User talk:WikiFouf/2024 McGill University pro-Palestinian encampment

Background

McGill students vote in favour of pro-Palestinian policy (Montreal Gazette)

• Despite the university warning it could cut ties with its student union over the issue, McGill students have voted in favour of adopting a contentious pro-Palestinian policy. In a vote that ended Monday, 78 per cent of students who participated voted in favour of the policy, titled Policy Against Genocide in Palestine.
• McGill, however, has already stated that should the policy be adopted, the university could end its agreement with the student union that governs its funding and use of the McGill name. In an email response on Monday, McGill said despite the voting results, the university’s stance on the issue remains the same. “The proposed policy, if adopted, will sharpen divisions in our community at a time when many students are already distressed,” a university spokesperson wrote. McGill noted the SSMU’s constitution stipulates the student union is supposed to facilitate interactions between all students and act in their best interests.
• Contacted on Monday, SSMU president Alexandre Ashkir noted its board of directors will review the policy before later voting on whether it should be ratified. Ashkir has already said the SSMU does not believe the policy would cause the tensions McGill says it would  —  if that were the case, he says, the question would not have been included in the referendum.
• Turnout for this year’s vote  more than doubled from when students voted in favour of the pro-Palestinian policy last year. Just over 8,400 students voted in the referendum, representing 35 per cent of eligible voters. In all, 5,974 voted for the policy and 1,620 voted against it. Another 807 students abstained from voting on it.
• The policy students voted on calls on the university to condemn the bombing of Gaza and cut ties with corporations “complicit in genocide, settler-colonialism, apartheid or ethnic cleansing against Palestinians.”
• It also criticizes public comments from McGill officials since the outbreak of the war, characterizing them as threats toward students who have voiced their support for Palestinians.

26 avril

Four students on why they’re protesting against war in Gaza: ‘Injustice should not be accepted’ (The Guardian)

• After she went on hunger strike in February, Rania Amine ended up spending six days in hospital. The 25-year-old McGill student, who was born in Morocco, didn’t eat for a total of 34 days: part of a relay system of hunger strikes that is still ongoing at the university.
• “I definitely experienced physical symptoms, but it was nothing compared to what we know that people in Gaza are going through every day,” Amine said.
• “It’s been a while now that I’ve been out of the hospital. In terms of my physical health, I’ve recovered, there’s nothing that I know of that is problematic. But the mental health toll is very real.”
• Since October students at McGill, in Montreal, Canada, have held rallies and protests, calling for the school to divest from companies that supply weapons and other items to Israel’s military. Documents on McGill’s website show that it holds investments in companies including Lockheed Martin, a defense contractor that has sold fighter jets to Israel, and Safran, a French air and defense company.
• Amine compared the student protests to anti-apartheid movements on campuses in the 1980s, which led to many universities divesting from companies which operated in South Africa.
• “When you see the students rise up, that’s when you know that something has to change, and things will change,” she said.

27 avril

Protesters set up encampment at McGill University in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza (Montreal Gazette)

• Several tents went up after 1:30 p.m. Saturday. A ring of more than 100 young people formed around the encampment as they chanted slogans like “Palestine will live forever.” The protesters also held up signs with messages like “McGill funds genocide.”
• The protest was peaceful and within sight of several police vehicles parked near the Roddick Gates on Sherbrooke St. A person who declined to give her name described herself as a volunteer for the protest and said the protesters had been in talks with the university, but the administration asked them not to put up the tents. She also said they planned to be there “indefinitely.”
• Just before 3:30 p.m. Saturday, the protesters on the grounds were joined by a large group that marched down Sherbrooke St. in a demonstration that apparently was planned in advance, as it was escorted by police officers on bicycles. A woman leading the protest said they were students from Concordia and McGill.
• A McGill student who was part of the protest spoke to the Gazette, but declined to give her name. “We are here because we ran an institutional campaign last semester. We proposed a policy against genocide (in Gaza),” the young woman said. “We put it in the ballots and students voted overwhelmingly in support of it, about 80 per cent, and it had a record turnout for voters. “We had a 30 per cent turnout when the referendums usually get about 10 per cent at most.

Students set up 'indefinite' pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University (CBC]

