Campus Watch May 7, 2025

Jewish UCLA Student Assaulted on Campus

A Jewish student at UCLA was assaulted on campus April 30 during an unauthorized event promoted by the suspended Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) chapter.

The university said in a May 1 statement that it told SJP “that moving forward with the unauthorized event would violate campus policy and the terms of the suspension” and that “when individuals set up a projection screen and audio equipment and began to project a film going against campus directives, within approximately six minutes, the UCLA Police Department (UCPD) seized the unauthorized sound and video equipment.” The university estimated that around 150 people gathered at the event, during which “a student and a police officer were physically assaulted … The student also had his personal belongings stolen from him.” The student, Eli Tsives, told Fox News host Trace Gallagher that he came to the event with his Israeli flag to show Jewish students to not be afraid of anti-Israel protesters. “One protester grabbed my flag and ran away. I went after them to retrieve my flag, and then around six, seven, eight of them circled around me and started throwing punches,” Tsives said. “One person tried to punch me in a headlock.”

The university’s statement added that university police “arrested three individuals and issued stay-away orders. We are sorry for what this student experienced, and we have already been in touch with him to offer support. This is unacceptable and UCLA will not tolerate it.”

Georgetown Students Vote for Anti-Israel Divestment Measure

Georgetown University’s student body voted in favor of an anti-Israel divestment measure, with around 68% in favor and 32% against.

The Georgetown Student Association election commission announced the results on April 29; the referendum only needed a simple majority to pass and 25% of the student body to vote, according to The Georgetown Voice student newspaper. Twenty-nine percent of the student body voted on the referendum.

Interim President Robert Groves sent out an email shortly after the results were announced stating that the university would not be implementing the referendum “based on our institutional values and history and existing university resources and processes that address our investments.” He added that there are “a wide range of opinions on the conflict in the Middle East within our community. We have numerous events to present different perspectives on the conflict. Guided by the University’s Policy on Speech and Expression, we will continue to protect the right of members of our community to freely express their views.”

Harvard Law Review Awards $65,000 Fellowship to Student Charged with Assaulting Israeli

The Harvard Law Review awarded a $65,000 fellowship to a student who is facing charges of allegedly assaulting an Israeli classmate.

According to The Washington Free Beacon, which was citing reporting from Ira Stoll at “The Editors” Substack, the fellowship is a stipend to fund recent graduates’ work “in a public-interest related role at a government agency or nonprofit organization.” The student, Ibrahim Bharmal, will be working at the Council on American-Islamic Relation (CAIR)-Los Angeles affiliate and is set to graduate this year. The Free Beacon reported that the assault took place during a protest in Oct. 2023 in which Bharmal, who is a Harvard Law Review editor, and another graduate student “were shown shoving and accosting their Israeli classmate in a video.” Bharmal and the other graduate student who are being charged with misdemeanor criminal assault have been ordered to participate in a pretrial diversionary program that, if successfully completed, would prevent the criminal conviction from being added to his record.

Michigan AG Drops Charges Against Anti-Israel Protesters Involved in UMich Encampment

Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel (D) dropped all charges against seven anti-Israel protesters involved in an encampment at the University of Michigan in May 2024.

The seven protesters had faced charges of resisting and obstructing a police officer and trespassing when police cleared out the encampment. Defense lawyers had filed a motion requesting that Nessel recuse herself from the case, alleging that she was biased against Arabs and Muslims. The Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor had sent a letter to the court defending Nessel from the allegations. “These distractions and ongoing delays have created a circus-like atmosphere to these proceedings,” Nessel said in a statement. “While I stand by my charging decisions, and believe, based on the evidence, a reasonable jury would find the defendants guilty of the crimes alleged, I no longer believe these cases to be a prudent use of my department’s resources, and, as such, I have decided to dismiss the cases.”

Nessel added that the “impropriety” of the letter “has led us to the difficult decision to drop these charges.” Rabbi Asher Lopatin, director of community relations for the Jewish Federation of Greater Ann Arbor, told the Michigan Advance nonprofit news outlet that the letter was public and only sent to the court administrator to ensure that “appropriate communications personnel” were informed. “It was not intended in any way as a communication to the judge nor to influence the court. We regret any misunderstanding.”