State: California
City: Los Angeles
Campus: University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA)
Yogita Goyal is a Professor in the Department of English at UCLA, where she also teaches African American Studies. She has repeatedly aligned herself with pro-Palestinian protests on campus, defended disruptive encampments, and criticized UCLA leadership and police responses to student demonstrations. Through her public statements, petitions, and protest participation, Goyal has promoted rhetoric that ignores the antisemitic hostility tied to these encampments while lending faculty legitimacy to disruptive and inflammatory activism.
Participation in Campus Protests
On May 9, 2024, Goyal was spotted at a pro-Palestinian protest holding a sign reading “UCLA faculty for free Palestine.” She also joined other demonstrations demanding that UCLA “disclose and divest.” On May 4, 2024, she participated in a protest outside the Hammer Museum, calling for the resignation of UCLA Chancellor Gene Block following the police crackdown on the Gaza Solidarity Encampment. Holding a sign that read “Shame! Gene Block must go!,” she joined faculty demands for amnesty for arrested students.
On June 3, 2024, Goyal supported and joined a walkout and protest organized by pro-Palestinian groups at UCLA. The protest opposed the Israeli military’s invasion of Rafah and demanded that the University of California divest from Israel. She also expressed solidarity with the striking United Auto Workers (UAW) Local 4811, using the moment to condemn UCLA’s disciplinary and police responses to encampments.
Defense of Encampments and Student Activism
On June 10, 2024, Goyal publicly opposed the police declaring the campus protest an “unlawful assembly,” repeating her criticism of a similar declaration during the April 30 protest. She argued that UCLA should allow students to express their political views, even as those encampments had disrupted campus life and endangered Jewish students.
Petitions and Statements
Goyal signed an open letter authored by Saree Makdisi, which accused UCLA of failing to address alleged anti-Arab and anti-Palestinian racism on campus, while condemning the university’s stance against antisemitism. She also signed onto a statement with over 1,200 scholars in feminist, queer, and trans studies condemning Israel and framing its actions as “colonialism, genocide, military occupation, and ethnic cleansing.” That statement also supported the “resistance of colonized people” and committed to defending pro-Palestinian speech on campuses.
Conclusion
By defending encampments, amplifying anti-Israel petitions, and joining disruptive protests, Yogita Goyal has aligned herself with rhetoric and actions that foster antisemitic hostility on campus. Her consistent support of groups and demands that undermine campus safety and Jewish student wellbeing places her among the UCLA faculty who legitimize these divisive movements under the guise of academic freedom.
