Palestinian Youth Movement: Global Day of Action for Gaza
A man draped in an Israeli flag stands on the street corner in front of the Wilshire Federal Building, waiting for other counter-protesters to arrive. A small group of pro-Israel counter-protesters quickly forms, and the few pro-Palestine protesters there move a safe distance away until more people appear. A pro-Palestine protester on a skateboard nears the counter-protesters, an alleged kick to the skateboard occurs and chaos ensues.
“Today is the global day of action with Gaza. We’re heeding the call from Palestinian journalists, medical professionals, on the ground in Gaza, to mobilize in front of U.S. embassies and consulates to demand an immediate and permanent end of the genocide, a full arms embargo against the state of Israel and to hold all war criminals accountable who have been entering into the US recently with no accountability,” Masmiyya said, a spokesperson for the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) who did not provide their last name due to safety concerns.
Rosalyn Weiss, a counter-protester, rebutted and said, “They’re calling for the genocide of Jews and for the removal of Jews from Israel. So, they’re not accomplishing anything that’s fair, or right or good.”
On April 25, the PYM declared a “Global Day of Action”, which three countries and 10 cities participated. The PYM’s Los Angeles, Orange County and Inland Empire chapter, alongside multiple student organizations, arranged protests throughout multiple Southern California colleges and one at the Wilshire Federal Building in Los Angeles.
In Oct. 2023 the Palestinian Islamist political organization that has forcefully governed Gaza since 2007 launched a surprise attack on Israel from the Gaza Strip. The organization known as ‘Hamas’ sent a barrage of rockets that overwhelmed Israel’s “Iron Dome,” then breached the Israeli-controlled gate at several points, and captured hostages before ending the onslaught.
In response, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu vowed to “annihilate the murderers” and to “eliminate Hamas.” By February 2025, President Donald Trump announced his plans to occupy Gaza. At a news conference, standing beside Netanyahu, Trump called the land “a demolition site” and a place where all one could see is “death and destruction and rubble and demolished buildings falling all over. It’s just a terrible sight.”
Amnesty International, an international non-governmental organization advocating for human rights, alleges Israel’s actions in Gaza amount to genocide, citing mass killings, attacks on civilian infrastructure and forced displacement. Human Rights Watch, an international non-governmental organization that campaigns for human rights, also accused Israel of committing genocide and crimes against humanity, citing extermination, forced deprivation of water and collective punishment. The Israeli government refutes these claims and states that Israel “has a right to defend itself.”
The International Criminal Court (ICC) issued arrest warrants for Netanyahu and former Minister of Defense Yoav Gallant in November 2024 for war crimes and crimes against humanity. Hamas Commander Mohammed Dief was also issued an arrest warrant, but it was later rescinded after he was killed by Israeli Defense Forces (IDF).
Netanyahu has repeatedly stated that if Hamas returns all hostages, only then can the war end. In April 2025, he announced, “The IDF is seizing territory, striking against terrorists, destroying infrastructure and we are doing another thing, we are seizing the ‘Morag Corridor.”
He then said, “This will be the second Philadelphi Corridor, because we are cutting up the Strip and we are increasing the pressure step by step, so that they will give us our hostages and the more they do not give (back the hostages), the more the pressure will increase until they do.”
Once the shouting match between groups of protesters began at the Federal Building, things quickly got heated. Helmeted police officers carrying batons and smoke grenade launchers stood nearby, awaiting instructions from Lieutenant Armando Arenas.
Arenas gave the word and a wall of police began to separate the protesters. A tall man, whose face was wrapped in a keffiyeh and carrying a Palestine flag, began to yell at the police through a bullhorn, “I want you to think about what you’re doing, what you’re supporting.”
Some protesters dismissed the counter protesters and continued chanting on the sidewalk, “We will not be pushed aside. We stand by Gaza side by side,” to the sound of drums. Others formed a line on the sidewalk where traffic honked as they drove by.
A small faction of pro-Palestine supporters stayed behind to exchange heated words with the counter-protesters. The Iron Initiative formed the majority of the counter-protest; the initiative is an Israeli advocacy group founded by former IDF soldier Meir Dunner.
“I feel like it’s a fight for democracy. We’re standing on the right side and all they’re trying to do is spread hatred, make loud noise and shout radical, liberal and absolutely haunting things for our country,” Dunner said.
