Jewish Woman Forced to Hide From Anti-Israel Activists at UC-Irvine
An
event hosted by a pro-Israel student group ended abruptly Wednesday
night as police were called to protect attendees from an angry mob that
had gathered. One student who never made it inside the venue called 911
as she hid in fear from anti-Israel activists who chased her into a
building on the University of California-Irvine campus.
Sophomore
Eliana Kopley had just left a Holocaust-related event when she was
walking toward the facility featuring a screening of “Beneath the
Helmet,” a documentary about the Israel Defense Forces. As she arrived
at the event, hosted by Students Supporting Israel, Ms. Kopley was met
by an angry crowd pounding on the doors and windows — engaged in violent
chants targeting the Jewish state.
“I was terrified. There is no other word to describe how I felt,” Ms. Kopley told the Haym Salomon Center.
As the mob tried to gain entrance to the event, one protestor shouted, “If we’re not allowed in, you’re not allowed in!”
With
the crowd physically forbidding Ms. Kopley from attending the event and
chants inciting violence against Jews and Israel such as “Intifada,
Intifada—Long live the Intifada!” and “F**k Israel!” Ms. Kopley walked
away from the scene.
But she was not alone. A group of female students followed her as she escaped to safety in the room nearby.
“When I turned back, at that moment, I looked at one of the girls and wanted to hide and cry,” Ms. Kopley said.
Throughout
this entire time, Ms. Kopley never hung up the phone with her mother,
who was anxiously fearful on the other end of the line.
“My mom
keeps asking what’s going on. But I couldn’t even say complete
sentences. All I managed to say was ‘protesters’ and she started yelling
at me to call the cops,” Ms. Kopley said.
So she did. As the
chanting heightened, Ms. Kopley remained on the line with 911 until an
officer found her shortly after. Two officers, who decided it would be
best to put on black rubber gloves to protect them from sharp objects,
escorted her through the crowd of protesters to the nearby film
screening safely.
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