Anti-Israel activists claimed to have thrown a firebomb at a University of California, Berkeley building on Thursday in retaliation to the university system's response to anti-Israel protests at University of California, Los Angeles.
The University of California Police Department recieved a report of an arson outside Koshland Hall on Thursday, according to UC Berkeley, who noted that the case is under investigation.
According to a notice published the same day on The San Francisco Bay Area Independent Media Center by an author identifying as "student intifada," the attack was conducted by anti-Israel activists motivated by revenge.
Student intifada claims retaliation
"UCLA Students were attacked last night so we retaliated with a firebomb on UCB Campus," said Student Intifada. "Not sure what building it even was. Honestly don't really care. Every single building on the UC Berkeley campus deserves to be incinerated following the UC system's treatment of student protesters."
The document claimed that the fire spread across trees and bushes next to the building.
The manifesto referred to a Students for Justice in Palestine UCLA student with a megaphone who had been seized by police, but later released, according to SJP UCLA.
UCPD and SJP said that the anti-Israel activists had attempted to reestablished a protest encampment on the UCLA campus. They attempted twice, each time being dispersed by police for restricting public movement and disturbing nearby exams, before police and protesters finally clashed. UCLA Associate Vice Chancellor for Campus Safety Rick Braziel said in a statement Tuesday that some students had missed finals because of the encampments, and others had to be moved mid-examination.
"Throughout the evening, there were also violent attacks on safety personnel and law enforcement, resulting in at least six injuries to UCPD personnel and other safety officers. One security guard was left with his head bleeding after he was struck with an object. Simply put, these acts of non-peaceful protest are abhorrent and cannot continue," said Braziel. "During these events, 27 individuals were arrested. We are still determining which arrestees are not members of the UCLA community. Students who were arrested will be subject to disciplinary actions based on UCOP guidance, which could include a campus exclusion that will prevent them from being on campus to take finals or participate in commencement ceremonies."
UCPD said that a fountain had been damaged, brick walkways spray-painted, fire safety equipment tampered with, patio furniture damaged, electrical fixtures stripped of wire, and vehicles vandalized. According to a video posted on Tuesday night by Chabad UCLA, Rabbi Dovid Gurevich was assaulted, given death threats, and harassed with antisemitic statements.
The Palestine Solidarity Encampment claimed in a statement on social media on Wednesday that law enforcement had not given them a proper dispersal order the third time, and had blocked them from leaving. They also alleged that the police had used rubber bullets, tackled, trod on, choked, and zip tied students for hours. SJP UCLA demanded that the university break all ties with Israel and threatened to escalate, boycott and engage in student strikes against the university.