• About 20 tents went up on McGill's downtown campus Saturday in what students are calling an act of solidarity with the Palestinian cause, joining a wave of similar protests taking place across U.S. campuses amid the ongoing Israel-Hamas war.
• A larger group of demonstrators who had participated in a protest in downtown Montreal joined later, but many of them left campus by 7:30 p.m., the McGill University media relations department said in a statement sent Saturday.
• Protesters point to a data set published on April 18 by McGill Hunger Strike for Palestine and Students for Justice in Palestine. It lists 50 companies that McGill University invests in that the organizations say are "complicit in upholding the apartheid regime of Israel."
• A statement from McGill University sent to CBC News Saturday said two members of the university's senior management team told the group "it could raise its concerns about divestment through the University's established processes," but so far, the committee that reviews those matters at McGill "has received no expression of concern on this topic."
• The statement noted that McGill does not invest directly in individual stocks or companies since external fund managers hired by the university choose "investments for mandates in segregated accounts and pooled funds, the composition of which is continually changing."
• Israel launched its war against Hamas after the militant group's attacks on Oct. 7. During the attacks, some 1,200 people were killed and around 250 were taken hostage, according to Israeli tallies. More than 130 hostages are still being held in Gaza, including women and children. Health authorities in Gaza say Israel's offensive in Gaza has killed more than 34,000 Palestinians — the majority of them women and children — and has led to the imminent risk of famine, the destruction of key hospitals and, according to the United Nations, the displacement of 1.9 million people.
• The Montreal chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement called the encampment "indefinite," adding that it refuses to let universities "be complicit in genocide," in a social media post on Instagram.
• In an email to CBC News sent Saturday, McGill University says it's aware the encampment is happening and it supports the right of its students to freedom of expression and freedom of assembly within the bounds of the university's policies and law. It added that the Dean of Students and a representative from McGill security instructed protesters to remove their tents, but they refused.
• Saturday evening, the media relations department confirmed the protest has been peaceful and is contained to the lower field.

'Divest now': Students launch encampment at McGill University (CTV News)

• Several students have launched an encampment at McGill University as they call on the institution to cut financial ties with Israel.
• Posters circulating online state students from McGill and Concordia University are participating in the event to send the message to university administration that students "refuse to let their universities be complicit in genocide." Montreal police said some officers are on site to monitor the event, but say campus security is in charge.
• The encampment resembles those in several U.S. cities in recent days with anti-war protests(opens in a new tab) ramping up on university campuses calling for an end to the massacre of civilians in Gaza.
• On Saturday morning, McGill sent a communique to students informing them that "encampments are not permitted on our campus."
• It also noted that "encampments can create serious health and safety concerns while increasing the potential for escalation and confrontation, as we have seen at some colleges throughout the U.S."
• When asked by CTV News whether or not the tents would have to be removed, a spokesperson did not answer.

Un campement propalestinien à McGill (La Presse)

• L’ambiance était conviviale et plusieurs familles avec de jeunes enfants étaient présentes.
• L’évènement, annoncé sur X par les groupes SPHR de McGill et de Concordia, a débuté vers 13 h. Derrière des barricades placardées de slogans, un campement d’une vingtaine de tentes a été aménagé, et les manifestants étaient encore nombreux debout à scander des slogans vers 18 h.
• Les étudiants comptent camper sur les lieux jusqu’à ce que leurs demandes soient entendues. « [McGill] nous a envoyé un courriel [samedi] matin pour tenter de nous intimider », a affirmé la représentante du SPHR de cette université, selon qui les étudiants demeurent néanmoins « inébranlables et engagés ».
• L’ancien porte-parole de Québec solidaire Amir Khadir s’est mêlé à la foule en milieu d’après-midi. « Je suis persuadé que Mélanie Joly et Justin Trudeau sont réellement préoccupés par ce qui arrive au peuple palestinien », a-t-il souligné, en dénonçant toutefois la « complicité » des gouvernements occidentaux avec Israël.
• Des agents du SPVM ont été déployés autour du campus « pour assurer la sécurité des gens et la circulation aux alentours », avait affirmé plus tôt Jean-Pierre Brabant, porte-parole du SPVM, selon qui McGill n’aurait pas demandé d’intervention policière.
• Le campement de protestation établi à McGill s’inscrit dans un mouvement plus vaste de manifestations pro-Palestine, qui a débuté à l’Université Columbia, à New York.

Un campement propalestinien installé à McGill (Radio-Canada)

• Si le mouvement a été lancé par des étudiants des universités McGill et Concordia, des étudiants de l’Université du Québec à Montréal (UQAM) et de l’Université Laval étaient aussi présents.
• En français comme en anglais, des inscriptions telles que Vous financez le génocide, Profs contre le génocide, À bas Justin le génocidaire ou Outremont pour la Palestine ont été aperçues au sein du campement.
• Selon la branche montréalaise du Mouvement de la jeunesse palestinienne, il s’agirait du premier campement étudiant propalestinien au Canada.
• Sur Instagram, l’organisation indique que le campement sera érigé pour une durée indéterminée et qu’elle ne laissera pas les universités être complices du génocide.

