Iran Condemns US Court Ruling to Cease Pro-Palestinian Rallies on UC Campuses

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Nasser Kanaani condemned a court ruling that ordered the cessation of the pro-Palestinian protests and strikes by students and university staff.

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He made the remarks after an Orange County Superior Court judge on Friday issued a temporary restraining ruling, ordering thousands of University of California (UC) academic workers, who were on strike at six campuses in protest of administrators’ response to pro-Palestinian protests, to return to their jobs on Monday until June 27 while final exams are taken.

Kanaani described the court order as being “in violation of the rights to freedom of expression and opinion,” saying it was indicative of the difference between the “slogans and actions” about the two rights in the United States.

He added officials of the UC student association maintained that the ruling to forcefully stop the strike by the university’s students and staff in support of Palestinians failed to have “judicial validity.”

Unionized academic researchers, graduate teaching assistants and post-doctoral scholars walked off the job over what they called “unfair labor practices” in the university’s handling of pro-Palestinian demonstrations in recent weeks.

The court ruling was issued after the UC filed a lawsuit and requested injunctive relief on June 4 against the United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 4811, which had organized the strikes, for breach of contract.

The first UC campus that stood up and withheld labor was UC Santa Cruz, where academic workers walked off the job on May 20. The walkout spread to UC Los Angeles and UC Davis on May 28, and further expanded to three more campuses, UC San Diego, UC Santa Barbara and UC Irvine, later.

Pro-Palestinian demonstrations have been spreading at colleges and universities across the United States amid the ongoing conflict in Gaza. Hundreds were arrested in crackdowns on pro-Palestinian protests and encampments on UC campuses across the state last month.