Gaza conflict spurs hunger strike by California student activists

Gaza conflict spurs hunger strike by California student activists
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Pro-Palestine demonstrators make signs on the campus of UCLA on April 25, 2024 in Los Angeles, California. (AFP)
Gaza conflict spurs hunger strike by California student activists
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The Palestinian flag flies at a pro-Palestinian encampment, the morning after it was attacked by counter-protestors at the University of California. (AFP)
Gaza conflict spurs hunger strike by California student activists
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People wearing keffiyehs pose for a photo as LAPD officers keep watch after police cleared a new encampment of pro-Palestinian protestors on the UCLA. (AFP)
Gaza conflict spurs hunger strike by California student activists
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Maya on campus speaking to media. (Supplied)
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Updated 25 May 2025
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Gaza conflict spurs hunger strike by California student activists

Gaza conflict spurs hunger strike by California student activists
  • Students on several campuses are protesting against Israeli actions in Gaza 

DUBAI: Maya Abdallah’s message is clear: she will not eat until her university — the University of California, Los Angeles — hears her out on her cause, the crisis in Gaza.

The 23-year-old film student is Palestinian-Lebanese and is on hunger strike, protesting against her university’s funding of Israeli businesses that allegedly invest in manufacturing weapons being used by Israeli forces on the people of Gaza.

“I want to open a renegotiation for divestment … billions of dollars are spent on things like the gas that’s going into the Israeli tanks, to the manufacturers of the weapons used against the people of Gaza,” Abdallah said.

UC Chief Investment Officer Jagdeep Singh Bachher said in an official statement in 2024 that the university had $32 billion in assets in various companies, $3.3 billion of that in groups with ties to weapons manufacturers and $163 million in the investment firm BlackRock.

Abdallah is not alone. Although she is currently the only student at UCLA on hunger strike, students at other universities in California are also striking, including California State University Dominguez Hills and California State University Long Beach.

Hoping to be heard by policymakers and officials at their institutions, these students are now on Day 21 of their strikes.

So far, San Francisco State University and University of San Francisco have announced in official statements their divestment from companies such as Palantir and GE Aerospace who allegedly supply weapon systems and technology to the Israeli military.

“I didn’t just come up with the idea of a hunger strike. I saw students across California do it, and I wanted to contribute, even if I was the only one at UCLA,” Abdallah said.

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by maya (@mayaayooni)

Her strike began on May 9. Abdullah, who is subsisting only on liquids, said it has been harder than she anticipated, but she is willing to push herself.

“This isn’t easy. I’m exhausted, I’m hungry, and sometimes I’m scared. But none of that compares to what Palestinians in Gaza are facing right now. I remind myself of that every single day,” she said.

Abdallah said the hardest part of the strike is the mental strain of starving herself.

“More than the toll starvation takes on your body, it’s what it does to your brain. I can’t imagine the people who’ve suffered the loss of family members, left their homes, and felt abandoned in every way; now also going without food and dealing with that added stress. For me, there’s food around me. I could end my strike and eat. That’s not an option for them,” she said.

In addition to studying film, Abdallah is a social media entertainer turned activist, with more than two million followers on various platforms.

“I’ve tried protesting and raising awareness, but this was one of the things I hadn’t tried yet … when you’re fighting for such a cause, you have to try literally everything in your toolbox,” she said.

On the ninth day of her strike, Abdallah collapsed during a protest on campus and was rushed to the emergency room in an ambulance.

In a video she posted on her social media accounts, Abdallah said that first responders discovered her heart rate was 40 percent higher than the average person.

Since then, Abdallah is back home resting and is still actively fighting for her cause on campus and on social media.

The UN in 2024 reported that more than 80 percent of educational institutes in Gaza were damaged or destroyed.

“There are no universities left in Gaza, and yet our university is helping fund that destruction. It’s disgusting hypocrisy,” she added.

Abdallah said her university was aware of her strike, and that campus police as well as social workers are in contact with her, yet no official acknowledgement of her strike has been made. Even after she was admitted to hospital, Abdallah said no one from the university responded to check on her.

A UCLA spokesperson told Arab News the university supports freedom of expression of different points of view.

