As Breitbart News reported last month, the radical group, which had been behind last year’s antisemitic “encampment” at the university, put red-painted handprints on the garage door of UC Regent Jay Sures and blocked a member of his family from leaving.
The red handprints have been adopted as a symbol by the pro-Palestinian movement — even though they originate in the image of a Palestinian man raising his bloodied hands after lynching two Israelis.
Earlier in March, the Trump administration included UCLA on its list of ten universities it is subjecting to special investigation by the federal Department of Justice.
Naya Lekht of the Institute for Study of Global Antisemitism & Policy believes discipline for the group is a step in the right direction. However, she questions whether the suspension will ever come about. Student organizations have five days to appeal.
“Unfortunately, what I saw at UCLA was a demonstration by SJP just two days after. So, they seem to actually still be active because you can state that you want to suspend a student group, but the actual suspension may take months."
She adds that antisemitism is often a symptom that something else is happening and asks why is antisemitism flourishing on campuses?
The problem is “faculty see themselves as change makers and activators instead of educators, instead of people whose job it is to teach in a classroom. They really are abusing the university and using the university to promote a political agenda."
