Pomona College in Claremont, California has announced it will investigate and discipline individuals who stormed a memorial event for victims of the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks and shouted pro‑Hamas slogans while masked. The intrusion targeted a gathering hosted by the campus’s Jewish community and left students shaken and demanding stronger protections.
The event, held by Claremont Hillel and the Jewish chaplain at the college, featured a survivor’s lecture and candle‑lighting ceremony. Four masked individuals reportedly forced entry through a fire door, shouted phrases like “Zionists not welcome” and accused attendees of genocide. College officials said the disruption was “outrageous and cruel” and “antisemitic hate cannot be tolerated.”
Students and faculty criticized the college’s security response, noting that only one guard was present and did not promptly stop the disruption, leaving attendees to block the masked intruders themselves. Pomona’s president, G. Gabrielle Starr, said the college is reviewing event‑access protocols, collecting video evidence and promised “every appropriate disciplinary action” for members of the community involved.
