Ryan McGurk

Ryan McGurk is an activist who was arrested at a violent anti-Israel encampment. He denied Hamas war crimes and spread hatred of Israel during Israel’s war against Hamas terrorists, launched after the October 7, 2023 terror attacks.

In May 2024, McGurk was reportedly an organizer with Students for Justice in Palestine (SJP) at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA). He is a supporter [00:00:19] of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.

The incidents occurred during Israel’s war against Hamas, launched after terror attacks and war crimes against Israeli civilians, including mass murder, torture, rape, beheadings and kidnappings, which were executed on October 7, 2023. The attacks left approximately 1,200 Israelis dead, hundreds kidnapped and thousands wounded.

As of June 2024, McGurk’s LinkedIn profile said he had been working as a “Student Host and Liaison” at the 580 Cafe since September 2023. His LinkedIn said he had been an assistant at the UCLA Film & Television Archive’s Instructional Media Lab since September 2023.

Also as of June 2024, McGurk’s LinkedIn said he was studying English language and literature at UCLA, slated to graduate in May 2024.

As of the same date, McGurk’s LinkedIn said he was located in Los Angeles, California.

On May 25, 2024, McGurk appeared in an Instagram interview where he denied [00:00:58] the Hamas war crimes of October 7, 2023, and earlier promoted [00:00:39] hatred of Zionism.

Denial of the Hamas war crimes of October 7, 2023, among anti-Israel activists has been likened to Holocaust denial among neo-Nazis.

Zionism is the belief that Jews have the right to self-determination in their own national home, and the right to develop their national culture. Zionism is a core part of the identity of most Jews.

The interviewer, a Black man and a 2024 UCLA graduate, posted the interview and wrote that McGurk was a “top (Jewish) SJP Organizer at UCLA.” The interviewer has stated in his pro-Israel activism that he is not Jewish, but he was attacked at the UCLA encampment because anti-Israel activists thought he was Jewish.

In the interview, Jones asked [00:00:23] McGurk: “Why would you support a camp that you know is involved with assaulting Jewish students?”

McGurk responded [00:00:26]: “The camp is not involved with assaulting Jewish students.”

Jones then responded [00:00:30]: “I watched them do it multiple times. You watched them attack me. You were on the camera while bro smacked my phone when you were doing your self-defense training.”

McGurk responded [00:00:34]: “No, you were not attacked, you were not attacked…It was drawing a clear line that we believe that Zionism doesn’t have a place here.”

A second interviewer off camera later asked [00:00:58]: “What about raping the women and children in Gaza with Hamas and all of that?”

McGurk then said [00:01:05]: “Dude…you’re making s**t up.”

On October 7, 2023, Hamas raped women next to the bodies of dead friends. Some were raped and then shot in the head. Others, including young girls, were raped and murdered or mutilated in other ways. Men were also raped.

Israeli officials opened an unprecedented investigation into the widespread sexual assault. Forensic analysis of corpses showed evidence of torture and rape. Hamas terrorists said they were given explicit orders to carry out the atrocities, including chopping off legs and raping the corpses of murdered victims.

A terrorist detained by Israel admitted he raped an Israeli woman when he broke into a kibbutz house during the October 7, 2023 attack. In March 2024, a former hostage of Hamas publicly stated she was sexually abused and tortured while in captivity.

On May 26, 2024, McGurk appeared in an Instagram interview where he claimed [00:00:47] that he was standing up “against a genocide.”

Arrested at a Violent Anti-Israel Encampment

Denying Hamas War Crimes & Spreading Hatred of Israel

Social Media and Weblinks