A video on social media that claims that UC San Diego evacuated a building where Jewish students met to discuss antisemitic threats is untrue, the campus said in statements made over the weekend.
“Police report no such action took place,” said the first statement, issued on Saturday. UC San Diego later added a message noting that it was referring to video involving an Associated Students meeting on Nov. 1.
The footage briefly shows people inside the meeting and pro-Palestinian protesters outside. During the meeting, Jewish students and members of Students for Justice in Palestine said they were being harassed and threatened in fallout from the Israel-Hamas war. The main topic of the meeting was antisemitism.
The video was posted on X (formerly Twitter) by news aggregator and curator Visegrad 24, and contained text that says, “The police have been forced to evacuate Jewish students from a building of University of California San Diego @ucsandiego where they had gathered to discuss antisemitic threats. Swiftly, a large and threatening anti-Israeli mob gathered in front of the building.”
The video apparently was taken down.
In its second statement, UC San Diego acknowledged the campus unrest, saying, “In planning for the November 1, 2023 Associated Students meeting, Tritons for Israel worked with Student Affairs and UC San Diego police to provide preplanned security and escorts.”
Jacob Rendler, a junior at UC San Diego, was unsatisfied with the university’s response. He told The San Diego Union-Tribune on Sunday:“The Jewish students on campus, and especially at the Nov. 1 AS meeting, felt terrified, and it is so hurtful to us that there has been no recognition of the fact that it became so hostile that we needed police to be there for protection and to escort us home.”