28 avril

Un campement étudiant propalestinien s’installe à l’université McGill (L'actualité)

• Plus de deux douzaines de tentes avaient été dressées sur le campus du centre-ville de l’école dimanche après-midi, avec un flux constant de visiteurs s’arrêtant pour déposer des dons et des fournitures.
• McGill a publié dimanche un communiqué affirmant que l’université était en pourparlers avec les avocats retenus par les manifestants et travaillait avec la police de Montréal pour préserver la sécurité du campus, soulignant que les manifestations avaient été pacifiques et se sont limitées au terrain inférieur.
• Le porte-parole du camp a déclaré que les étudiants montréalais ont été inspirés par les dizaines de manifestations propalestiniennes qui ont eu lieu sur les campus des États-Unis, dans le contexte de la guerre entre Israël et le Hamas. Les critiques affirment que les manifestations sont antisémites et laissent les étudiants juifs en danger.
• Dans une vidéo publiée sur les réseaux sociaux samedi soir, le député Anthony Housefather a appelé McGill à démanteler le campement, avec l’aide de la police si nécessaire. Il a déclaré que même si les gens ont le droit de manifester, les campements violent «à peu près tous les codes de conduite», y compris celui de McGill.
• L’organisation juive B’nai Brith Canada a, quant à elle, exhorté le public à écrire aux ministres provinciaux de l’Enseignement supérieur pour dénoncer ce qu’elle appelle «une horrible normalisation de l’antisémitisme sur les campus universitaires», y compris à McGill.

Une deuxième journée pour le campement propalestinien à McGill (Le Devoir)

• Au passage du Devoir sur les lieux, dimanche midi, des manifestants sortaient tout juste de leurs abris de fortune, la mine fatiguée. D’autres s’activaient déjà depuis un moment en transportant de la nourriture et en faisant sécher des matelas, après une nuit pluvieuse.
• Contactée par Le Devoir au sujet du campement sur son terrain, l’Université McGill a affirmé que le doyen à la vie étudiante et un représentant du Service de sécurité de l’établissement avaient demandé en vain aux protestataires de démonter leurs abris.
• En plus des citoyens venus livrer des provisions aux campeurs, certains professeurs étaient présents dimanche pour appuyer leurs étudiants qui manifestaient.

McGill protesters set up first anti-Israel encampment in Canada (National Post)

• The first anti-Israel encampment in Canada sprung up on McGill University’s campus on Saturday afternoon.
• The demonstrations are co-led by the Montreal chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement, the same group which praised the October 7 massacres committed by Hamas as “active decolonization of Palestinian land.” Another organizer, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR), called for the release of convicted terrorist Walid Daqqah and celebrated the Oct. 7 attacks as “resistance…with one goal: liberation.”
• In February, anti-Israel students at McGill singled out the Bronfman Building, named after a prominent Montreal Jewish philanthropist, blocking the entrance to the facilities, citing its alleged “long history of complicity in the occupation of Palestine.” Fellow Liberal Montreal MP Marc Miller denounced the “so-called ‘blockade,'” calling it “a despicable act.” “Legitimate protest doesn’t include this type of outrageous behaviour,” the Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship wrote.

Protesters at McGill encampment demand university divest from Israel (Global News)

• A woman who spoke to Global News on-site claimed to be the encampment’s spokesperson but refused to give her name said the demonstration is calling for the university to divest from all holdings that finance the Israeli military and are “complicit in the violence.”
• Documents on McGill’s website show that as of December 31, 2023, the institution holds investments in military technology companies including Lockheed Martin, a defence contractor that has sold fighter jets to Israel.
• Demonstrators present on Sunday told Global News they are committed to staying until the university commits to their demands. The encampment was set up on Saturday, with around 20 tents and multiple fences in place creating a barricade. Dozens of signs were present that read, “You are funding genocide,” “Free Gaza now” and describe the demonstration as standing in solidarity with the Palestinian cause and people in Gaza.
• Quebec’s Higher Education Minister Pascale Dery said in a statement on Sunday that she was “very concerned about the unauthorized encampment at McGill University,” adding that she was in close communication with the school.

'We're not going anywhere,' say pro-Palestinian protesters at McGill encampment (CBC)

• Students camping out on the McGill University campus in solidarity with Palestinians for a second day say they won't go anywhere until the university divests from funds with ties to weapons manufacturers, commercial banks, technology firms and other companies they say are "complicit in upholding the apartheid regime of Israel."
• Two student groups, McGill Hunger Strike for Palestine and Students for Justice in Palestine, released a database earlier this month listing 50 companies that the university invests in that the groups say have "links to the ongoing Palestinian genocide." Companies, banks and other organizations are included on the list for a variety of reasons, according to the database — such as investing in firms that provide weapons or technology to the Israeli military; operating in illegal settlements; investing in Israeli companies; or operating in Israel. In a statement, McGill University said it hires external fund managers to handle its investments and "does not invest directly in individual stocks or companies."
• Professors like Michelle Hartman, who teaches Islamic studies, and Roberta La Piana, who teaches neuroscience, came out to the encampments sporting keffiyehs and holding signs of their own.
• La Piana brought her children to the encampment, where a zone for kids to make crafts was set up. She said she and her kids made kites, in reference to Gazan poet Refaat Alareer's last poem before he was killed by an Israeli airstrike. Others at the encampment, including Jewish students, held Passover celebrations.

