Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have set up an encampment at King’s College Circle at the University of Toronto, calling on the university to sever financial ties with the Israeli government and for a ceasefire in the ongoing war in Gaza.
Students arrived under the cover of darkness around 4 a.m. Thursday to dismantle a portion of the fence that had been erected by the university to prevent the type of encampments that have sprung up at other universities across the country and in the United States.
A spokesperson for the demonstrators says the encampment comes after exhausting all other avenues of dialogue with university officials which included an occupation of the president’s office a few weeks ago.
“We spent the last six months engaging in every form of protest at our disposal,” said Sara Rasikh in a statement on behalf of the protesters. “The administration has ignored our demands and attempted to intimidate us into silence. We are left with no other choice but to escalate.”
Protesters point out that the university has previously divested from South African apartheid in the 1980s and divested in fossil fuels in 2021.
“We know that divestment works, they have a policy for ethical investments on the book so all we’re asking is for them to adhere to that and ensure that their investments are ethical and that they are not funding an active genocide,” protester Erin Mackey tells CityNews.
In a notice released on Thursday, the University notes that its grounds and buildings are private property and “unauthorized activities such as encampments or the occupation of University buildings are considered trespassing.”
“Our preference is to start with dialogue. Those who contravene university policy or the law risk the consequences set out in various laws and policies such as the Code of Student Conduct, which could include suspension,” read a statement released by U of T.
Mackey said protesters had been told they would have to vacate their encampment by 10 p.m. but the group had no plans to leave.
“We’re demanding an end to violence, not more violence,” said Mackey. “Folks know what the risks are and they’re ready for all of that. If the University were to make those charges of trespassing it would be against students who are on their campus.”
Private security, campus police and Toronto police are on the scene, however, they are currently monitoring the situation from a distance and have not engaged the protesters.
“The university is leading the planning for protests on their property. We are in contact with them but our assistance has not been requested at this time,” Toronto police said in a statement to CityNews.
Similar protest camps have been set up at several other Canadian university campuses in B.C and at Montreal’s McGill University as well as at scores of post-secondary schools in the United States.
The International Court of Justice is investigating whether Israel has committed acts of genocide in the ongoing war in Gaza, with any 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.
Files from The Canadian Press were used in this report
