Months after the 2008-2009 Gaza war in which Israel killed over 1,000 Palestinians, UCI student Osama Shabaik visited Gaza to deliver medical aid. What Shabaik saw compelled him to "speak out" against Israel's destruction of Gaza. Shabaik and a group of peers consequently decided to stage a protest during an upcoming speech by Oren, to be held on February 8, 2010 at UCI. They were eleven students in total; three from UC Riverside and eight from UCI.