Pro-Palestinian protesters set up encampment at McGill (Globe and Mail)

• Pro-Palestinian protesters in Montreal have set up an encampment on the campus of McGill University to demand that the school divest from Israel-related funds.
• About 20 tents were erected behind the Roddick Gates, the main entrance to the university’s downtown campus, on Saturday as hundreds of protesters chanted “Free Palestine” and other slogans denouncing Israeli attacks in Gaza.
• Protesters said they intend to stay until McGill meets their demands to cut ties with Israeli universities and divest from corporations arming the Israeli military, among others.
• Margaret Levey, a McGill School of Continuing Studies lecturer who was protesting Saturday, said she was there “because I believe that McGill needs to listen to its students and divest from their holdings in enterprises and institutions that are complicit with the genocide happening in Gaza.”
• Lilah Woods, a member of Independent Jewish Voices, which opposes the war in Gaza, said she was protesting Saturday to denounce Israeli attacks and support “equality for everyone.”
• “It will continue to grow,” said Zeyad Abisaab, general co-ordinator for Concordia University’s Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights. “Everyone here knows why they’re here.” He said protesters will “remain steadfast” if the police move to dismantle the camp.
• In March, more than 1,200 McGill alumni, faculty and staff signed an open letter detailing divestment demands. They also asked McGill to cut all academic ties with the Israeli state, including universities, as well as removing from its curriculum “classes with ties to Israel.”

Students vow to 'stand their ground,' show solidarity with Palestinians at McGill encampment (CTV News)

• The lower field of McGill's campus, now named the "liberated zone" by demonstrators, is part of a growing movement.
• The encampment started with about 10 tents on Saturday — a number that tripled by Sunday afternoon.
• With a portable toilet, a partial metal gate and food supplies, the group says they're ready to stay put for as long as is it takes.

Pro-Palestinian encampment grows at Montreal’s McGill university (Toronto Star)

• More than two dozen tents had been pitched at the school’s downtown campus on Sunday afternoon, with a steady stream of visitors stopping by to drop off donations and supplies.
• While Montreal police could be seen parked on nearby streets and campus security were present, there were no signs of conflict at McGill on Sunday.
• Jewish organization B’nai Brith Canada, meanwhile, urged the public to write to provincial higher education ministers to denounce what it called “a horrifying normalization of antisemitism on university campuses,” including McGill.

29 avril

Protesters at McGill pro-Palestinian encampment are staying put despite warning for them to leave (CBC)

• Protesters at a pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University say they aren't going anywhere. Shortly before 4 p.m., Nicholas Thibert-Auclair, who works for McGill security, told the protesters they "have no right to be here" and would have to leave the area. Protesters were handed pamphlets telling them to disperse immediately with all their belongings. Thibert-Auclair returned to give a "final warning" and said the university would "consider other options" if protesters don't comply, including calling the police.
• University officials said earlier Monday that the number of tents at the encampment on McGill University's downtown Montreal campus had tripled since Saturday.
• In a statement published Monday, the university's media relations office said the situation with protesters on campus had "shifted significantly." "We have become aware that many of them, if not the majority, are not members of the McGill community," the statement reads.
• University officials also said they saw video evidence of "some people using unequivocally antisemitic language and intimidating behaviour" on campus. CBC News requested a copy of the video, but the university has not responded.
• Sasha Robson, a member of Independent Jewish Voices McGill who was at the encampment overnight Monday, told CBC News there were no reports of issues overnight.
• Zeca Eufemia, a McGill student and teaching assistant who was among those protesting, said the encampment had, indeed, tripled in size, as the university statement claimed. "We have had people coming in from the community," he said. "These allegations of antisemitism, I have been here since Saturday, I have not seen any of that."
• The protesters have published a list of investments they object to, which includes approximately $73 million of investments that McGill says it holds in a variety of companies, including Lockheed Martin, an aerospace company that manufactures weapons used by the Israeli military.

McGill University threatens police action to clear pro-Palestinian encampment (Globe and Mail)

