An anti-Israel encampment at Occidental College that was created on Friday was taken down on Monday, a spokesman for the highly-ranked, private liberal arts college in Los Angeles told JNS.
The Students for Justice in Palestine and Jewish Voice for Peace chapters at the college stated that they created the encampment to demand that the school “divest from the Zionist entity.”
Protesters were urging the college’s board to vote on a proposal to divest from companies that conduct business with Israel and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, according to the Occidental, a student paper.
“On Monday morning, the temporary encampment on the quad at Occidental College was dismantled peacefully by student protesters, and the area has been cleaned,” the college spokesman told JNS.
“A small group of individuals also peacefully demonstrated outside some college buildings,” the spokesman said. “The college observed and monitored the demonstration to ensure safety.”
“Students involved in the encampment cited a recently submitted divestment proposal as their key issue,” which “is currently under review by the college’s board of trustees through the college’s established process, which is designed to gather input from across our community,” according to the spokesman.
“While the college respects the right to free expression and peaceful protest, some actions that took place over the weekend violated the student code of conduct and the college’s time, place and manner policies,” the spokesman told JNS. “These policies exist to ensure the safety and well-being of our entire community and to minimize disruption to campus operations.”
The spokesman said that the college has been “enforcing our policies in a way that prioritizes de-escalation and our community’s safety.”
“The conduct process has begun for several students and for a student group for violations of college policies,” the spokesman said.
Images that circulated on social media appeared to show imagery associated with the encampment that included inverted red triangles, which are associated with the Hamas terror organization, and with the word “Zionists” and a red slash going through the word that were allegedly handed out at the encampment.
JNS asked the college about the apparently pro-Hamas imagery.
In November 2024, the college reached a settlement agreement with the Anti-Defamation League and Louis D. Brandeis Center for Human Rights Under Law after the groups filed a federal complaint under Title VI of the 1964 Civil Rights Act.
The groups alleged that Jewish students had faced a hostile campus environment since Oct. 7.
Carly Gammill, director of legal policy at StandWithUs, told JNS that under that agreement, the “proper” and “consistent” application of the college’s policies “is non-negotiable.”
“A federal court in California rightly recognized, in a similar context, that a reasonable person would understand the use of the inverted red triangle as a threat of violence—not protected political speech,” Gammill told JNS.
Gammill, who spoke with JNS prior to the college’s statement, said that “if Occidental refuses to treat this threat seriously and impose appropriate consequences, it is putting the safety of members of its campus community directly at risk.”
Rabbi Noah Farkas, president and CEO of Jewish Federation Los Angeles, told JNS that “peaceful protest is a protected right, but threats, intimidation and the glorification or alleged support of groups like Hamas cross a dangerous and deeply deplorable line.”
“Despite the campus climate, Jewish students chose to come together for a joyful and meaningful Shabbat, a powerful reflection of their resilience and pride,” Farkas said, adding that Tom Stritikus, president of the college, “reached out to express his support for the Jewish students on campus and joined the dinner in a meaningful show of solidarity.”
“I have been in close communication with Occidental’s leadership and appreciate their commitment to upholding campus policies, including enforcement of time, place and manner restrictions, to ensure a safe and inclusive environment for all students,” he told JNS.
