Pro-Palestinian supporters stage walkout at UC Berkeley, met by counter-protesters

BERKELEY, Calif. (KGO) -- Hundreds of Justice for Palestine supporters, many of them faculty, staff and students of UC Berkeley, walked out of classrooms Tuesday afternoon in solidarity with Palestine.

They gathered at Sproul Plaza wearing masks and unwilling to disclose their identities, like a tenured UC Berkeley faculty member.

"We have a lot of grievances against the university right now, and that's why I walked out," the faculty member said.

Leslie Brinkley: "Did you walk out of an actual classroom you should be in?"
Faculty member: "Yes, I did. I walked out of a class."
Brinkley: "And do you fear repercussions because of that?"
Faculty member: "Yes I do, because we've been told there would be repercussions."

Over the past year, several in the crowd claim they've been placed under surveillance and have faced discrimination.

"I have been told by multiple administrators that I cannot deviate from any of the subject matter on my syllabus and teach to the moment, and historically that's what we do we make our subject matter relevant," the faculty member said.

Halfway through the rally, several Israeli protesters infiltrated the crowd swathed in Israeli flags.

One man yelled, "They cry about mothers and children, but what about Israeli mothers and Israeli children abducted by Hamas?"

Several faced off.

Security stayed on the perimeter. The UC Berkeley Faculty and Staff for Justice in Palestine held out hope the UC system would cease investing in military development and defense companies.

But a Cal spokesperson said the University "will not talk about specific country divestments and is not altering Israel academic programs."

Another rally is scheduled for Tuesday evening in downtown Berkeley.