Hundreds of anti-Israel protesters broke down the door of Zellerbach Hall Monday night, preventing an Israeli speaker from a addressing Jewish students.

Danielle Sobkin, one of the organizers who invited Israeli lawyer Ran Bar Yoshafat, said the mob grabbed a sophomore who tried to attend the event, called him a “dirty Jew” and spit on him. She said that protesters also shoved a senior into the auditorium door as she tried to check in attendees, and that they grabbed a freshman by her neck.

  • athos77@kbin.social
    277·
    4 months ago

    Okay, so this is what I got out of this article:

    A massive crowd gathered outside of Wheeler Hall at 5 p.m. Monday chanting so loudly that students inside told Sobkin they couldn’t hear their professors. The event shifted to Zellerbach Playhouse, and the university sent what officials thought would be enough police to protect attendees.

    That seems to be factual, and there was no mention of violence. From the University itself:

    UC Berkeley spokesperson Dan Mogulof confirmed that about 200 student protesters mobbed Zellerbach [Playhouse], but could not substantiate injuries. He urged anyone who was hurt to report the incident to UC police and to the school’s Office for the Prevention of Harassment and Discrimination.

    So the University currently has no information or evidence of injuries, and hasn’t said anything about specific antisemitic incidents.

    And, in closer reading of the article, all the allegations of antisemitism and violence are currently coming from one person -

    Danielle Sobkin, one of the organizers

    I’m not saying that these incidents didn’t happen. I am saying that it’s a little odd that (so far as has made it to my corner of the internet) no one filmed the antisemitism or violence; that the University hasn’t mentioned anything about any of the incidents maybe being caught on security cameras or (if they wear them) police bodycams; and that, as one of the organizers who is presumably trying to gin up support for Israel, Danielle Sobkin may have a motive to exaggerate any incidents that may or may not have happened.

    I’m also willing to change my initial opinion based on security video, bodycam footage, cellphone recordings, or additional corroborating accounts from additional witnesses or bystanders. However, for now, I’m treating this account of antisemitism and violence with scepticism.

    • ArtikBanana@lemmy.dbzer0.comOP
      614·
      4 months ago

      There is a mention of the smashed window, but there are other articles that show it being smashed in a video. Like this one - Which has more details in general

      Another article which also describes the assault. The student also filed a police report.

      In addition:

      However, UC Berkeley Assistant Vice Chancellor Dan Mogulof told the Journal in an email that “we are aware of multiple assaults being reported on social media” but the university has only received one report of an assault so far. “That is one reason the Chancellor’s message urges students to come forward,” he added. “We cannot fully and adequately respond or investigate absent the detailed information formal police reports provide.”

      Additionally, the student told the Journal that people she knows were called “dirty Jews, Zionist pigs,” and told to “go back to where you came from.”

      • RainfallSonata@lemmy.world
        137·
        4 months ago

        Yeah, that video doesn’t show any violence either. You only hear broken glass. They don’t even show the window after it was broken.