• Universities across the country are dealing with growing pro-Palestinian protests as McGill threatened to call in police to dismantle an encampment and officials on campuses in Toronto, Ottawa and Vancouver warned their students to remain within the bounds of the law.
• On Monday, McGill University declared the pro-Palestinian encampment on its campus illegal and denounced alleged antisemitic behaviour among protesters, who remained peaceful over the weekend while the number of tents increased significantly.
• In a statement, McGill said the encampment, first erected Saturday with about 20 tents, violates the university’s policies and the law. It said it discussed “conditions in place to ensure safety as well as a timeline to remove the tents” with lawyers for McGill students but that students “did not bring any proposals or suggestions to further the dialogue.”
• Sasha Robson, a McGill student and protest organizer, said the university “will only negotiate on us leaving” and has “not engaged substantially in any negotiation about our actual demands.”
• The university said in its statement that there was “video evidence of some people using unequivocally antisemitic language and intimidating behaviour” on Sunday, which McGill said it condemns and will investigate. Asked about specifics, the university did not respond.
• Montreal police spokesperson Véronique Dubuc said the department is in communication with McGill but there have been no arrests or any incidents involving protesters thus far.
• Richard Janda, a McGill law professor who observed the protest on campus Monday, said he did not witness any antisemitic or violent behaviour.
• In a video posted on social media Monday by the StartUp Nation, a Concordia University student group advocating for Israel, protesters at McGill appear to be chanting “leave Palestinian land and go back to Europe” and “all the Zionists are racists, all the Zionists are terrorists.” The footage does not show what preceded the interaction.
• B’nai Brith, a human rights organization and “staunch defender of the State of Israel” described the McGill encampment and other similar movements as a “rising tide of antisemitism.”

'Please leave the site now,' McGill tells pro-Palestinian encampment, threatening to bring in police (Montreal Gazette)

• McGill president Deep Saini is urging students to leave a growing pro-Palestinian encampment on campus, saying the protest has escalated to a point where it is no longer safe and that “hateful rhetoric has been flagrantly used” on site.
• Yet Saini went further in denouncing the protest, which was peaceful throughout Monday, characterizing it as contrary to the university’s core values. “It is both appalling and heartbreaking to see individuals occupying our campus to use it as a platform for obvious antisemitism,” Saini wrote.
• Earlier Monday, students taking part in the encampment strongly rejected the claim their actions are antisemitic and insisted they aren’t leaving the site until the university meets their demands.
• “The accusation of antisemitism is an excuse that’s been used to undermine these pro-Palestinian efforts for the past six months, especially on student campuses,” a representative for Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill, one of the groups behind the encampment, said on Monday.
• The representative acknowledged the potential police presence at the site and insisted the students will not dismantle the encampment until their demands are met.
• Meanwhile, Radio-Canada reported that lawyer Neil Oberman would seek a temporary injunction against the encampment Tuesday in Montreal court. He said he represents two McGill students and the university would be named in the injunction as an interested party.
• By afternoon, several dozen tents had been pitched on the McGill campus and a tall metal fence was erected around them. Organizers said some 200 people had spent the previous night in the encampment. Reporters were not allowed inside the fenced-in area.
• Students who have been staying in the encampment since the weekend strongly contested university claims of antisemitic language and intimidating behaviour on site. They characterized the protest as interfaith and inclusive.
• The university said it was informed by the students’ legal representation that they intend to remain on campus indefinitely. “As a result, we have moved on to next steps governed by our operating procedures on demonstrations, protests and occupations, which include efforts to de-escalate before moving to steps that involve police assistance,” the university said. “Should the situation evolve further beyond the university’s protocols, we will have a duty to request police support in order to protect the health and safety of all on site,” it added.

McGill University says pro-Palestinian demonstrators 'refuse' to collaborate, encampment violates policies (CTV News)

• In a statement sent Monday afternoon, the Montreal university said discussions failed, it plans to "de-escalate before moving to steps that involve police assistance."
• CTV News spoke to a Jewish Israeli student on campus who did not want to be identified for safety reasons. She said she approached the encampment hoping to have a dialogue. "We were met with intimidation, we were told to go back to where we came from, we were told that we were terrorists, we were told that Zionists are racists. They did not welcome any conversation, they refused to speak to us," she said.
• CTV News has seen a video of an exchange where demonstrators chanted slogans that included, "Leave Palestine alone," "Go back to Europe," and "All Zionists are racist. All Zionists are terrorists."
• However, officials say the students, through their lawyers, "refused to carry on these discussions and did not bring any proposals or suggestions to further the dialogue. They have instead indicated that they intend to remain on campus indefinitely."
• Encampment members are demanding the school divest from Israeli companies it says are "complicit in the occupation of Palestine." They also want the school to cut academic ties with Israeli institutions and denounce Israel's offensive in Gaza

A look at where McGill's money goes — and why protesters say it's a problem (CBC)

• The encampment protest on McGill University's downtown Montreal campus is part of a growing movement to get academic institutions around the world to divest from companies with ties to Israel.
• Earlier this month, two student groups — McGill Hunger Strike for Palestine and Students for Justice in Palestine — released a list of 50 companies the university invests in. The groups say those companies have "links to the ongoing Palestinian genocide." The list is based on information publicly available on McGill's website.
• As of late December 2023, McGill's investments in those companies totalled at least $73 million. Other investment totals aren't disclosed because they're lower than $500,000. The most recent estimates show that McGill's endowment fund is worth about $1.8 billion.
• Some of McGill's investments that have drawn the ire of students and others for years, well before the latest Israel-Hamas war, include Lockheed Martin, a weapons manufacturer with direct ties to the Israel Defence Forces (IDF) and Safran, a French air defence company.
• According to the company's website, Lockheed Martin has "strengthened the IDF's ground forces" and "supplied the Israel Air Force with fifth-generation fighter jets" with 50 aircraft that were projected to be delivered by 2024.
• Other companies were included on the list for various reasons such as operating in settlements considered illegal under international law, investing in Israeli companies or operating in Israel.

