Anti-Israel protestors taught hand-to-hand combat ahead of riots

The “Dealing with Cops Workshop” took place the evening before violent clashes led the university to call in the authorities.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

Anti-Israel protestors at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) were taught hand-to-hand combat Tuesday evening before violent clashes with counter-protestors led the administration to call in the authorities.

In the “Dealing with Cops Workshop” that took place between 6:30-7:30 pm, as advertised on the protestors’ daily schedule, a few masked men stood in the middle of a circle made by dozens of students deep inside the “Palestine Solidarity Encampment” on the university’s grounds.

In a video clip shared online, one burly man could be seen showing them how to assume a proper fighting position and protect their faces. Another showed the audience how to grab someone’s leg and knock them backwards.

UCLA announced that the encampment was illegal that same evening. Although the school warned that those who remained were subject to arrest, the crowd refused to leave.

Late in the night, rioting began on campus as some 100 pro-Israel activists approached to tear down the hate group’s encampment, whose perimeter had been buttressed by plywood boards attached to low fencing and zip-tied together.

For well over two hours, people were beaten with heavy rods as well as fists and feet, firecrackers were thrown, and ripped-off plywood boards were tossed without any sign of the university’s security personnel.

Los Angles Mayor Karen Bass ordered the police to break it up after finally receiving a request for help around midnight.

Helmeted members of the California Highway Patrol (CHP) entered with colleagues from the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) dressed in riot gear and equipped with non-lethal crowd control measures.

At the end, the LAPD said Wednesday they used no force to stop the rioting, nor did they make any arrests.

The police were still on campus Wednesday, facing hundreds of students who were barricading themselves in a courtyard and chanting “We’re not leaving,” even as they were told that they were taking part in an “illegal gathering” and could “face consequences.”

UCLA itself also told the protestors to go home, saying those who do not will face “administrative action.” On Wednesday evening, the university announced that all classes were going to remote learning for the rest of the week.

In the very early hours of Thursday morning, CHP officers began tearing down the barricades.