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I Saw Hatred First-Hand as a UCLA Student; But the School’s New Initiative Gives Me Hope
Law enforcement officers clear out a pro-Hamas protest encampment at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas, in Los Angeles, California, US, May 2, 2024. Photo: REUTERS/David Swanson
My senior year at UCLA was engulfed in anti-Jewish fervor. Frightening and dangerous protests erupted across our campus, Jewish students were shunned and ostracized, and administrators failed to hold students and professors accountable for breaking campus policies and violating the rights of Jewish students.
After 18 months of a vicious cycle — discrimination, protests, and administrative inaction — it felt as though many people accepted, and even embraced, this new normal within academia.
But after reading UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk’s announcement of an “Initiative to Combat Antisemitism,” I am hopeful we are moving in the right direction.
Previous attempts to address campus hostility towards Jewish students have been little more than Band-aid solutions.
UCLA’s “Four-Point Plan for a Safer, Stronger UCLA,” announced in September 2024, acknowledged the need for change but barely mentioned antisemitism or the events that prompted the plan in the first place.
Similarly, UCLA’s updated Time, Place, and Manner policies have failed to deter groups like Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine (GSJP) from disturbing university functions while spewing hateful rhetoric.
Chancellor Frenk was the first UCLA leader to take action beyond merely condemning violence in words.
In February, he suspended SJP and GSJP after they organized a protest outside the home of UC Regent Jay Sures — an incident in which they harassed him, vandalized his property with red handprints (a symbol of Jewish death), and prevented a family member from leaving their home. Moreover, Frenk’s latest statement spotlighted antisemitism and antisemitism only — finally providing Jewish students with the recognition and respect they have long deserved.
As a UCLA alum who endured the consequences of my administration’s empty promises, I am certainly skeptical of whether Chancellor Frenk will remain committed to enforcing his policies. But in less than three months in office, he has already done more than his predecessors. At a time when Jewish students need even a glimmer of hope to push through the darkness that has clouded campus life — especially since October 7 — this initiative could be that light.
As Jews, we are constantly defending our identities and our homeland. As Jewish students, we are constantly defending Jewish history and the reality of our experiences on campus. While Jewish students continue to mourn and suffer unimaginable losses, they should — at the very least — be able to walk through campus freely and unafraid.
When Chancellor Frenk wrote that antisemitism “threatens the mission of academia and is antithetical to the values that define the very essence of a university,” it became apparent to me that he seems to recognize what other UCLA leaders have not — a deeper root to the problem.
Discrimination has no place on a college campus — and neither do distorted narratives nor negligent administrators. Universities should be institutions that value diversity of thought, not echo chambers that legitimize trendy ideologies, especially ideologies of hate.
Our instinct to defend ourselves and educate others stems from a deep love for our people and our home. But explaining ourselves over and over again is exhausting. I hope that by listening to Jewish students, Chancellor Frenk truly hears them. And beyond hearing them, I hope he continues to ask questions, to seek understanding, and to act.
One of the greatest losses in academia since October 7, 2023, has been the ability to listen with an open mind. If someone has already decided who a Jewish person is, they may listen to our stories, but will never truly hear us. If their minds are already made up about what is happening on campus, then any attempt to listen to Jewish students is done in vain.
Students need more than sympathy or performative action — they need tangible progress on campus. Hopefully, Chancellor Frenk can follow through and protect students in the way they deserve.
Emily Samuels is a recent graduate of UCLA.
The post I Saw Hatred First-Hand as a UCLA Student; But the School’s New Initiative Gives Me Hope first appeared on Algemeiner.com.
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After False Dawns, Gazans Hope Trump Will Force End to Two-Year-Old War
Palestinians walk past a residential building destroyed in previous Israeli strikes, after Hamas agreed to release hostages and accept some other terms in a US plan to end the war, in Nuseirat, central Gaza Strip October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Mahmoud Issa
Exhausted Palestinians in Gaza clung to hopes on Saturday that US President Donald Trump would keep up pressure on Israel to end a two-year-old war that has killed tens of thousands and displaced the entire population of more than two million.
Hamas’ declaration that it was ready to hand over hostages and accept some terms of Trump’s plan to end the conflict while calling for more talks on several key issues was greeted with relief in the enclave, where most homes are now in ruins.