Une injonction provisoire contre le campement propalestinien à McGill déposée mardi (Radio-Canada)

• Une injonction provisoire contre le campement de McGill sera déposée mardi à 14 h au palais de justice de Montréal. L'objectif est que la cour ordonne le démantèlement du campement. L'avocat au dossier, Neil Oberman, a confirmé l'information. L’injonction visera diverses personnes qui manifestent actuellement sur le campus, selon l’avocat à l'origine de la démarche. Me Oberman affirme représenter deux étudiants dans cette injonction. Il n'a pas dévoilé leur identité, qui sera connue une fois l'injonction déposée. L'Université McGill sera nommée comme partie intéressée.
• Le chef du Nouveau Parti démocratique, Jagmeet Singh, croit aussi que le droit de manifester doit être préservé, mais admet avoir des inquiétudes qu'il y a une menace pour les étudiants juifs, notamment au regard de propos antisémites qui auraient été tenus.

Les protestataires propalestiniens campés à McGill «ne comptent pas partir» (Le Devoir)

• La tension a monté d’un cran lundi aux environs du campement en soutien à la Palestine érigé sur le terrain de l’Université McGill, qui n’a cessé de prendre de l’ampleur depuis samedi. Son démantèlement par les forces policières est maintenant appréhendé, mais une telle action contre une manifestation pacifique irait à l’encontre du principe de la liberté universitaire, de l’avis de professeurs rencontrés sur place par Le Devoir.
• Situé près de la rue Sherbrooke, le campement compte actuellement plus de 80 tentes, soit trois fois plus qu’au début de cette mobilisation, samedi.
• Joint par Le Devoir, le Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) a confirmé lundi n’avoir procédé à « aucune arrestation » dans le cadre de cette mobilisation, qui n’avait donné lieu à « aucun débordement ».
• En fin d’avant-midi, cependant, l’inquiétude commençait à se lire sur le visage de plusieurs manifestants. Appréhendant une intervention policière, ils ont bloqué l’entrée du campement avec des planches, puisque l’Université McGill a fait part de son souhait de voir leurs tentes démantelées. « On va retirer nos tentes quand vous allez remplir nos demandes » et cesser d’être « complices » dans le financement du « génocide à Gaza », a lancé Ezra Rosen, étudiant à l’Université Concordia et membre de l’organisme Voix juives indépendantes, rencontré tout près du campement.
• « Chaque fois que l’Université McGill soulève la question — soit de façon ambiguë ou indirectement — de l’antisémitisme, elle n’est pas capable de prouver quoi que ce soit », a répliqué lundi la professeure d’histoire islamique Rula Jurdi Abisaab, venue soutenir les étudiants mobilisés sur le terrain de l’établissement. Elle a pressé l’établissement de rendre publiques les vidéos en question.

La tension monte à McGill (La Presse)

• Les protestataires, dont des étudiants juifs et arabes de McGill et de Concordia, réclament de leurs administrations qu’elles coupent tout lien – académique ou financier – avec Israël. Une revendication qui s’inscrit dans une vague de manifestations similaires à travers les campus américains.
• Vers 21 h, le Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) ne rapportait aucun débordement en lien avec la manifestation, mais il confirmait avoir eu une « demande d’assistance » de la part de l’université.
• Vers 21 h, le Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) ne rapportait aucun débordement en lien avec la manifestation, mais il confirmait avoir eu une « demande d’assistance » de la part de l’université.

Au campement pro-Gaza de McGill, les étudiants sont « prêts à toute éventualité » (Radio-Canada)

• Il s’agit principalement d’étudiants de l’Université McGill, mais aussi de Concordia, de l’Université du Québec à Montréal et de l’Université de Montréal, dont des membres du groupe Voix juives indépendantes.
• Des dizaines d’enseignants sont aussi présents sur les lieux, de jour comme de nuit, en signe de solidarité avec les étudiants.
• Le groupe dénonce notamment un investissement de l'Université McGill dans le fabricant d'armes américain Lockheed Martin. Selon les données publiques de l’université, la valeur de cet investissement a été de près de 520 000 $ en 2023.
• Jonathan Sterne soutient lui aussi n’avoir vu ou entendu aucun geste ou propos antisémite dans le campement. Ce professeur en communication de confession juive enseigne à l’Université McGill depuis bientôt 20 ans et affirme soutenir les étudiants propalestiniens à 100 %.
• «L’antisémitisme est devenue une arme entre les mains des groupes sionistes pour nous interdire de critiquer Israël.» Une citation de Jonathan Sterne, professeur à McGill de confession juive
• Norma Rantissi enseigne quant à elle la géographie à l’Université Concordia. D’origine palestinienne, elle a des proches qui résident encore en Cisjordanie, un territoire occupé par Israël depuis 1967. «C’est un mouvement très pacifique qui s’inspire largement du mouvement antiapartheid qui a eu lieu en Afrique du Sud, assure-t-elle, un keffieh autour du cou. Nous organisons des cours, des projections de films, ainsi que des débats et des discussions avec les étudiants.»

