A group of pro-Palestinian protesters on Wednesday occupied an abandoned building on the UC Berkeley campus in hopes of bringing attention to what they describe as a genocide in Gaza, according to organizers. Terry McSweeney reports.
A group of pro-Palestinian protesters on Wednesday occupied an abandoned building on the UC Berkeley campus in hopes of bringing attention to what they describe as a genocide in Gaza, according to organizers.
The group took over an abandoned building in UC Berkeley's Anna Head complex near People's Park in Berkeley's Southside neighborhood, two blocks from campus. The building was boarded up following a fire in 2022.
Some protesters entered the former Institute for the Study of Societal Issues building through square holes in the surrounding fencing to occupy it, while most protesters occupied the grassy area outside of the fence. Protesters inside of the fence erected banners and spray-painted slogans on the building in red paint.
"This is Hind Hall [sic]," one piece of graffiti reads, referencing the occupation of Hind's Hall at Columbia University. Hind's Hall was unofficially renamed from Hamilton Hall during April protests in New York City by pro-Palestinian protesters in honor of a 6-year-old girl, Hind Rajab, who was killed in the conflict in Gaza.
The building's occupation Wednesday sparked a response from both police and UC Berkeley, who released a WarnMe notification at 7:06 p.m. stating that several dozen people with sticks, pry bars, and bolt cutters broke into the building and broke windows, cut fences, and spray-painted walls.
Police asked people to avoid the area all afternoon and into the evening, though there have been no reports of any arrests as of 9 p.m.
Protesters said they staged the building takeover in memory of the destruction of Al-Shifa hospital, the largest medical center in the Gaza Strip, now in ruins.
The core group is hoping to dissociate themselves from encampments that have been pacified in recent negotiations with universities and colleges and to bring awareness to what they called the genocide in Gaza as well as the impact of colonial institutions, said one organizer, who declined to provide their name in fear of arrest.
The Anna Head occupation comes just two days after the pro-Palestinian encampment in front of UC Berkeley's Sproul Hall disbanded. That encampment dispersed partially to head to a protest in Merced at a University of California Board of Regents meeting scheduled for Wednesday, and partially in response to UC Berkeley's promise to examine investments in Israel in recent negotiations.
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Pro-Palestinian protesters occupied the grassy area around Sproul Plaza on UC Berkeley's campus for 22 days to pressure the university to divest from Israel, before Chancellor Carol Christ released a statement which promised to examine UC Berkeley's ties to the Israeli government and declared her support for a ceasefire. Her statement noted that the Regents of the University of California control investments.
Organizers of the building takeover on Wednesday put out calls for more protesters to join them in a series of group chats beginning around 2:15 p.m., and new protestors began filtering in from throughout Berkeley.
The building's occupation grew throughout the day as word spread about the occupation, and more and more people showed up.
UC Berkeley first sent out a WarnMe notification to avoid the area "due to police activity" at 1:49 p.m.
Calls for more participants were sent out by protesters on the X platform, formerly known as Twitter, at about 2:30 p.m., before UC Berkeley released another WarnMe at 3:25 p.m. asking people to avoid the area, without providing any additional information on the situation.
Protesters outside of the building's fenced area erected tents, used a bullhorn for speeches, and used chalk to draw on the sidewalk.
UC Berkeley assistant vice chancellor Dan Mogulof said the building's occupation is illegal.
"This is a crime scene," he said. "We don't see this as civil disobedience by any stretch of the imagination, and we have confirmed that the coalition we reached an understanding with yesterday did not initiate this action."
Mogulof said the occupying group has not issued demands to the university, and that the university will not be engaging in negotiations with them. Although participants are wearing masks, Mogulof said they hope to identify them in the future.
Organizers said that, although they have not yet published demands, that their wants are obvious through their actions and the text on their banners. However, they planned to officially release demands later Wednesday night.
