LOS ANGELES (AP) — The police chief at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been reassigned following criticism over his handling of recent campus demonstrations that included a mob attacking a pro-Palestinian encampment.
Chief John Thomas was temporarily reassigned Tuesday “pending an examination of our security processes,” said Mary Osako, UCLA vice chancellor for strategic communications, in a statement released Wednesday.
The Daily Bruin reported late Tuesday that Thomas said in a text to the campus newspaper, “There’s been a lot going on and, I learned late yesterday that I’m temporarily reassigned from my duties as chief.”
Neither Osako nor Thomas identified his reassigned role.
The reassignment of Thomas follows UCLA’s May 5 announcement of the creation of a new chief safety officer position to oversee campus security operations.
On April 30, counterdemonstrators attacked a pro-Palestinian encampment, throwing traffic cones, releasing pepper spray and tearing down barriers. Fighting continued for several hours before police stepped in, and no one was arrested. At least 15 protesters suffered injuries.
Thomas told the Los Angeles Times in early May that he did “everything I could” to provide security and keep students safe during days of strife that left UCLA shaken.
But his response was roundly criticized and prompted Chancellor Gene Block to order a review of campus security procedures. Block then announced that Rick Braziel, a former Sacramento police chief, would lead a new Office of Campus Safety that will oversee the UCLA Police Department.
“To best protect our community moving forward, urgent changes are needed in how we administer safety operations,” Block said in the May 5 statement.
Sporadic disruptions continued following the dismantling of a pro-Palestinian encampment and some 200 arrests on April 30.
Block has been summoned to Washington by a Republican-led House committee to testify Thursday about the protests on the Los Angeles campus.
The union that represents more than 250 officers who police the 10 UC campuses criticized Thomas' reassignment.
“The UCLA administration owns the failure of any protest response, and the public should reject their attempts to shift blame to law enforcement,” Wade Stern, president of the Federated University Peace Officers' Association, said in a statement Wednesday. “The response to protests appears ad hoc and devoid of the structured planning mandated by the UC system.”
FILE - Police face off with pro-Palestinian demonstrators inside an encampment on the UCLA campus Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. The police chief at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been reassigned amid criticism of his handling of campus demonstrations. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - Police enter an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian demonstrators on the University of California, Los Angeles campus, Thursday, May 2, 2024, in Los Angeles. The police chief at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been reassigned amid criticism of his handling of campus demonstrations. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
FILE - Demonstrators clash at an encampment at UCLA early Wednesday, May 1, 2024, in Los Angeles. The police chief at the University of California, Los Angeles, has been reassigned amid criticism of his handling of campus demonstrations. (AP Photo/Ethan Swope, File)
JAKARTA, Indonesia (AP) — Muslims in Asia on Monday celebrated Eid al-Adha, or the Feast of Sacrifice, with food and prayers for people in Gaza suffering from the Israel-Hamas war.
One of the biggest Islamic holidays, the occasion commemorates Prophet Ibrahim’s test of faith through slaughtering livestock and animals and distributing the meat to the poor. It’s a joyous occasion for which food is a hallmark where devout Muslims buy and slaughter animals and share two-thirds of the meat with the poor and it’s a revered observance that coincides with the final rites of the Hajj pilgrimage in Saudi Arabia.
Much of Asia, including Indonesia, Malaysia, India and Bangladesh, observed Eid al-Adha on Monday, while Muslims in other parts of the globe, including Saudi Arabia, Libya, Egypt, and Yemen celebrated the holiday on Sunday.
On Monday, worshippers shoulder-to-shoulder joined in communal prayers in Indonesia’s capital, Jakarta. Preachers in their sermons called on people to pray for Muslims in Gaza and Rafah.
“Our prayers and thoughts are with our brother and sisters who are now suffering in Palestine,” worshipper Adi Prasetya said after praying at a field in southern Jakarta. “There are many opportunities for us now to channel our help through charities."
“May Allah give strength to those ravaged by war... may those who are divided can live in peace again,” said another devotee, Berlina Yustiza.