Campement à McGill : les étudiant·es tiennent tête à leurs universités pour le boycott d’Israël (Pivot)

• Une vingtaine de tentes étaient déjà installées samedi en fin de journée. Lundi, ce nombre avait déjà triplé. Des professeur·es, ainsi que des étudiant·es de l’UQAM et de l’Université de Montréal étaient également présentes. Plusieurs activités ont eu lieu, notamment des célébrations de la fête juive de Pessa’h, des visionnements de films palestiniens ainsi que des séminaires.
• À Montréal, les étudiant·es affirment qu’ils et elles resteront sur le campus de l’Université McGill jusqu’à ce que leurs demandes soient satisfaites. En plus de rompre leurs liens académiques et financiers avec Israël, les étudiant·es demandent également à leurs universités de condamner publiquement le génocide à Gaza et de faire pression sur le gouvernement canadien pour qu’il mette fin à ses liens militaires avec Israël.
• Comparativement à leurs homologues francophones à Montréal, les universités Concordia et McGill entretiennent actuellement des liens importants avec des compagnies et des universités israéliennes.
• Les étudiant.es reprochent à McGill d’investir plus de 70 millions $ dans des compagnies qui endossent ou contribuent à l’apartheid en Israël. Du lot, McGill investit plus de 5,5 millions $ dans des compagnies d’armes et de technologies militaires qui ont des contrats avec l’armée israélienne, comme Lockheed Martin, Thales, Safran, Dassault et Airbus, selon les calculs de Pivot.
• L’Université Concordia ne divulgue pas publiquement ses investissements et leur valeur n’est pas connue. Toutefois, elle entretient des liens académiques et des partenariats avec des universités en Israël, ainsi qu’avec des donateurs sionistes, notamment la Fondation Azrieli, qui est à l’origine de l’Institut Azrieli d’étude israélienne de l’Université Concordia.
• Depuis plusieurs années, des étudiant·es des universités McGill et Concordia font pression sur leurs administrateurs afin qu’ils mettent en œuvre une politique de boycott, désinvestissement et sanctions (BDS) envers Israël.
• Par l’entremise d’un courriel envoyé tôt samedi matin, avant l’installation de la première tente, l’administration de McGill se disait inquiète de publications sur les réseaux sociaux encourageant les étudiant·es à établir des campements sur le campus.
• « Les camps ne sont pas permis sur notre campus », peut-on lire dans le courriel signé par le doyen adjoint de l’université, Fabrice Labeau. Il invoque entre autres le Code de conduite de l’étudiant, indiquant qu’une autorisation est nécessaire afin d’installer des tentes sur le campus.
• « La répression policière, c’est quelque chose que nous anticipons toujours », souligne toutefois Ali. Il rappelle que l’administration avait demandé à la police d’intervenir sur le campus en février dernier, alors que des étudiant·es bloquaient l’accès au bâtiment Bronfman où se trouve la faculté de gestion Desautels, afin de dénoncer les liens de celle-ci avec Israël. Les étudiant·es avaient dénombré la présence d’une trentaine de policiers et d’une vingtaine de véhicules, incluant des fourgons d’arrestation.
• En 1969, des étudiant.es noir·es et caribéen·nes avaient occupé un laboratoire informatique afin de dénoncer l’inaction de l’administration face à plusieurs accusations de racisme au sein de l’université. Cette dernière avait fait appel à l’escouade anti-émeute du SPVM afin de mettre fin à l’action. L’année dernière, Concordia s’est excusée publiquement pour son mauvais traitement des manifestant·es. Sur son site Web, l’université décrit positivement l’action comme un « moment décisif » de son histoire.

