(LOS ANGELES, CA – 11/13/2024) – The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA), along with Jewish Voice for Peace, Los Angeles (JVP-LA), Muslim Student Association West (MSA West), and Yalla Indivisible held a press conference yesterday, Nov. 12, calling on the Orange County District Attorney’s office (OCDA) to drop the criminal charges against the 50 peaceful protesters who were arrested during an anti-genocide demonstration at the University of California, Irvine (UCI). Supporting organizations in attendance included Arab American Civic Council, Asian Americans Advancing Justice, Irvine Asians for Peace, Orange County Equality Coalition, and South Asian Network.
WATCH: CAIR-LA Press Conference on Behalf of Anti-Genocide UCI Students, Faculty, and Staff
On May 15,UCI’s militarized police response to the university’s Gaza Solidarity Encampmentled to the arrest of dozens of students, faculty, and community members peacefully protesting Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza. Among those arrested were two UCI professors, a teaching assistant, and 26 students.
In September, the OCDA filed criminal charges against 10 of the anti-genocide protesters in connection with the demonstration. Days later, the office announced that the additional 40 protesters would also face criminal charges.
The UCI administration has previously made attempts to silence and punish students and faculty for their pro-Palestinian advocacy, including suspending several students involved in the university’s anti-genocide encampment. The administration also failed to protect students targeted by a “doxing truck†that drove around the UCI campus for hours, appearing to target specific students for their support of Palestine and opposition to Israel’s genocide in Gaza.
CAIR-LAhas strongly condemned UCI and the OCDA for their ongoing efforts to intimidate, harass, and silence pro-Palestinian activism. CAIR-LA also put out a call to action that was signed by nearly 3,200 community members urging the OCDA to dismiss the charges against the protesters.
In a statement CAIR-LA Civil Rights Managing Attorney Dina Chehata, Esq. said:
“The OCDA wants to convince the public that what these brave 49 individuals did was lawless and violent, but the truth, plain and simple, is that UCI and the OCDA have a history of silencing pro-Palestinian voices … Let’s be clear—these charges are not about upholding the law, they are about silencing dissent, intimidating those who dare to speak up, and criminalizing pro-Palestinian speech
In a statement, CAIR-LA Legal Director Amr Shabaik, Esq., said:
“These brave students and community members speaking up against the Israeli genocide [in Gaza] have already been subject to harsh disciplinary actions, violence, harassment, doxing, threats, and racism. Instead of protecting them, our public institutions have decided to waste taxpayer dollars and resources in an attempt to silence them and intimidate them further. The OCDA must stop misusing public funds and resources and drop all charges against the UCI protesters
In a statement JVP-LA Board Chair Estee Chandler said:
“Supporters of Israel have erected a Zionist-McCarthyism, using the same tactics to condemn all who call for a ’free Palestine’ or an end to the U.S. military aid to Israel as ’antisemites’ … The UCI administration and the OCDA have chosen a cruel course of punishment plainly rooted in anti-Palestinian racism, Islamophobia, and political favoritism
In a statement, MSA West Senior Programs Manager Hasna El-Nounou said:
“The OCDA’s continued decision to prosecute Palestinian, Arab, and Muslim students goes beyond just making an example of one group of people—it magnifies a deeply horrific trend and reality of expendability for student activists … The decision to prosecute these students and community members is not about upholding the law, but rather about silencing a people in pain, and intimidating and punishing those who dare to stand up against inhumane war crimes and genocide
In a statement, UCI Professor charged by the OCDA Dr. Tiffany Willoughby-Herard said:
“UCI’s encampment was a student-led teaching and learning experience that the university administration responded to it with terrifying violence … These courageous protesters demanded that universities divest from genocide because they do not consent to the universities in Palestine being bombed, destroyed, and turned into graveyards. I stand with the courageous protesters because I cannot stand by and watch our society’s precious resources for education be stolen and misspent on militarism and genocide
In a statement, Yalla Indivisible Co-Founder and community member charged by the OCDA Lubna Hammad said:
“I am grateful to these students who stood up to say, ’Not in our name, not with our tax dollars, not on our watch’ … If you don’t see this as part of a national effort to suppress all pro-Palestine speech, then you’re not seeing the whole picture
Colleges and universities across the country have repeatedly made attempts to silence pro-Palestinian activism by weaponizing university policies to suppress free speech and authorizing police violence against students, faculty, and staff.
SEE:
- CAIR, ADC Designate UCLA an “Institution of Particular Concern†Following Targeting of Anti-Genocide Student Protesters
- CAIR Designates Pomona College an “Institution of Particular Concern†Following Targeting of Anti-Genocide Student Protesters
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justiceand empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Digital Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851 or eelkadi@cair.com; CAIR-LA Communications Coordinator Madi Morse-Hameed,mmorse-hameed@cair.com
