Officials at UCLA reportedly locked the doors to the planned location and refused to open them on Wednesday night due to safety concerns, in response to a conservative student group’s attempt to recruit the” Jihad Watch” founder to school.
Pro- Israel speech Robert Spencer was scheduled to speak at 6: 00 p. m. but” the gates of the Bruin Viewpoint Room were locked”, according to Young America’s Foundation, the party seeking to host the event.
Editor received a message from college officials telling them that the occasion would need to be moved to a low-traffic, isolated location, which was an intolerable last-minute change that would have had a significant impact on the event’s attendance and impact, according to the organization.
Reached for comment, Mary Osako, UCLA’s vice president of corporate communications, said:” There is misinformation circulating that the Young America’s Foundation celebration at UCLA on Wednesday night was canceled by the school”.
” This is incorrect”, she said in an emailed statement to The College Fix on Thursday. According to the organizers and UCLA, the event took place in the designated area after it changed to a finished, recorded event.
No so, said Michael McGonigle, a spokeswoman for Editor.
” To be clear, our function did not take place”, he said via email to The Fix.
A large force of pro-Palestinian protesters showed up on campus in opposition before the event was scheduled to begin, according to photos posted on social media.
Photos from previous evening – Communist protests erupted outside of @jihadwatchRS’s YAF statement as it was being canceled by @UCLA management
Full account here: https ://t.co/PnJiouIGSu photograph. twitter.com/lyWzDuz63R
— YAF ( @yaf ) May 16, 2024
The event’s subject,” All You Know About Palestine is Wrong,” was the idea behind Jihad Watch. In response to loud pro-Palestinian protests that have occasionally turned violent at UCLA, YAF sought to host the event.
The organization claimed it received no response after getting consent for the event for two weeks when YAF requested permission for the occasion in April. However, administrators officially expressed health concerns as a result of an anti-Israel camp that had illegally established a presence on the campus.
UCLA blocks the pro-Israel event at the last minute after first rejecting YAF’s need for equitable treatment on college. The book locked the section @uclayaf @yaf and Robert Spencer @jihadwatchRS out of their designated space, the most recent act in a long line of free speech violators. photograph. twitter.com/6W18CpXzFP
— Matthew Weinberg ( @_WeinbergMatt ) May 15, 2024
According to Matthew Weinberg, president of the UCLA Young Americans for Freedom section, the protests have “physically assaulted Israeli students, preventing Jewish students from entering classrooms at a public school, and blocking students from accessing some parts of the campus.” In an exam prior to Wednesday’s event, Weinberg stated in an interview that the activists have created a hostile and racist environment.
Weinberg, who is a Hebrew student himself, expressed his frustration with the intense anti-Israel protesters ‘ ability to effectively halt the Spencer occasion.
” We greatly encourage students with opposing beliefs to come and ask Robert any questions they may like,” says Robert.” The beauty of this event is that everyone is delightful.” After all, the only way to move forward and create peace is to have an open dialogue”, he said.
Weinberg said that Robert Spencer’s inclusion gives us an unusual perspective on the Israel-Palestine conflict and the Israel-Hamas war that is n’t typically heard on college campuses.
Former Republican governor of Wisconsin and current YAF President Scott Walker both stated in a statement to The College Fix that conservative students” should have the same rights as the pro-Hamas students who have frequently obstructed and violently disrupted the UCLA campus.”
Walker said the group may sue over the incident, noting that “UCLA canceled YAF’s access to the lecture hall while allowing protestors to freely roam the campus.”
Spencer also weighed in on X, stating:
” So I’m supposed to speak at @UCLA tonight. The pro-Hamas campus fascists have, so far:
1. Confused me with Richard Spencer,
2. Vowed to shut down the event,
3. Despite receiving favorable international coverage for months, claimed victimhood and whined that their side has n’t been heard.
4. claimed that UCLA is “islamophobic” for allowing any and all forms of” jihad propaganda” from the Palestinians to be heard.
5. alleged that I am a bad guy who supports terrorism, especially wealthy people who support Hamas.
McGonigle claimed that the event has n’t been rescheduled and that McGonigle informed The College Fix.
Robert Spencer can return to campus and speak at a later date or time, according to he said.” We are currently evaluating our legal options to ensure the constitutional rights of the students at UCLA are protected.”
A Jewish student filed a lawsuit against UCLA on Monday, alleging that the university did not protect Jewish students and faculty members from what the lawsuit refers to as” campus terrorists” during recent campus protests against Israel’s military operations in Gaza, according to NBC Los Angeles.
MORE: UCLA riot police clash with pro- Palestinian protesters, hundreds arrested
IMAGE: YAF
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