“It’s happy news, it saves those who are still alive,” said 32-year-old Saoud Qarneyta, reacting to Hamas’ response and Trump’s intervention. “This is enough. Houses have been damaged, everything has been damaged, what is left? Nothing.”
GAZAN RESIDENT HOPES ‘WE WILL BE DONE WITH WARS’
Ismail Zayda, 40, a father of three, displaced from a suburb in northern Gaza City where Israel launched a full-scale ground operation last month, said: “We want President Trump to keep pushing for an end to the war, if this chance is lost, it means that Gaza City will be destroyed by Israel and we might not survive.
“Enough, two years of bombardment, death and starvation. Enough,” he told Reuters on a social media chat.
“God willing this will be the last war. We will hopefully be done with the wars,” said 59-year-old Ali Ahmad, speaking in one of the tented camps where most Palestinians now live.
“We urge all sides not to backtrack. Every day of delay costs lives in Gaza, it is not just time wasted, lives get wasted too,” said Tamer Al-Burai, a Gaza City businessman displaced with members of his family in central Gaza Strip.
After two previous ceasefires — one near the start of the war and another earlier this year — lasted only a few weeks, he said; “I am very optimistic this time, maybe Trump’s seeking to be remembered as a man of peace, will bring us real peace this time.”
RESIDENT WORRIES THAT NETANYAHU WILL ‘SABOTAGE’ DEAL
Some voiced hopes of returning to their homes, but the Israeli military issued a fresh warning to Gazans on Saturday to stay out of Gaza City, describing it as a “dangerous combat zone.”
Gazans have faced previous false dawns during the past two years, when Trump and others declared at several points during on-off negotiations between Hamas, Israel and Arab and US mediators that a deal was close, only for war to rage on.
“Will it happen? Can we trust Trump? Maybe we trust Trump, but will Netanyahu abide this time? He has always sabotaged everything and continued the war. I hope he ends it now,” said Aya, 31, who was displaced with her family to Deir Al-Balah in the central Gaza Strip.
She added: “Maybe there is a chance the war ends at October 7, two years after it began.”
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Mass Rally in Rome on Fourth Day of Italy’s Pro-Palestinian Protests
A Pro-Palestinian demonstrator waves a Palestinian flag during a national protest for Gaza in Rome, Italy, October 4, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Claudia Greco
Large crowds assembled in central Rome on Saturday for the fourth straight day of protests in Italy since Israel intercepted an international flotilla trying to deliver aid to Gaza, and detained its activists.
People holding banners and Palestinian flags, chanting “Free Palestine” and other slogans, filed past the Colosseum, taking part in a march that organizers hoped would attract at least 1 million people.
“I’m here with a lot of other friends because I think it is important for us all to mobilize individually,” Francesco Galtieri, a 65-year-old musician from Rome, said. “If we don’t all mobilize, then nothing will change.”
Since Israel started blocking the flotilla late on Wednesday, protests have sprung up across Europe and in other parts of the world, but in Italy they have been a daily occurrence, in multiple cities.
On Friday, unions called a general strike in support of the flotilla, with demonstrations across the country that attracted more than 2 million, according to organizers. The interior ministry estimated attendance at around 400,000.
Italy’s right-wing government has been critical of the protests, with Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni suggesting that people would skip work for Gaza just as an excuse for a longer weekend break.
On Saturday, Meloni blamed protesters for insulting graffiti that appeared on a statue of the late Pope John Paul II outside Rome’s main train station, where Pro-Palestinian groups have been holding a protest picket.
“They say they are taking to the streets for peace, but then they insult the memory of a man who was a true defender and builder of peace. A shameful act committed by people blinded by ideology,” she said in a statement.
Israel launched its Gaza offensive after Hamas terrorists staged a cross border attack on October 7, 2023, killing some 1,200 people and taking 251 people hostage.
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Hamas Says It Agrees to Release All Israeli Hostages Under Trump Gaza Plan
Smoke rises during an Israeli military operation in Gaza City, as seen from the central Gaza Strip, October 2, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Dawoud Abu Alkas
Hamas said on Friday it had agreed to release all Israeli hostages, alive or dead, under the terms of US President Donald Trump’s Gaza proposal, and signaled readiness to immediately enter mediated negotiations to discuss the details.