11 arrested for disrupting Israeli ambassador’s talk at UC Irvine

11 arrested during Israeli ambassador’s talk

IRVINE, Calif. — Eleven students have been arrested during a raucous lecture at University of California, Irvine, where Israeli Ambassador Michael Oren spoke about U.S.-Israel relations.

Oren’s speech to about 500 people was interrupted by shouting and protests multiple times Monday night.

UC Irvine spokesman Tom Vasich says nine Irvine students and two students from UC Riverside were arrested for disturbing a public event. All were cited and released.

The Orange County Register reports that at one point, Oren stopped, asked for hospitality and resumed his speech, but the shouts continued.

Political science professor Mark Petracca says he was embarrassed by the outbursts.

Earlier, the UCI Muslim Student Union issued an email condemning Oren’s appearance on campus. It was not clear if the arrested students were members of the group.