Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at UCLA is rallying today (5/15/25) for Nakba Day, marking 77 years since Palestinians were displaced from their historical land in the 1948 Arab-Israeli War. The group called on students “to remember 77+ years of displacement since the 1948 Nakba or ‘catastrophe’ where zionists violently exiled 750,000 Palestinians from their homeland and destroyed over 500 villages,” also writing that “the Nakba continues as the zionist occupation lays siege to Gaza every hour.” SJP at UCLA is protesting despite a UCLA-issued interim suspension for a “wake-up call” organized outside UC Regent Jay Sures’s house in February.
This post, updated by members of our News Department, seeks to provide up-to-date information and developments about the demonstration and will be periodically updated. The News Department will also maintain immediate, real-time updates on X (formerly Twitter):
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1:40pm — SJP confirms arrests of two students
According to SJP one student was arrested outside of Dodd Hall around 12:40 pm and another at the top of Tongva Steps around 1pm. SJP has not announced any reaction towards these arrests.
1:29pm — Protest has entirely dispersed after the demonstration in Luskin Turnaround
1:23pm — Protestors begin dispersing
Protestors are dispersing into small groups in the Luskin Turnaround.
1:18pm — Marchers reconstruct villages in honor of the subdistricts of Palestine, prior to 1948
The reconstruction made of cardboard boxes and banners is meant to be a symbol of villages lost when Palestinians were forcibly displaced. Protestors are “reclaiming Luskin Turnaround for Gaza”
1:16pm — March continues into Luskin Turnaround
Chants of: “every time the UC lies a little kid in Gaza dies” can be heard
1:13pm — Officers detain another protestor
The reason cited for the protestor’s arrest is California Penal Code Section 148(a)(1) – a misdemeanor offence that prohibits resisting, delaying or obstructing a peace officer or emergency technician – includes actions such as physically resisting arrest.
1:10pm — Marchers move towards Ackerman Plaza
1:06pm — Protest moves towards Tongva Steps
The members of the crowd begin marching down Tongva steps. The police officers follow.
1:04pm — Police officers begin kettling
Kettling is a tactic used by large groups of police officers to contain a crowd of people to a smaller area.
1:02pm — Student Affairs makes a statement
Student affairs representative states that student affairs is no longer involved in the protest and don’t claim responsibility for anything that occurs
1:00pm— Protest continues
Protest continues as members of SJP read out family stories related to Palestine.
12:56pm — Police officers are watching protest
Police watch the protest from a distance as it continues in Royce Quad. While the officers are just watching from a distance they are armed with batons.
12:54pm — The protestors raise a banner in honor of Jaffa
The banner is a representation of Jaffa. Additionally, protestors ready out family stories from Palestine and are building a box demonstration.
12:52pm — Police officers begin closing in on protestors
Police begin coming from the street side of Royce quad and close in on the rally.
12:50pm — New speaker addresses the crowd
The speaker is discussing the sub districts and reconstructing the Jaffa region. They also planted a tree in Royce Quad in honor of Palestine.
12:48pm — Witness report about arrest
According to an eyewitness, a student claiming to be protecting the student protestors carrying a shield was detained by 8 police officers due to the student potentially having a weapon.
12:47pm — Speakers resume
A PYM speaker calls attention to the Triangle of Fire
12:45pm — March stops at the Royce Quad fountain
Chanting continues among the members of the crowd. Chants of “Palestine will live forever” can be heard.
12:41pm — A member of the protest is being arrested
A member of the protest crowd is arrested and taken away in a UCLA PD cop car. It is unknown the reason for the arrest. Police continue to follow the march.
12:38pm — SJP protestors begin to march
After police entered the crowd, a march begins towards Royce Hall. Members of the rally chant: “Disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest.”
12:36pm — Protestors respond to cop presence
Protestors shout shame at nearby admin and police as they enter the crowd of people. The police officers begin taking photos of the Bruin Cards of the protestors.
12:31 — An Organizer with PYM starts speaking
A PYM (Palestinian Youth Movement) organizer calls out the “legacy of sacrifice” and claims “our nakba is ongoing and predates 1948”
12:29pm — The first speakers begin
A student member of SJP states: “This is not security, this is colonization. Palestinians are not collected to their land through politics, but through memory, blood, breath, and birth.”
12:25pm — Crowds chant as speakers start
Protestors chant “Free Palestine” and “From the river to the sea Palestine will be free” as the first speakers start.
12:20pm — SJP members distribute zine
The zine includes information about SJP’s demands towards UCLA, which invested 1.7 billion in Blackstone across multiple private equity funds: one of which has direct ties to Israeli cybersecurity and tech sectors. The zine also includes a call to action in response to the recent action outside the Israeli consulate.
12:13pm — Interview with SJP Media Liaison
In an interview with UCLA Radio news staff, a SJP Media Liaison demands that UCLA divest from Blackstone and condemns the ongoing conflict in Palestine. The protest expands to approximately 75 people.
12:00pm — Students gather in Dickson Court North
A crowd of about 50 students and community members are in Dickson Court North while protesters continue to stream into the area. SJP at UCLA’s enumerated demands for this action include disclosure of UC-wide and UCLA foundation assets, divestment “from companies and institutions involved in the Israeli occupation, apartheid, and genocide of the Palestinian people,” an academic boycott of Israel, and abolition of campus policing. The group specifically cited Blackstone, a firm in which the UC invested an additional $4 billion in early 2023, that has been criticized for fighting rent control legislation in California and supporting Israeli tech industries.
Three police cars and four police personnel are present on the scene.
Contributing reports by:
Randy Tobias
Lily Stockton
