Hamas hostage tears into UCLA over vile condemnation by scholar council

The survivor of brutal torture by the hands of Hamas has a message for the UCLA scholar leaders who condemned his talking look on campus.

“In case you are keen to silence a survivor of 505 days in captivity to guard a preconceived narrative, it’s price pausing,” Omer Shem Tov completely instructed The California Submit, after the college’s Undergraduate College students Affiliation Council blasted his April 14 go to to the varsity to mark Holocaust Remembrance Day.

“When a worldview requires you to override your personal values, one thing is misaligned. The hope is that it’s the worldview that adjustments — as a result of the values are price holding.”

The coed affiliation issued a press release after the occasion saying {that a} “single narrative was elevated” in Shem Tov’s look, including the occasion organized by the faculty’s Jewish group didn’t present a Palestinian perspective.

“Whereas we affirm the humanity of all folks impacted by violence, we reject the selective platforming of narratives that obscure the broader actuality of ongoing state violence,” the coed affiliation added.

Shem Tov, who was taken hostage by Hamas within the October 7 assaults, was launched from captivity in February 2025 after being held within the darkness of underground tunnels for greater than a 12 months and a half.

The scholars affiliation’s president, Diego Bollo, instructed The Submit that he was not current on the council assembly the place members voted to situation the assertion and that it handed by a “naked majority.”

“I acknowledge that this displays a lapse in oversight on my half as President, and I take accountability for that institutional shortcoming. To deal with this situation, I’m initiating a evaluation instantly of our inside processes for drafting and releasing public statements,” Bollo mentioned.

“I deeply worth free speech and free expression on our campus. I’ve labored all through my time period to
be certain that the college helps all scholar teams in internet hosting audio system and a variety of
programming. Free speech is a precept I don’t compromise on — whatever the nature or topic of
any given occasion,” he added.

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Regardless of the coed affiliation’s assertion, Shem Tov’s supervisor described the survivor’s expertise at UCLA as “extremely constructive and productive” and “characterised by respectful dialogue with the scholars, [and] particularly college students who held opposing viewpoints.”

“On condition that ambiance, I’m fairly shocked by the coed authorities’s condemnation,” the supervisor added.

UCLA additionally launched a press release in help of the occasion.

“The occasion’s message was considered one of resilience and respect for human rights and dignity — a message we help,” the varsity mentioned, including that UCLA’s chancellor attended the occasion.

“We’ll evaluation the method by which this letter was issued,” the assertion added. “The condemnation of such a peaceable occasion to share a narrative of resilience within the face of maximum struggling is antithetical to the values of our Bruin group.”

UCLA has been underneath elevated scrutiny following months of protests and on-campus encampments protesting Israel’s conflict in Gaza.

The Trump administration filed a lawsuit towards the college and moved to limit its funding, alleging it failed to handle antisemitic harassment and a hostile setting for Jewish and Israeli college students.

The Division of Justice has reportedly sought a $1.2 billion settlement whereas additionally concentrating on beforehand suspended analysis grants on the faculty.

Jewish college students make up an estimated 9% of UCLA’s undergraduate inhabitants, or roughly 3,100 to 4,000 college students.