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79 held as Cal rally turns rowdy Palestinians' supporters storm building, demand UC divest from Israel Tanya Schevitz, Michael Pena, Chronicle Staff Writers Wednesday, April 10, 2002 ©2002 San Francisco Chronicle
URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2002/04/10/MN168301.DTL
Opponents of Israel's occupation of the West Bank carried out their own occupation at the University of California at Berkeley yesterday, taking over Wheeler Hall for several hours until police dragged them out, arresting 79 protesters.
Comparing Israel's "slaughter" of Palestinians to the Holocaust and calling for UC to divest from Israel and companies that do business there, about 1,500 students and community members rallied on Sproul Plaza, then marched across campus and stormed the building. Jewish students, who were holding a 24-hour vigil in a small tent on the corner of Sproul Plaza, commemorated the Jewish Holocaust by reading the names of its victims.
Tension erupted as pro-Israeli students called for an end to suicide bombings and responded to the rally's speakers.
"How dare you take such a day and use it for your own political purposes," said Micki Weinberg, an 18-year-old freshman.
Weinberg was angry that Palestinian supporters chose to hold an event at the same time, but the rally's sponsoring group, Students for Justice in Palestine, said it had planned in February to hold a nationwide day of action for divestment, commemorating the anniversary of the 1948 massacre at Deir Yassin, where more than 100 civilians were killed by Jewish paramilitary fighters.
Mostly peaceful pro-Palestinian events were held across the country yesterday at the University of Michigan, Ohio State University and the University of Minnesota.
Will Youmans, 24, a Berkeley law student and a member of Students for Justice in Palestine, said, "The primary lesson from the Holocaust is that ethnic cleansing must be stopped wherever and whenever it happens."
As the group approached Wheeler Hall just before 1 p.m., students waiting inside held open the doors, waving the demonstrators inside. They then locked arms and declared they would not leave until they were granted negotiations for divestiture. The building houses classrooms for Middle Eastern studies.
Junior Maryam Gharavi, 20, said some of the companies produce the "tools of violence" used against Palestinians.
UC divested from South Africa to protest apartheid. But yesterday, regent chairman John Moores said in a statement that the regents' first responsibility is the security of the pension and endowment funds.
Police started pulling students out at 2:47 p.m.
UC Berkeley Police Capt. Bill Cooper said 79 people -- including about 60 students -- were arrested and cited for trespassing and released. Six also were cited for resisting arrest. UC student Roberto Hernandez, 23, was arrested and accused of assaulting an officer.
Karen Kenney, director of student activities and services, said the university had directed police to arrest students and had warned the students they could face suspension for disrupting classes. Students from the same group had taken over the building last April, and 33 people had been arrested.
The protesters were hissed at and forced out when they tried to enter one classroom.
As the protesters sat inside the building, hundreds more rallied outside, banging on the doors. Israel supporters stood quietly, holding an Israeli flag.
"They definitely have the right to be out here saying what they need to say,
and so do we -- supporting Israel and Israeli security," said a senior who would give only her first name, Charlene.
After all the students were taken out of Wheeler, about 200 marched down to the Berkeley Police Station and collected $500 to get Hernandez out on bond.
At San Francisco State University, several hundred students marched on 19th Avenue in support of the Palestinian struggle.
"People are beginning to see that there's a pro-Palestinian movement in America," said student Nabeel Silimi, 24. "It's rooted in international law and human rights."
Chronicle staff writer Charles Burress contributed to this report. / E-mail Tanya Schevitz at tschevitz at sfchronicle.com and Michael Pena at mpena at sfchronicle.com.
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