“We strongly urge all Bruins to peacefully express themselves and exercise their first amendment rights in ways that are safe. We will continue to make support available to all students through UCLA’s Student Health Services and other campus offices,” the spokesperson said.

Many people online have criticized Abdallah for her decision to strike, claiming that it will not lead to any meaningful outcome. But she said she does not care.

“An ‘indefinite hunger strike’ is ridiculous. She’s only harming herself. Ridiculous actions,” said a commenter on Instagram. Another said she was “A spoiled rich girl doing spoiled rich girl stuff. Your university owes you nothing but an overpriced gender studies degree. Grow up girl.” Another said “you go girl! Starve yourself. That’ll free Gaza.”

After a surge of student protests and encampments on university campuses in April 2024 to raise awareness about the crisis in Gaza after the Israeli military aggression on Gaza intensified in 2023, UCLA released a statement saying it would not divest from Israel.

“The University of California has consistently opposed calls for boycott against and divestment from Israel. While the University affirms the right of our community members to express diverse viewpoints, a boycott of this sort impinges on the academic freedom of our students and faculty and the unfettered exchange of ideas on our campuses,” according to the statement on UCLA’s official website.

Abdallah, who was on campus during the 2024 protests and encampments, described the situation as brutal but she felt motivated to see so many people fight for her cause.

“I felt pure joy that I have literally never felt at any other time in my life. To see so many people care about the thing that I’ve been begging people to care about my entire life,” she said.

But that feeling soon turned to sadness after experiencing brutality and pressure to stop. Abdallah recalled being attacked by a group of counter-strikers who she said got very aggressive and released mice into the encampments and set off fireworks.

Abdallah said it took a long time for law enforcement officers and police to arrive on the scene and the violence escalated.

“I was there the night the cops stormed and broke it up. They came in with rubber bullets and the batons. I was so traumatized,” she said.

At the time of the encampments, The Guardian reported that demonstrators told local media that police were “creating chaos” as they tried to peacefully demonstrate with “hands up”, and video footage showed chaotic scenes of baton-carrying police used flash-bang stun grenades to disperse protesters.

Abdallah said police were called several times during the violent night raids led by counter-protesters on the encampments but no one showed up.

A spokesperson for California Governor Gavin Newsom last year criticized the “limited and delayed campus law enforcement response”" to the unrest as “unacceptable.”

Arab News asked UCLA officials for a statement regarding the alleged police brutality that occurred on campus, but they have yet to reply.

 


Saudi Arabia showcases work safety initiatives at Osaka Expo 2025

Saudi Arabia showcases work safety initiatives at Osaka Expo 2025
Updated 6 sec ago
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Saudi Arabia showcases work safety initiatives at Osaka Expo 2025

Saudi Arabia showcases work safety initiatives at Osaka Expo 2025
  • Technology, training, incident reporting programs on show from July 16-19 in Japan

RIYADH: Saudi Arabia is showcasing its advancements in occupational safety and health at Expo 2025 in Osaka, Japan, from July 16 to 19.

The Kingdom’s National Council for Occupational Safety and Health, under the Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development, and led by Secretary-General Majed Al-Fawiz, is participating in the Global Initiative for Safety, Health, and Well-being Conference.

The delegation at the event includes representatives from the Ministry of Energy and the private sector.

This participation is a part of the Kingdom’s broader efforts to highlight its advancements in occupational safety, health, and employee well-being under Vision 2030.

Saudi Arabia has an exhibition highlighting key programs, including cutting-edge technologies to improve work environments, training initiatives and incident reporting.

The council emphasized the Kingdom’s commitment to global collaboration, knowledge exchange, and leadership in building safe, healthy, and sustainable workplaces.


