During a congressional hearing on Thursday, Rep. Ilhan Omar (D-MN) downplayed antisemitism displayed by pro-Hamas activists on college campuses at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). The incident was brought to light when video footage surfaced showing anti-Israel protesters blocking a Jewish student from walking around on campus.
Omar questioned the university’s Chancellor Gene Block, who was testifying before Congress. She asked, “Chancellor Block, just for clarification, that video we just watched, we saw people moving around. Was it possible, do you think, for that student to be able to get into campus? Was that student actually being blocked from entering campus?”
The chancellor responded, noting that the student was “not blocked from being on campus, maybe being blocked from a pathway on campus.”
He added: “He should be allowed to pass. I mean, any part of campus is open to students, so blocking him was really inappropriate.”
Apparently, this did not satisfy Omar, who went on a rant, criticizing the university’s supposed failure to protect pro-Hamas students:
Omar referenced reports that UCLA campus police failed to intervene in an April 30 incident between the encamped protesters and a group that attacked them. The assailants reportedly beat protesters, hitting them with poles, spraying chemical irritants, and setting off fireworks.
CNN claimed it identified two of the assailants, who support Israel. The day after the attack, the UCLA chapter of the Jewish student group Hillel denounced “fringe members of the off-campus Jewish community,” urging them to “stay off our campus,” and warning that their “actions are harming Jewish students.”
The lawmaker claimed Block “could have prevented this by protecting the diverse groups of pro-Palestinian students that were peacefully gathered on campus to share meals set in solidarity against the brutal genocide.”
Of course, this was nothing more than a deflection aimed at drawing attention away from the antics of the pro-Hamas crowd by portraying them as victims. However, multiple news reports show that the lion’s share of the unrest is being fomented by those advocating against Israel.
Earlier this week, pro-Hamas activists pressured UCLA into shutting down a pro-Israel event that would have featured Jihad Watch’s Robert Spencer.
Read more: UCLA Locks Doors on Conservative Students, Halts Pro-Israel Event
A UCLA medical student named Eliana Jolkovsky has documented the activities of those involved in the pro-Hamas encampment at the school. Earlier in May, she exposed the violence being done by those participating in anti-Israel demonstrations:
Jolkovsky, who is Korean and Jewish, placed the blame squarely on school administrators for the “absolute insanity” on campus. She said that on day one the protesters were calling for intifada and death to Zionists, and that UCPD was there every day “standing idly by” while Jewish students were assaulted by those in the encampment. On Friday Jolkovsky’s friend was pushed off a ledge by a protester simply because she was holding a sign condemning Hamas and UCPD didn’t intervene.
“UCPD has been there every single day, just standing idly by, and I think that’s because UCLA administration never told them to intervene. So this is really on the UCLA leadership for not shutting the encampment down on the very first night, after there was already physical violence. And UCLA let it fester until there was major clashes and riots and then sent in law enforcement. But by that time it was just complete chaos, and it’s a shame to the Jewish community. They have not protected the Jewish community at all.”
Despite Omar’s efforts to cover for her fellow Hamas supporters, it is clear that the activists are not as peaceful as they would have us believe.
