Supporters are dropping off water and other supplies at an encampment set up by pro-Palestinian student protesters at the University of Toronto’s downtown campus as the demonstration continues into its second day.
The encampment — one of several established at Canadian university campuses in recent days — went up early Thursday morning after students said they breached the fence.
The university has said the tents, banners and flags are a safety concern and had asked the students to leave by 10 p.m. Thursday. However, as the deadline approached, the university said it didn’t intend to remove protesters as long as their activities remained peaceful.
Mohammad Yassin, a protest organizer with U of T Occupy for Palestine, said members planned a day full of activities for those in the encampment, such as a stress relief workshop, prayers, a Shabbat dinner and movie screenings.
He said there’s a strong sense of community among protesters, with support coming from far beyond the Palestinian community, citing the group Jews Say No to Genocide as one example.
“We’ve had the level of support that we couldn’t even imagine from all kinds of groups,” said Yassin.
A group of U of T faculty issued a lengthy statement in support of the student encampment Thursday morning, signed by the U of T chapters of the Jewish Faculty Network, Faculty for Palestine and Health workers Alliance for Palestine.
Yassin says that kind of support has been heartening.
“To me, this is like proof that this isn’t just about Palestinians … It is a humanitarian cause. Everybody has a right to say no to genocide,” he said.
University says some actions ‘contravene’ expectations
The group has pledged not to leave university grounds until their demands are met. They want the university to reveal a complete list of its endowment’s investments and divest from assets that “sustain Israeli apartheid, occupation and illegal settlement of Palestine.” They also demanded the school cut ties with Israeli academic institutions that operate within the occupied West Bank.
“It’s supposed to be the beacon of Canadian academia — U of T should be held accountable for their moral actions,” said Yassin.
In a statement Friday afternoon, the university said its preference “continues to be dialogue.” But in a message to protesters several hours later, vice-provost Sandy Welsh said it is witnessing actions and behaviours that “contravene” its expectations of a peaceful protest.
It said the group has so far refused to identify a student representative to speak with the school, has reportedly used “hateful, exclusionary, discriminatory, or intimidating language in chants and signs” connected with the protest, blocked the fire safety access route last evening and dumped biowaste and other materials in the gardens and grass.
“We also have reports of graffiti and a broken lamp post,” said Welsh. “”The lack of your ability to enforce crowd control only increases our concerns for future damage.”
The university says while it respects the rights of students to protest, students must not “interfere with the ability of students, faculty, librarians and staff to learn, teach, research and work on our campuses.” If they do, they’ll be subject to the law, it said.
The school says it’s “unclear” how many demonstrators are part of the U of T community. The group says some 120 people slept on the property overnight, with alumni and faculty members dropping in to show support.
WATCH | Pro-Palestinian protesters defy request to leave U of T:
The encampments are happening as The International Court of Justice investigates whether Israel has committed acts of genocide in the ongoing war in Gaza, with a ruling expected to take years. Israel has rejected allegations of wrongdoing and accused the court of bias.
Israel’s campaign in Gaza was launched after Hamas-led militants stormed into southern Israel, killing some 1,200 people, mostly civilians, and taking around 250 men, women and children hostage. The Israeli offensive has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians, according to local health officials.
The war has wreaked vast destruction and brought a humanitarian disaster with several thousand Palestinians in northern Gaza facing imminent famine, according to the United Nations.
Pro-Palestinian activists have also set up tents at McGill University in Montreal, the University of Ottawa and the University of British Columbia campus in Vancouver.
The student movement began at Columbia University in New York City on April 17. That encampment was forcefully cleared by police at the request of administrators earlier this week. Police began taking down makeshift barricades at the University of California, Los Angeles Thursday after violent clashes between protestors and counter-protestors.
Jewish advocacy group voices concern
In a statement Friday, U of T students with Hillel Ontario, a group that advocates on behalf of Jewish students, said it “watched with concern as tensions on campus rose throughout Thursday,” pointing to some protesters chanting “All the Zionists are racists” and chalk on the ground reading “Go back to Europe.”
“Despite the administration’s stated 10 p.m. deadline for occupiers to leave campus, as well as clear outlines as to what is and is not acceptable use of their space, the university has unfortunately chosen to acquiesce, leaving Jewish students wondering what it will take for the university to act,” the statement says.
Hillel Ontario’s CEO Seth Goren told reporters that the University of Toronto is responsible for ensuring Jewish students can participate fully in student life, after a pro-Palestine encampment protest began at the centre of the university’s downtown campus on Thursday.
Hillel Ontario said it requested an urgent meeting with the school to get a better understanding of its plans ahead of the weekend.
“While students have a right to protest, that right is neither unfettered nor absolute,” the statement says. “Those who come to campus to harass and intimidate Jewish students, faculty or staff should not be tolerated, and we are calling on universities to enforce their existing policies and hold violators accountable for their actions.”
Referring to the chalk descriptions, Erin Mackey, another protest organizer, said it’s not something the group condones.
“This is not a place for any form of hate speech, whether that be anti-Palestinian racism, anti-Black racism, Islamophobia, antisemitism. We are monitoring all of that,” she said.
Government says universities responsible
Toronto’s mayor, the Ontario government, as well as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said universities are the ones responsible for managing encampment protests on their property.
Mayor Olivia Chow said King’s College Circle belongs to the university, adding peaceful protest is allowed under the Charter, as long as it’s done “without hate.”
“It’s up to the University of Toronto to work out what their security arrangement is with the police,” she said.
The Pro-Palestinian encampment at the University of Toronto’s downtown campus entered its second day Friday after the school allowed students to remain overnight. Demonstrators were joined by about 1,000 people during a rally Thursday evening. CBC’s Ali Chiasson has the latest.
Similarly, in a news conference in Hamilton on Friday, Trudeau said universities are places of learning where ideas can be exchanged and debated, but at the same time, everyone must feel safe on campus.
Meanwhile, in an email to CBC News, a spokesperson for Ontario Minister of Colleges and Universities Jill Dunlop said the ministry expects schools to “work with police and campus security to address any incidents of hate and racism, unauthorized encampments and occupations, and all other forms of discrimination at their institutions.”
The spokesperson said, “The government has been assured by college and university presidents that they are working with their teams to adopt appropriate measures to prioritize the safety and wellbeing of all students, faculty, and staff, so that students can continue to learn and attend graduation without interruption.”