I don't understand how people can act like this," said Dan Stompel, a junior studying political science at the university. He was one of over a few dozen students who stood up to a mob of hundreds as they tried to desecrate the American flag. Stompel and his fellow classmates held the flag for over an hour until police were able to clear the protest and safely hoist it back on the flagpole. All the while, the students experienced profanity and middle fingers from protesters, along with bottles, rocks, and water being thrown at them.
"We're looking at every direction. If stuff was flying in, we would say, ‘Heads up.’ We would cover each other. We would look out for other people… And it did hurt our arms. It was like an ‘arm day’ [workout] for me that day. There was no gym happening that day afterwards. It was exhausting. It was beautiful moment," Stopel said in an interview with Fox News Digital Wednesday.
"It shows that, …based on the people there, nice, normal, strong boys protecting America's flag. There's nothing more patriotic, nothing more genuine, nothing more inspiring than that," he said.
Fox News Digital's Hannah Grossman contributed to this update.
Israeli President Isaac Herzog addresses a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress at the U.S. Capitol on July 19, 2023 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)
Israel President Isaac Herzog on Thursday condemned the antisemitic protests on U.S. college campuses in a message of support to Jewish communities around the world.
"The people of Israel are with you. We hear you. We see the shameless hostility and threats. We feel the insult, the breach of faith and breach of friendship. We share the apprehension and concern," Herzog said in a video message.
The Israeli leader condemned institutions of higher education that have been "contaminated by hatred and antisemitism fueled by arrogance and ignorance, and driven by moral failings and disinformation."
"We watch in horror as the atrocities of October 7th against Israel are celebrated and justified," he said. More than 1,200 Israelis were brutally slaughtered in the Oct. 7 attack on Israel led by Hamas terrorists.
"In the face of violence, harassment and intimidation, as masked cowards smash windows and barricade doors, as they assault the truth and manipulate history, together we stand strong. Together we will continue building a flourishing, life-affirming nation," Herzog said.
"As they chant for intifada and genocide, we will work — together — to free our hostages held by Hamas, and fight for civil liberties and our right to believe and belong, for the right to live proudly, peacefully and securely, as Jews, as Israelis — anywhere."
"In the face of this terrifying resurgence of antisemitism: Do not fear. Stand proud. Stand strong for your freedom. Israel stands with you. Israel cares for you. We care for you. We are here for you."
Law enforcement officers detain an anti-Israel agitator at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), in Los Angeles, May 2, 2024. (REUTERS/Mike Blake)
Police removed barricades and began to detain some protesters at the anti-Israel encampment on UCLA's campus Thursday morning.
Hundreds of officers moved in on the encampment from both sides of Royce Hall after a standoff overnight as police gathered in preparation for the raid, which comes amid a nationwide movement calling on college and universities to divest from Israel. Local FOX affiliate KTTV reported that officers met heavy resistance as they approached the camp.
Protesters attempted to resist by shining bright flashlights into the eyes of officers, KTTV reported. Several people were seen being detained by police and hauled away with their hands zip-tied behind their backs.
It is unclear how many people have been detained.
Elsewhere, police in New Hampshire said they made 90 arrests and took down tents at Dartmouth College and officers in Oregon came onto the campus at Portland State University as school officials sought to end the occupation of the library that started Monday.
New York police burst into a building occupied by war protesters at Columbia University on Tuesday night, breaking up a demonstration that had paralyzed the school and making 40-50 arrests.
At the University of Wisconsin in Madison, police clashed with protesters on Wednesday and four officers were injured, including a state trooper who was hit in the head with a skateboard. Four protesters were charged with battering law enforcement.
Meanwhile at Brown University in Rhode Island, school officials reached an agreement to end the encampment there by promising to hold a vote on divestment from Israel.
The Associated Press contributed to this update.
Republican presidential candidate, former U.S. President Donald Trump holds his hands up during a rally on May 1, 2024 at Avflight Saginaw in Freeland, Michigan. (Nic Antaya/Getty Images)
Former President Trump on Thursday called out President Biden and California Gov. Gavin Newsom for their silence as police confront anti-Israel protesters on UCLA's campus.
"THIS IS A RADICAL LEFT REVOLUTION TAKING PLACE IN OUR COUNTRY," Trump posted on his social media network, Truth Social.
"WHERE IS CROOKED JOE BIDEN? WHERE IS GOVERNOR NEWSCUM? THE DANGER TO OUR COUNTRY IS FROM THE LEFT, NOT FROM THE RIGHT!!!" he said, referring to Biden and Newsom by his favorite nicknames for them.
Biden has not issued a direct statement on the protests, but the White House on Tuesday released a statement from assistant press secretary Andrew Bates that condemned the occupation of Hamilton Hall by protesters at Columbia University.
"President Biden has stood against repugnant, antisemitic smears and violent rhetoric his entire life," Bates said. "He condemns the use of the term 'intifada,' as he has the other tragic and dangerous hate speech displayed in recent days."
Newsom issued a statement on the violence seen at UCLA's campus on Wednesday, after about 100 counter-protesters brawled with those gathered at the anti-Israel encampment for hours.
"I condemn the violence at UCLA last night," Newsom said. "The law is clear: The right to free speech does not extend to inciting violence, vandalism, or lawlessness on campus. Those who engage in illegal behavior must be held accountable for their actions — including through criminal prosecution, suspension, or expulsion."
UCLA law student Matthew Weinberg spoke out against the violence witnessed on his school's campus, where police are attempting to clear an unlawful anti-Israel encampment.
Weinberg called the protest a "disgrace" and said tear gas and flashbangs deployed by police reminded him of a "war zone."
"It demonstrates to me that this school is run by a bunch of cowards," Weinberg said. "It demonstrates to me a lack of moral clarity, and it also demonstrates to me the degradation of our society."
He criticized the school administration for permitting the encampment to remain on campus as long as it has while Jewish students were made to feel unsafe.
"There's no doubt in my mind that they are owed a tuition reimbursement. I have a friend at law school, she was pepper sprayed. There are a number of other students that were physically assaulted. The school has done absolutely nothing," he said, adding that an apology would be "insufficient."
President Biden, who was motivated to run for president by the bigotry on display in Charlottesville in 2017, is feeling increased media and political pressure to speak out on antisemitism as agitators and unrest roil college campuses.
CNN's Dana Bash said Wednesday that Democrats she's spoken to about Biden's response to the protests so far believe he looks "weak," as the country has seen tumultuous scenes at universities coast to coast, from Columbia to UCLA.
Bash noted a statement from White House Deputy Press Secretary Andrew Bates, which said Biden supported the right to peacefully protest, and "forcibly taking over buildings is not peaceful." The statement added, "hate speech and hate symbols have no place in America."
"He's the deputy press secretary, he's certainly not the president, who we haven't heard from. He's not the communications director, who we haven't heard from. He's not the press secretary, who we haven't heard from. This is very telling that this is what we have so far with everything that's going on, from the White House and the President of the United States," Bash said.
The New York Times' Zolan Kanno-Youngs said he was traveling with Biden to New York, where several campus protests have unfolded.
"I was going into it thinking, oh he's got to make a statement here. He’s got to come over and talk to the press about what we’re seeing unraveling and we didn‘t see that, he didn't come over," he said. "I don‘t think that’s going to be able to last. This is how we’ve seen them message on this so far. Statements that clearly condemn antisemitism and don‘t condone violence, calling for peaceful protests. But again, it‘s written statements."
"I've talked to some Democrats who say they're worried that he looks weak," Bash responded, referring to Biden not speaking on the issue directly.
Fox News Digital's Hanna Panreck contributed to this update.
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