Jewish UCLA student speaks out after being blocked from class: 'No longer about freedom of speech'
UCLA student Eli Tsives joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the incident and his concern about escalation as anti-Israel sentiment continues to gain steam at various college campuses.
A Jewish student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), who was barred from attending class by anti-Israel protesters, spoke out after the incident as he and others fear for their safety on college campuses nationwide.
UCLA student Eli Tsives documented the interaction with the protesters and explained why he fears the pro-Palestinian sentiment will likely escalate further.
"I take the same path to class every single day, and when I got there, it was blocked off by the students, not a security guard, but by these students," Tsives said on "Fox & Friends" Tuesday.
"I showed them my I.D., and I said, ‘This is the way I enter to class. Please let me in.’ When they refused, I quickly understood what was happening."
"I had in my phone to my fellow Jewish friend and he started filming so we could document exactly what was happening," he continued.
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UCLA student Eli Tsives joined 'Fox & Friends' to discuss the incident and his concern about escalation as anti-Israel sentiment continues to gain steam at various college campuses. ('Fox & Friends' screengrab)
"You guys have closed the entrance. We are UCLA students. I have my I.D. right here. I'm being blocked off. Not by the security guard, but by you two, you three," Tsives told the protesters during the video his friend recorded.
"This is what they do. Everybody look at this. Look at this. I'm a UCLA student. I deserve to go here," he continued. "We pay tuition. This is our school, and they're not letting me walk in."
Tsives said he likely could have pushed his way through the anti-Israel protesters, but ultimately decided against doing so to shed light on the hateful sentiment on campus.
"We are for peace, and we will never barge through because we know that we're better than them in that sense," Tsives said. "Could I have? Absolutely, but I would rather have documented that, so we can show the world exactly what is going on in universities in the United States."
FOX 11 Los Angeles reported fights broke out between pro-Israel and pro-Palestinain protesters over the weekend after a barrier was breached meant to separate the opposing groups.
"They constantly advocate for the destruction of our beautiful country," Tsives said. "They burn the American flag. They are super anti-America. They are anti-our government. They're anti-democracy, and shame on them… Shame on UCLA and shame on actually all college administrations for allowing them to continue what they're doing."
"Because this is no longer about freedom of speech," he continued. "This is now straight up about promoting aggression and hatred against Jewish people."
"Fox & Friends" co-host Brian Kilmeade asked Tsives if he thought the protesters were fully educated on the causes they were advocating for.
"I think that a lot of them do understand, and they still choose to say what they say," Tsives responded. "We go to the number one public school in the world. These people are smart. They are educated. They know what they're saying. They know what an intifada is."
"They want an intifada. They want to see the mass genocide of Jews," he continued.
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Tsives admitted his parents are worried about his safety, and he is even concerned something could happen to him, since he is getting more attention for standing on behalf of his fellow Jewish students.
"I just think that this is the start of something that's going to escalate very, very quickly," he said. "Because my face is really getting out there, and I would not be surprised if somebody tried something in the next couple days."
Tsives said someone wrote "shame on you" on a whiteboard where he lives, but despite the intimidation, he intends to continue the fight against antisemitism.
"People are starting to recognize my face. They know who I am. I see people looking at me in dirty ways, but also Jewish students walk up to me, and they thank me for what I'm doing," Tsives said.
"So as long as I am constantly advocating for the Jewish people, I feel like we are getting somewhere. We're doing good in this world."
