Pro-Palestinian UC students feel they are not supported. Some on the faculty are organizing to change that

University of California faculty members across the system have launched an unprecedented organizing effort to defend pro-Palestinians on campus who feel unsupported after reporting widespread harassment and threats triggered by the Israel-Hamas war.

The effort to form Faculty for Justice in Palestine groups is part of a national movement that has taken off at nine of the 10 UC campuses, along with Princeton, New York University and Rutgers, among others. Faculty organizers said they were propelled to act by what many described as a singularly dangerous time for academic freedom and free speech, with the lives, careers and safety of campus Palestinian supporters on the line.

"I feel we're at an inflection point," said Ananya Roy, a UCLA professor of urban studies, social welfare and geography who is helping lead efforts at her campus to form a Faculty for Justice in Palestine group. "Folks are so alarmed by the calls for repression that we suddenly are seeing a real sense of urgency to have these formations in place."

The organizing effort comes as Israel supporters said Jewish students on campuses across the nation have been subjected to hostile rhetoric against them and have experienced acts of escalating antisemitism. Many Israel supporters criticize the Students for Justice in Palestine campus group for what they regard as threatening actions. The student organization was recently suspended until the end of fall