Although Indonesia has more Muslims than any other country in the world, its traditions to mark Eid al-Adha have been influenced by other religions.
Residents in Yogyakarta, an ancient center of Javanese culture and the seat of royal dynasties going back centuries, believe that if they manage to catch the crops arranged in the form of a cone-shaped pile called “gunungan” that is paraded from the royal palace to the Kauman Grand Mosque, it can bring them good luck. They scrambled to grab various food offerings, made of fruit, vegetables and traditional snacks.
A day before the sacrifice festival, people in East Java’s Pasuruan city expressed their gratitude and respect for the sacrificial animals by dressing them as beautiful as a bride. The sacrificial cow is wrapped in a seven-fold garland, a shroud, turban and prayer mat and paraded in a tradition called “manten sapi,” or bride cow, before being handed to the sacrificial committee.
Villagers in Demak, a town in Central Java province, celebrated the holiday with a procession of livestock called “apitan” as a form of gratitude for the food and harvest. They bring foods in bamboo containers to the town’s square that they eat together after praying. Locals believe the procession will provide prosperity and that disaster would come if it was abandoned.
Eid al-Adha commemorates the Quranic tale of Ibrahim’s willingness to sacrifice Ismail as an act of obedience to God. Before he could carry out the sacrifice, God provided a ram as an offering. In the Christian and Jewish telling, Abraham is ordered to kill another son, Isaac.
In Malaysia, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim joined thousands of congregants, including foreign tourists, and offered morning prayers at a mosque near his office in Putrajaya, south of the capital Kuala Lumpur.
Meanwhile at a wholesale market in Selayang, just outside the capital, Muslim workers there knelt on mats placed on a large piece of white cloth laid outside the market to perform their prayers.
In his message, Anwar said the opportunity to go on the hajj pilgrimage to Mecca is one of God’s great gifts and should make one more ascetic and simpler.
“I invite Muslims to live the message of simplicity that is preached in Hajj, to always be humble and not be mesmerized by the attraction of temporary worldly riches,” Anwar said, “Let’s not deviate from this goal. The world should be a bridge to the eternal land.”
Associated Press writer Eileen Ng in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, contributed to this report.
Devout Muslims greet and hug each other after offering Eid al-Adha prayers at the Jama Masjid, in New Delhi, India, Monday, June 17, 2024. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha by sacrificing animals to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Devout Muslims offer Eid al-Adha prayers at the Jama Masjid, in New Delhi, India, Monday, June 17, 2024. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha by sacrificing animals to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Muslims perform Eid al-Adha prayer on a street in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 17, 2024. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha by sacrificing animals to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Muslims attend Eid al-Adha prayer on a street in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 17, 2024. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha by sacrificing animals to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim’s faith in being willing to sacrifice his son. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
A Muslim makes online transfer of money through his mobile phone after buying goats for Eid al Ada, near the Jama Masjid, in New Delhi, India, Monday, June 17, 2024. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha by sacrificing animals to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son. (AP Photo/Manish Swarup)
Muslims perform Eid al-Adha prayer on a street in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June. 17, 2024. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha by sacrificing animals to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Muslims perform Eid al-Adha prayer on a street in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 17, 2024. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha by sacrificing animals to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Muslims attend Eid al-Adha prayer in Mumbai, India, Monday, June 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Rajanish Kakade)
A Muslim attends Eid al-Adha prayer on a street in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 17, 2024. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha by sacrificing animals to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim’s faith in being willing to sacrifice his son. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Muslims attend for Eid al-Adha prayer on a street in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 17, 2024. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha by sacrificing animals to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
Muslims perform Eid al-Adha prayer on a street in Jakarta, Indonesia, Monday, June 17, 2024. Muslims around the world celebrate Eid al-Adha by sacrificing animals to commemorate the prophet Ibrahim's faith in being willing to sacrifice his son. (AP Photo/Achmad Ibrahim)