The protesters said they’re trying to appeal to policymakers to shift their position in the ongoing Gaza situation.
“We hope to see a permanent and immediate end to the genocide. Which would include a ceasefire. The ceasefire was broken over a month ago. Israel has been dropping bombs indiscriminately every single day. We know that these weapons are being shipped from the US through logistic companies like Maersk, so we’re demanding a full arms embargo against the state of Israel, to stop weapon shipments and weapon components in the state of Israel,” Masmiyya said.
The counter-protesters left not long after the police got in between them and the pro-Palestine protesters. The pro-Israel counter-protesters then crossed the police line and stood by the Federal Building before reuniting and leaving. Once they left, the pro-Palestine demonstration spilled onto the streets.
The counter-protesters said they felt that a few of the pro-Palestine protesters were paid actors. “There’s two sides, right? My worry is that a lot of people are actually jihadists or are sponsored by jihadists, like the Muslim Brotherhood, Qatar. Saudi Arabia has kind of pulled back from this stuff, they put billions of dollars into this kind of miseducation. They’re just trying to get in people’s faces, that’s all,” Keith Abouaf, a Los Angeles resident, said.
The woman directing the crowd yelled, “No business as usual,” as she guided them towards the middle of the intersection of Wilshire Boulevard and Veteran Avenue. Cars began to honk and complain to the police about the protesters blocking traffic.
⚠️ Warning: This video contains strong language that may be inappropriate for some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised.
A counter-protester in a turquoise convertible flying Israel-oriented flags and a Make America Great Again flag is stuck at the intersection. The man begins honking and hurling expletives at protesters, and a few protesters approach the car, yelling expletives back. Eventually, the man entered the intersection, attempting to swerve around the group of protesters.
Protesters then swarmed the car, threw liquids at the man and vehicle and kicked the car as it attempted to drive through. A woman grabbed the clenched fist Israeli flag hanging from the back seat and ripped it before stepping on it as the man sped away.
The protesters chanted and gave speeches in the middle of the intersection while the police redirected incoming traffic. A speaker then notified the protesters about a student-led protest at the University of Southern California (USC) and some migrated there.
The USC protest was smaller than PYM’s, with a cluster of people on the Southern California campus, many wearing keffiyehs and masks to hide their identities. The group of protesters feared being put on an alleged USC Department of Public Safety (DPS) watchlist.
According to Haroun, a media liaison for the People’s University Coalition, “We have several students who are on a watchlist of DPS. I’m personally on that watchlist. USC tracks their movements from school through the checkpoint. Every single time you swipe, your information pops up. It has the time stamp of when you enter campus and how you move around campus. Checkpoints are strategically placed to best surveil students.”
The protest started at the corner across the street from the campus entrance on McClintock Avenue and headed east, stopping at multiple closed gates where DPS officers stood waiting for them. A DPS officer closely followed the protesters, recording a video from his bike.
“We’re here today in the village because the village is a monument to displacement. The village is a monument to their exploitation of the South Central Community, of their prioritization of large corporations and Zionism and union busting, anti-worker policies, over the actual interests of the people of it’s community, the South Central Community, of the students, faculties and workers,” said a media liaison for the Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) and the Student Coalition Against Labor Exploitation (SCALE), who would not provide their name due to safety concerns.
The protesters according to the media liaisons had three demands: divestment and disclosure, to remove the gates and “especially the checkpoints,” and lastly for USC to “transform itself to a sanctuary university instead of capitulating or simply taking no action in response to the increasing direct attack on international and undocumented students.”
USC and Santa Monica College are currently being investigated by the Department of Education (DOE) alongside 58 other schools for antisemitic practices in violation of Title VI of the Civil Rights Act. Many of the alleged violations are related to pro-Palestine protests and encampments on college campuses in the aftermath of the Oct. 7, 2023 attack and Israel’s responses.
In a press release, Secretary of Education Linda McMahon said, “The Department is deeply disappointed that Jewish students studying on elite U.S. campuses continue to fear for their safety amid the relentless antisemitic eruptions that have severely disrupted campus life for more than a year. University leaders must do better.”
She then said, “U.S. colleges and universities benefit from enormous public investments funded by U.S. taxpayers. That support is a privilege and it is contingent on scrupulous adherence to federal antidiscrimination laws.”
