The Greater Los Angeles Area office of the Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR-LA) today welcomed Los Angeles City Attorney Hydee Feldstein Soto’s filing of criminal charges against Edan On, one of the alleged perpetrators of violence against pro-Palestinian activists at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)’s anti-genocide encampment last spring.
On April 30, 2024, a group of pro-Israel extremists entered the UCLA campus and violently attacked peaceful protesters in the encampment for hours, injuring several people. The assailants shot fireworks at the protesters, attacked them with chemical weapons, metal rods, poles, and boards, engaged in psychological warfare, and attempted to tear down the encampment—all while the UCLA police department and private security companies stood by and watched.
Conclusive video evidence documented the violent encampment attack and identified several of the perpetrators of brutal assaults on pro-Palestinian student protesters, including footage of Edan On striking a protester with a pole. “
SEE: Unmasking counterprotesters who attacked UCLA’s pro-Palestine encampment
The city attorney announced her decision on Friday, April 25, following a press conference held by CAIR-LA, the Muslim Public Affairs Council (MPAC), Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP) Action, Inkerij, Palestinian Christians for Justice, and Kleiman/Rajaram to address the failure of elected officials and public institutions to hold the perpetrators accountable.
Last month, CAIR California, along with local civil rights attorneys and leading personal injury firms, filed a lawsuit against UCLA, three law enforcement agencies, and several individuals, including Edan On, who were allegedly involved in the violence against student protesters.
In a statement, CAIR-LA Managing Civil Rights Attorney Dina Chehata, Esq., said:
“For far too long, our communities have demanded accountability for the brutal assault on peaceful, largely student-led demonstrators—an assault that left several injured and traumatized while law enforcement stood by and failed to intervene.
“This filing is an important step, but it is only the first step. Justice demands full accountability for every individual responsible for the violence inflicted that night—and for every institution that enabled it through negligence or willful inaction. We remain deeply concerned that the vast majority of assailants have yet to face consequences, and that systemic failures by UCLA and law enforcement agencies have gone unaddressed.
“CAIR-LA, alongside our coalition partners and legal allies, will continue to fight in the courts and in the public square to ensure that the rights of students, activists, and marginalized communities are protected. Our pursuit of justice is unwavering, and we stand firmly with those who risked their safety to call for an end to genocide and to uphold the values of human dignity and free expression.”
UCLA has a long and well-documented history of discriminating against pro-Palestinian views. CAIR-LA previously condemned the UCLA administration for threatening to withhold degrees from 55 students who were arrested for their participation in the anti-genocide encampment.
CAIR and the American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee also previously designated UCLA as an “institution of particular concern” due to its creation of a hostile campus environment for Palestinian, Muslim, Arab, and Jewish students, staff, and faculty opposing Israel’s genocide of the Palestinian people in Gaza.
The UCLA Taskforce on Anti-Palestinian, Anti-Arab, & Anti-Muslim Racism has issued three reports outlining the pattern of targeted discrimination and harassment of UCLA students and faculty speaking on Palestine and offered several recommendations, which UCLA has reportedly ignored.
CAIR-LA is Southern California’s largest Muslim civil liberties and advocacy organization. Its mission is to enhance the understanding of Islam, protect civil rights, promote justice and empower American Muslims.
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CONTACT: CAIR-LA Digital Communications Manager Enjy El-Kadi, (714) 851-4851 or eelkadi@cair.com; CAIR-LA Senior Communications Coordinator Madi Morse-Hameed, mmorse-hameed@cair.com