UC Berkeley police release photos of suspects in violent protest at Jewish student event
BERKELEY – Detectives with the UC Berkeley Police Department on Monday released images of people suspected of participating in a pro-Palestinian protest on campus in February that drew hundreds and resulted in violence and property damage, they said.
Israeli attorney Ran Bar-Yoshafat was invited to speak at Zellerbach Playhouse on Feb. 26 by the Jewish student groups Students Supporting Israel and Berkeley Tikvah.
Bears for Palestine, another student group, called for a protest to shut down the lecture, along with other groups. Their Instagram post on the day of the event condemned Bar-Yoshafat as a murderer.
"This individual is dangerous," the post said. "Ran Bar-Yoshafat has Palestinian blood on his hands. He has committed crimes against humanity, is a genocide denier, and we will not allow for this event to go on."
Minutes before the event was to start, a crowd of some 200 protesters began to surround the building, according to a statement issued by UC Berkeley Chancellor Carol Christ.
On Monday, UC Berkeley Police described the event as a "riot" and said "members of the crowd forced their way into the building, injured guests and police officers, and caused property damage. Two incidents were classified as hate crimes."
UC Police have released pictures of subjects they hope to identify with the public's help, who they believe "committed one or more criminal acts during the course of this event."
Anyone who may be able to identify a person or persons pictured is asked to contact Detective Thomson at (510) 642-1606 or j.thomsen@berkeley.edu.