Ethiopia arrests dozens of suspected Daesh militants, Fana broadcaster reports

Ethiopia arrests dozens of suspected Daesh militants, Fana broadcaster reports
Updated 16 July 2025
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Ethiopia arrests dozens of suspected Daesh militants, Fana broadcaster reports

Ethiopia arrests dozens of suspected Daesh militants, Fana broadcaster reports
  • The 82 suspects were part of Daesh’s Somalia affiliate
  • The Daesh faction in Somalia has become an increasingly important part of its parent organization’s worldwide network

ADDIS ABABA: Ethiopia has arrested dozens of suspected Daesh militants, who it claimed have been trained and deployed to carry out operations across the country, the state-affiliated Fana broadcaster reported.
The 82 suspects were part of Daesh’s Somalia affiliate, which operates in the semi-autonomous Puntland region, according to a statement by the National Intelligence Security Services which was shared with Fana.
The Daesh faction in Somalia has become an increasingly important part of its parent organization’s worldwide network in recent years.
“NISS has been closely monitoring the group’s cross-border infiltration strategies and its efforts to establish sleeper cells in Ethiopia,” Fana reported late on Tuesday.
With an estimated 700 to 1,500 fighters, Daesh’s Somalia wing has grown in recent years thanks to an influx of foreign fighters and increasing revenues.
But it is still much smaller than Al-Qaeda-linked Al-Shabab militant group, which controls large parts of southern and central Somalia.
The US military has carried out periodic air strikes against the group for years and recently intensified the strikes since President Donald Trump took office.
Puntland government forces have captured large portions of territory from IS since announcing a major offensive against them in December.


One dead after Ukrainian drone attack on Russia, governor says

One dead after Ukrainian drone attack on Russia, governor says
Updated 16 July 2025
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One dead after Ukrainian drone attack on Russia, governor says

One dead after Ukrainian drone attack on Russia, governor says

MOSCOW: One person has died in Russia's Voronezh region after being wounded in a Ukrainian drone attack, Voronezh Governor Alexander Gusev said on Wednesday on his Telegram channel.


Migration group head urges EU to bolster deportations

Migration group head urges EU to bolster deportations
Updated 16 July 2025
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Migration group head urges EU to bolster deportations

Migration group head urges EU to bolster deportations
  • The EU migration pact, adopted last year and set to come into force in June 2026, hardens procedures for asylum-seekers at its borders

VIENNA: The head of an influential EU-funded migration advisory body has urged the bloc to bolster expulsions of rejected asylum-seekers under its new migration pact and defended his group over human rights concerns.
The director general of the International Center for Migration Policy denied responsibility for what he called “individual cases” of human rights abuses by authorities in countries where his organization works.
Michael Spindelegger, a former vice chancellor from the conservative Austrian People’s Party, spoke in an interview with AFP as Brussels comes under pressure to keep out or deport migrants, with hard-right anti-immigration parties performing strongly across Europe.
The EU migration pact, adopted last year and set to come into force in June 2026, hardens procedures for asylum-seekers at its borders.
“It’s very important that a well-functioning return policy is established, also in the spirit of the pact,” Spindelegger told AFP.
“If someone comes, isn’t granted asylum, and then stays anyway, and nothing actually happens, that’s a very bad sign for the state of law,” said Spindelegger.
He added it was important to make sure those deported are re-integrated in their home countries so that they don’t leave again.
Currently fewer than 20 percent of people ordered to leave the bloc are returned to their country of origin, according to EU data.
In EU migration reforms, “the train is moving, that’s clear, but there are, of course, still various stations that need to be considered,” Spindelegger said.
“However, in my view, much has already been accomplished at the foundational level.”
The Vienna-based ICMPD advises the European Union authorities and others on migration policy and runs projects in Africa, Asia and Europe.
Human rights groups have repeatedly criticized it over overseas projects aimed at reducing the number of migrant arrivals in Europe.
It has worked with the Tunisian coast guards and Libyan authorities, which have been accused of mistreating migrants.
“I deeply regret whenever negative individual cases (of human rights abuse) persist. We cannot take responsibility for that,” Spindelegger said.
He insisted that training courses run by the ICMPD for border guards in migrant transit countries included training on human rights.
Lukas Gahleitner-Gertz, spokesman of rights group Asylkoordination Austria, dismissed that claim as “window dressing.”
“Cooperation is being advanced with regimes that have a highly doubtful human rights record,” Gahleitner-Gertz told AFP.
Spindelegger said an ICMPD-backed border guard training center built in Tunisia had been a “big success,” helping prepare hundreds of people for the job so far.
A similar training project has been launched in Jordan, while the ICMPD is looking to expand the scheme to Algeria.
Rights groups have also voiced concern at the European Commission’s plans, unveiled in May, to make it easier to send asylum seekers to certain third countries for their applications to be processed.
The proposal is seen as a step toward the creation of sites outside the bloc that would act as hubs for returning migrants.
It needs approval from the European Parliament and member states to become law.
The ICMPD counts 21 mostly EU countries as its members and has a staff of more than 500 people.
Founded by Austria and Switzerland in 1993, it works in more than 90 countries.
Among its members are EU countries such as Germany and Greece and non-EU members, including Turkiye. France, Italy and Spain are not members.
Since Spindelegger, 65, took over the center in 2016, the number of employees has grown four times bigger.
Its budget has increased by five times to more than 100 million euros ($120 million), he said.
Some 70 percent of the budget comes from the European Commission.
Spindelegger will retire at the end of the year. He is due to be replaced by another Austrian conservative politician, Susanne Raab.


