This story will be updated as more information becomes available.
On May 20, 2025, Chancellor Khosla along with Academic Senate Chair Olivia Graeve sent a joint message to the UCSD student body regarding what they called an “Event Disruption.” The event in question, titled “Israel Today: Threats and Opportunities”, was hosted by the UCSD School of Global Policy and Strategy (GPS) Department on May 19, 2025. The event itself was a lecture by Ido Aharoni, a former Israeli diplomat and visiting scholar at UC San Diego (UCSD).
The message states “Last night, a group of protesters, many of them wearing masks, disrupted a public lecture by an invited speaker on our campus. The protesters crowded entryways and used amplified sound to effectively shout down the speaker and force the event to end. Currently, the incident is under investigation.”
In a statement to The Triton, UCSD said “The investigation is ongoing. UC San Diego is fully committed to upholding the constitutional right to free expression and encourages peaceful protests.” They further alleged that the protestors had violated the University’s time, place, and manner policies which were put into effect in October 2024.
These policies state “Expressive activity may occur on all university grounds. The time, place, and manner of exercising expression and advocacy are subject to the regulations that provide for the noninterference with university functions and protect persons against practices that cause bodily harm, or otherwise infringe upon the legally defined rights of others. … Such restrictions shall be enacted in a manner that minimizes the limitation on expressive activity. ” The complete policies can be read here.
Prior to Aharoni’s lecture, a group of GPS students sent an open letter addressed to Nancy Gilson, the Director of Academic Degree Programs, and the GPS Administration. The letter, titled “Request for equal representation at “Israel Today: Threats and Opportunities”, expressed worries about the event, , citing a lack of diverse inclusion due to the absence of a Palestinian representative. , Students claim the Palestinian perspective is essential at such an event in light of the ongoing genocide of Palestinians perpetrated by the Israeli government, and UCSD’s response to student protests supporting Palestine. They wrote, “Academic best practices, as well as our own code of conduct, require that controversial or complex issues-especially those with ongoing humanitarian implications-be approached with balance and respect for all affected communities.”
The letter goes on to cite extensive evidence of apartheid and genocide in Palestine, including a 2022 United Nations Special Rapporteur which concluded that Israel was enacting a system of apartheid in Palestine as defined by international law and recent reports which found that Israel is knowingly starving the Palestinian people using methods such as aid blockades. The signees stated that the event existed in direct contrast to the GPS department’s imperative to “‘engage with the world’s most pressing challenges’ and to ‘lead with integrity and empathy.’”
Tate McFadden is the Managing Editor at The Triton.