After a protest outside University of California Regent Jay Sures’ Brentwood home on Feb 5, two pro-Palestine student organizations have been leveled with an interim suspension by the UCLA Office of Student Conduct.
On Feb 5, Sures’ home was the target of a protest in the early morning. Video on social media shows protesters holding large banners reading “disclose, divest, we will not stop, we will not rest,” and “Jonathan Sures, you will pay until you see your final day.” Los Angeles Police Department officers arrived there while protesters chanted, and some officers carried “less lethal” munitions.
Red handprints were reportedly left on Sures’ garage door at some point during the protest. According to a statement by UCLA Chancellor Julio Frenk, “Individuals surrounded the vehicle of a Sures family member and prevented that family member’s free movement.”
The student organizations, Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and Graduate Students for Justice in Palestine (GSJP) were suspended based on a review of initial reports about the groups’ involvement in the incident, said Frenk’s statement.
After the protest, SJP released a now-deleted statement on Instagram that the protest was due to the UC’s Board of Regents not working with pro-Palestinian demonstrators to divest funding and investment from Israel. It read in part that university officials “have repeatedly kicked us out of their meetings, canceled forums for public comment, and criminalized our attempts to protest investment policies. We have taken our issues straight to the Regents because they have systematically militarized our campus in response. Over the last eight months, Jay Sures has led the UC’s efforts in suppressing pro-Palestine speech and expression on campus, including through increased militarization and draconian [time, place and manner] policies.”
Sures is Vice Chairman and Managing Director of the Beverly Hills-based United Talent Agency, which represents the Anti-Defamation League (ADL). On Feb 5, SJP and GSJP made a statement via social media condemning Sures’ work with the ADL as well his work as a board member of the Los Angeles Police Foundation, Los Alamos National Laboratory and Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory. The post also stated that Sures “is one of the unelected officials responsible for protecting UC investments in genocide and weapons manufacturing.”
Several days after the protest, the Jewish Federation Los Angeles (JFEDLA) released an open letter signed by hundreds of entertainment professionals, celebrities and Jewish religious leaders. Signatories included Jonathan Greenblatt, CEO of the ADL. The letter calls for “law enforcement and university officials to fully investigate this hateful incident and ensure that all those responsible are held accountable.” It continues, “Furthermore, we urge local elected officials and university leadership to unequivocally condemn the protesters’ unlawful and antisemitic actions and reaffirm their commitment to protecting the safety and dignity of all individuals and groups, including the Jewish community.”
Frenk announced the suspensions on Feb 12. An open letter to the Bruin community said in part, “The Office of Student Conduct is undertaking the standard process for addressing potential violations of UCLA’s student group conduct code. It is conducting an administrative review, and this suspension will remain in effect during the review. If these reports prove true as part of this review, disciplinary action may be taken.”
UCLA’s suspension of SJP follows the same action taken at UC Santa Cruz, UC Irvine and UC San Diego. SJP chapters have also been suspended by several other universities across the country. During this suspension, the organizations cannot reserve space for meetings on campus or apply for funding for the student club.
