Tensions reemerge on UCSC campus as dozens of pro-Israel, pro-Palestine students stage dueling rallies

Dozens of pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian protesters met on the UC Santa Cruz campus Thursday afternoon in a tense but largely peaceful confrontation that illustrates how university campuses continue to be roiled by violence in the Middle East. 

More than 50 members of the university-affiliated Jewish student group Santa Cruz Hillel held an event at UC Santa Cruz’s Quarry Plaza around 4 p.m. Thursday to elevate Jewish visibility. On the other side of the plaza, more than 120 pro-Palestinian supporters, organized by the recently formed student group Jews Against White Supremacy, gathered for a counterprotest and to mourn the more 30,000 Palestinians killed so far by Israeli forces. 

Between them as a buffer, about a dozen UCSC administrators, including Campus Provost Lori Kletzer, stood and observed. The groups stayed on opposite sides of the plaza for about an hour and a half, chanting and holding signs, without any incidents. 

Representatives from both Jews Against White Supremacy and Santa Cruz Hillel told Lookout they felt that considering how difficult and contentious the tensions on campus have been, particularly since the outbreak of war between Israel and Hamas on Oct. 7, the rallies held Thursday went as well as they could have. For months, college campuses across the country have been experiencing clashes, both in and out of the classroom. 

Donna Harel, in her fourth year and an active Santa Cruz Hillel student on campus, helped organize the Hillel event. She said felt “empowered and supported” by people who attended.

“It was important for me to host this because of the blatant antisemitism that has occurred on this campus unchecked,” she told Lookout. “Our goal that we achieved today was to show that we will continue to stand with our heads held high.” 

Former Merrill College provost Elizabeth S. Abrams said Santa Cruz Hillel organizers canceled a march they had initially planned as part of the event to avoid any confrontations with counterprotesters.

Graduate student Rebecca Gross, an organizer from Jews Against White Supremacy, said the group felt good about the turnout of counterprotesters. Gross said they organized the event to show that not all Jewish people support Zionism and to counter the idea that there is rampant antisemitism on campus. 

Jews Against White Supremacy at UCSC was formed in November. The group said its focus is to support the liberation of Palestine and that it represents Jewish people who are actively anti-Zionist. Gross said the group has about 15 active members at its regular meetings.

“The group is claiming that this is to combat antisemitism on campus. But to my knowledge, there haven’t been any incidents of antisemitism in at least a year,” Gross told Lookout. “So today, we are going to show up as Jews and say, ‘This so-called Jewish unity march doesn’t represent us, and there’s no place on campus for Zionism.'” 

The protest was partially a reaction to a March 5 decision by the Student Union Assembly to pass a resolution prohibiting the student body government from spending any student fees on a list of companies identified as supporting the “occupation and genocide of Palestinians.” 

The resolution, written by the Student Union Assembly and the UCSC chapter of Students for Justice in Palestine, also called for a boycott of and divestment from Israel and Israeli-owned companies and for UCSC to offer greater transparency on how it spends student tuition.

The day after the resolution passed, Santa Cruz Hillel issued a statement saying it was “deeply disappointed that more students were not given the opportunity to share their views on the resolution.” The group then announced a “student-led Jewish Unity Walk” on Thursday. 

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