State prosecution in firebombing attack on demonstration for Israeli hostages moves ahead

State prosecution in firebombing attack on demonstration for Israeli hostages moves ahead
Updated 16 July 2025
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State prosecution in firebombing attack on demonstration for Israeli hostages moves ahead

State prosecution in firebombing attack on demonstration for Israeli hostages moves ahead
  • Federal authorities say Soliman, an Egyptian national, had been living in the US illegally with his family at the time

DENVER: A judge ruled Tuesday that Colorado prosecutors can move ahead with their case against a man accused of killing one person and injuring a dozen more in a firebomb attack on demonstrators showing support for Israeli hostages in Gaza.
A police detective had been set to testify at a hearing explaining the evidence gathered against Mohamed Sabry Soliman in the June 1 attack on the weekly event in Boulder. But Soliman’s lawyer, Kathryn Herold, told Judge Nancy W. Salomone that he gave up his right to hear the evidence.
Soliman, wearing an orange and white striped jail uniform, told Salomone that he understood he was waiving his right to a hearing following a discussion with his lawyers Monday.
Despite that, prosecutors and victims who sat across the courtroom from Soliman or watched the hearing online were caught off guard by the decision.
Salomone said the case would now move ahead to an arraignment and scheduled a Sept. 9 hearing for Soliman to enter a plea to murder, attempted murder and other charges over the defense’s objection.
Herold said Soliman would not be ready to enter a plea then because of the large amount of evidence in the case and the murder charges recently added against him following the death of Karen Diamond, an 82-year-old woman injured in the attack. Herold said she expected to ask for the arraignment hearing to be delayed and suggested that a plea deal was possible.
20th Judicial District Attorney Michael Dougherty objected to a delay, saying any discussions could happen before and after an arraignment. He declined to comment on the possibility of a deal after the hearing.
Investigators say Soliman told them he intended to kill the roughly 20 participants at the weekly event on Boulder’s Pearl Street pedestrian mall. But he threw just two of more than two dozen Molotov cocktails he had with him while yelling, “Free Palestine!” Police said he told them he got scared because he had never hurt anyone before.
Federal authorities say Soliman, an Egyptian national, had been living in the US illegally with his family at the time.
Soliman has pleaded not guilty to federal hate crime charges and is scheduled to go on trial in federal court in Denver in September. However, his lawyers told US District Judge John L. Kane last week that they expect to ask for a delay.
Additional charges related to Diamond’s death could also slow down the federal proceedings. Assistant US Attorney Laura Cramer-Babycz told Kane that prosecutors have not decided yet whether to file additional charges against Soliman.
Federal prosecutors allege the victims were targeted because of their perceived or actual connection to Israel. But Soliman’s federal defense lawyers say he should not have been charged with hate crimes because the evidence shows he was motivated by opposition to Zionism, the political movement to establish and sustain a Jewish state in Israel.
An attack motivated by someone’s political views is not considered a hate crime under federal law.
State prosecutors have identified 29 victims in the attack. Thirteen of them were physically injured, and the others were nearby and are considered victims because they could have been hurt. A dog was also injured in the attack, so Soliman has also been charged with animal cruelty.