We Bear Witness: Episode 4
We Bear Witness: Episode 4
Rabbi Dovid Gurevich's Encounter with Protesters at UCLA
Today we present the fourth video in a series of documentaries produced by a member of The Circle in collaboration with JFrg (the Jewish Faculty Resilience Group) at UCLA. The previous videos, posted on our Substack, were Masking Identity, What Starts on Campus Spills Into the Streets, and Peaceful Protests.
Calling for Accountability: UCLA Rabbi Attacked by Protestors
The short, 3-minute video documents one of the many incidents at UCLA’s “peaceful” protests when masked protestors, among them outside agitators, harassed, intimidated, and assaulted Jews, causing fear for the Jewish community on campus.
Rabbi Dovid Gurevich from UCLA Chabad was supporting Jewish students at a “peaceful” protest on the UCLA campus when he was assaulted by protestors. After knocking his phone to the ground, the protestors continued to spout antisemitic hatred and personal slurs and scream violent threats. Police nearby refused to intervene even after the Rabbi received a threat to his life, speech clearly outside the boundaries of free expression protected by the First Amendment—yet the police just stood by and watched the hate and violence unfold. Police passivity is not “de-escalation”; on the contrary, it is an invitation to escalation.
For press coverage of this incident, see:
The Forward: “‘Go back to Poland’: Masked UCLA Protesters Harass Chabad Rabbi, Threaten His Life.”
The Jerusalem Post: “UCLA Chabad Rabbi Assaulted, Told to Go Back to Poland.”
The Jewish Journal: “UCLA Chabad Rabbi Assaulted by Pro-Palestinian Protesters.”