According to a USC webpage, “colleges and universities across the nation are facing tremendous scrutiny and financial stress due to federal funding uncertainty, cuts, increased costs, and other risks. Like other major research institutions, USC relies on significant amounts of federal funding to carry out our mission.”
The page then says, “In fiscal year 2024, for example, we received approximately $1.35 billion in federal funding, including roughly $650 million in student financial aid and $569 million for federally funded research. The health system also receives Medicare, Medicaid, and Medi-Cal payments – a significant portion of its revenues – and the futures of those funds are similarly uncertain.”
USC, alongside other schools, have begun to feel the mounting pressure from the Trump administration’s investigations. In a press release, the U.S. General Services Administration (USGSA) announced an “immediate cancellation of approximately $400 million in federal grants and contracts to Columbia University due to the school’s continued inaction in the face of persistent harassment of Jewish students.”
The Trump administration also issued a list of demands to Harvard University, according to a public statement from Alan Garbar, the president of Harvard University. The letter demanded things such as “viewpoint diversity in admission and hiring,” “discontinuation of DEI,” and “international admissions reform.”
In the statement, Garbar said, “The University will not surrender its independence or relinquish its constitutional rights,” later adding, “We proceed now, as always with the conviction that the fearless and unfettered pursuit of truth liberates humanity—and with faith in the enduring promise that America’s colleges and universities hold for our country and our world.”
The Trump administration issued a funding freeze in response. In a press release, the DOE announced “a freeze on $2.2 billion in multi-year grants and $60M in multi-year contract value to Harvard University.”
Harvard University has filed a lawsuit against the federal government after the freeze, claiming the Trump administration has violated its First Amendment rights. Harvard also challenged the freeze, according to the lawsuit, stating, “If an agency wants to freeze federal financial assistance to universities based on alleged civil rights violations under Title VI, then it must follow a detailed and mandatory statutory framework.”
The Trump administration is cracking down on perceived antisemitism by handing down demands and cutting funding. Students are trying to apply that same type of pressure.
As a means to get the school to divest from Israel, the protest flyer calls for a boycott of businesses inside of USC Village that they deem to be “Zionist and anti-worker.” The list contains six businesses: Amazon, Trader Joe’s, Target, Starbucks, Sephora and CAVA.
The protesters marched from the McClintock entrance to the USC Village parking lot, where DPS blocked off the entrance to the garage. Protesters began to chant, and a man unaffiliated with the protests was off to the side, complaining to police officers.
“They blocked the garage entrance because of a peaceful protest and I’m just so sick of this overreaction to whenever there’s anything about Palestine. The only violence, the only violence has been from the police against them, and I know because I’ve seen it,” Will S. said after being refused entry into the garage. Will did not give his full last name in fear of retaliation from “antagonistic forces.”
“Last May, they were doing protests over here. I live in the area, and when I came, I saw them, in the news as well. They were having their peaceful protests, they literally blocked this entire thing. The street over there, there was like 1,000 police, hundreds of police cars. They blocked all of Vermont. You would have thought that Godzilla had come to town,” Will said.
The protester chanted on the street corner, stated their list of demands and explained their reasoning behind the demands. At 7:30 p.m., protesters sat on the corner, did arts and crafts and ate pizza as the crowd slowly dispersed.
USC issued an emailed statement to the Corsair saying, “A group of protestors gathered outside USC Village. They marched around the Village and held brief demonstrations before dispersing. The Village remained open throughout the demonstration; at no time did the demonstrators enter the Village or campus.”
As USC prepares for its investigation, protest organizers are dead set on fighting back. “We’re continuing this boycott until USC transforms itself into a sanctuary university. Until it tears down these checkpoints. Until it discloses and divests all its funds and war manufacturing and reinvests in our community. We’re going to be out there, we’re going to continue fighting, we’re going to continue escalating,” Haroun said, who withheld his name fearing the alleged DPS watchlist.
He then said, “Because USC doesn’t want to negotiate in good faith. They want to fight. They want us to be scared, so we’re here to say we’re not scared. We’re going to continue fighting, we’re going to continue struggling for a just future for Palestinians, for our communities and for the world.”
SMC is currently being investigated for three violations of Title IV, at least two of them for discrimination of national origin. The college received a letter on March 10 warning the school to comply with the investigations. The three investigations are still ongoing and SMC is facing the threat of losing some federal funding.