(NewsNation) — Dozens of college professors in California are protesting against antisemitism by camping out in their offices.

The protest was sparked by Ron Hassner, a political science professor at the University of California, Berkeley, who has been sleeping in his office for nearly two weeks.

Hassner challenged faculty across the state to host their own “sleep-ins” in solidarity.

Jeffrey Kopstein, a political science professor and director of the Center for Jewish Studies at the University of California, Irvine, joined the movement Tuesday, hoping his participation will help lead to change.

College campuses, specifically Berkeley, have faced an increase in antisemitic incidents in recent months since the Israel-Hamas war began on Oct. 7. Kopstein said the idea behind sleeping in their offices is to prove the Jewish community is not going anywhere, even as it faces threats of hate.

Kopstein, who has been a professor for 33 years, said he feels supported by his administration overall.

“I’ve been director of several centers for Jewish Studies. But everything that happened after Oct. 7 has made life very difficult for the directors of Jewish centers and for Jewish Studies,” he said. “Our last talk on Israel on Nov. 14 was severely disrupted by protesters. The police had to enter and eventually, the room was cleared.”

Kopstein said he hasn’t been able to host a talk on any Israel topic since because he has not received a guarantee there will be no disruptions the next time around.

“The whole idea of universities and part of academic freedom is that we’re free to host our events; the students and faculty are free to listen and participate. And there can be demonstrations, but those should be outside and that’s freedom of speech,” he said. “But when events and academic programming get disrupted, we’re no longer able to do our job. And to some extent, Jewish Studies, professors and those involved in the study of Israel are no longer able to do their job in a normal way.”