This article was originally written on Feb. 15, 2025.
The Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) rallied outside of the Wilshire Federal Building at noon on Saturday, Feb. 15 to demand that the governments of Jordan and Egypt reject Trump’s plans for the displacement of 2.3 million Palestinians from Gaza. The protestors marched through Westwood Village before blocking the intersection of Veteran Ave. and Wilshire Blvd. from 1:30 p.m. until dispersal at 2 p.m..
Members of the Community Service Organization (CSO), Party for Socialism and Liberation (PSL), Al-Awda (The Palestine Right to Return Coalition), and the Palestinian Feminist Collective (PFC) also attended in solidarity with PYM.
Speakers at the demonstration highlighted the Israeli government’s violations of the ceasefire agreement signed on Jan. 15, 2025. They also expressed contempt for Trump’s plans to “own” Gaza and called for the United States to stop funding IDF armaments.
The protesters began their march through Westwood at 12:30 p.m. on Wilshire Blvd. They made their way through Westwood Village, chanting in English, Arabic, and Spanish. UCLA PD and LAPD squad cars flanked the group as they called, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”
UCLA Radio spoke to Nadia, a media liaison for PYM, who commented that despite UCLA suspending Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Graduate SJP from campus, “no amount of repression will stop the students from organizing and won’t stop the students from mobilizing.” Students marched and rallied across campus the next Tuesday to respond to the organizations’ suspension and mark 500 days since the beginning of Israel’s war in Gaza.