Les militants du campement propalestinien à McGill n’ont pas l’intention de partir (L'actualité)

• Des dizaines de tentes étaient dressées lundi sur la pelouse du campus du centre-ville, derrière une clôture métallique ornée de drapeaux palestiniens et d’affiches. Des caisses d’eau en bouteille et un petit générateur étaient visibles derrière la clôture, tandis que des manifestants masqués à l’entrée accueillaient les sympathisants venus déposer des dons, notamment des piles, des vêtements et des médicaments.
• «Les étudiants ont réitéré leur intention de poursuivre le campement indéfiniment, jusqu’à ce que McGill et Concordia se désinvestissent de toutes les entreprises qui profitent du génocide et cessent d’être complices de l’apartheid israélien», peut-on lire dans une déclaration conjointe publiée lundi par les coorganisateurs: Solidarité pour les droits humains palestiniens McGill, Solidarité pour les droits humains palestiniens Concordia, Voix juives indépendantes McGill et Voix juives indépendantes Concordia.
• Sa collègue libérale Selma Zahid croit quant à elle que ce que ces étudiants ont vu depuis six mois dans la bande de Gaza a été très difficile pour eux. «J’ai aussi de jeunes enfants, mes enfants ont également 25 et 23 ans, et tout ce qu’ils ont vu n’est pas bon pour leur santé mentale. «À cet âge-là, je n’ai jamais été exposée à des choses comme ça. Mais je suis également très inquiète pour la santé mentale de mes propres enfants et pour la santé mentale de tous les jeunes Canadiens.»
• Le chef néo-démocrate, Jagmeet Singh, a défendu lui aussi la liberté de manifester. «En même temps, on a des inquiétudes qu’il y a une menace pour les étudiants juifs, a-t-il dit aux journalistes. Ils méritent aussi d’avoir un milieu d’études, un milieu universitaire qui est sécuritaire (…) Il y a des menaces, des propos haineux et antisémites.»

30 avril

Une action judiciaire pour limiter les manifestations sur le campus de McGill (Le Devoir)

• Deux étudiants de l’Université McGill se sont présentés devant la Cour supérieure à Montréal, mardi après-midi, afin de demander une injonction temporaire interdisant à cinq groupes pro-palestiniens et à tous leurs membres de manifester à moins de 100 mètres des édifices universitaires. Une action judiciaire qui n’a pas empêché un campement visant à dénoncer la violence des attaques de l’armée israélienne dans la bande de Gaza de poursuivre ses activités, sous une pluie battante.
• La demande ne vise pas directement le démantèlement du campement, mais compte tenu de l’espace vert restreint où il est actuellement installé, une interdiction d’être à moins de 100 mètres des bâtiments pourrait avoir cet effet. Il est aussi requis de ces divers groupes — tels que Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights Concordia et Montréal4Palestine — de ne pas menacer les personnes se trouvant sur le campus et de ne pas créer un environnement hostile qui ferait en sorte que les étudiants de McGill ne se sentiraient pas en sécurité en allant à leurs cours.
• Les allégations appuyant la demande d’injonction font état d’un climat hostile sur le campus universitaire caractérisé par des chants et des slogans tels que « Longue vie à l’intifada » et « Les sionistes sont racistes ». De nombreuses vidéos des manifestations ont été déposées en preuve.
• « Moi, je suis une personne juive, et une des particularités de cette injonction-là, c’est qu’ils ont vraiment mis seulement l’accent sur les personnes palestiniennes », a déploré mardi Ari Nahman, une étudiante juive de l’Université Concordia rencontrée devant ce campement appelant à la « libération de la Palestine ». Pourtant, l’organisme Voix juives indépendantes, dont elle est membre, compte parmi les organisateurs de la démarche, relève-t-elle. Les étudiants juifs sont d’ailleurs nombreux à occuper des tentes dans ce campement, a-t-elle souligné.
• L’Université McGill a pour sa part envoyé au Devoir une vidéo sur laquelle elle « enquête », où l’on peut voir des manifestants affirmer que « tous les sionistes sont des racistes » et des « terroristes ». Il est toutefois difficile de déterminer si cette vidéo a été filmée dans le contexte de ce campement. « Cet incident-là n’était pas avec des personnes du camp ; c’étaient des personnes aux alentours qui prenaient part à une manifestation », réplique Ari Nahman.
• L’établissement universitaire a d’ailleurs demandé mardi l’intervention du Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) pour démanteler le campement sur son site, qui a pris de l’ampleur depuis samedi.
• « Hier [lundi], en fin d’après-midi, constatant l’absence d’une résolution, la direction de l’université a pris la décision d’entreprendre la dernière étape inscrite à son protocole, et a demandé l’intervention des forces policières », indique un courriel acheminé par McGill aux médias mardi.
• En fin d’après-midi, aucun policier n’était présent sur le terrain où a été installé le campement, près de la rue Sherbrooke. Mais une possible intervention policière continuait de préoccuper des professeurs de l’Université McGill, qui ont été nombreux dans les derniers jours à afficher leur soutien à cette mobilisation pacifique.

Campement propalestinien à McGill : la Cour supérieure rejette la demande d’injonction (Radio-Canada)

• La Cour supérieure a rejeté mercredi la demande d’injonction déposée par deux étudiants de l'Université McGill, à Montréal, visant à limiter les manifestations propalestiniennes sur le campus et à forcer le démantèlement du campement en place depuis samedi en solidarité avec Gaza.
• L'intervention des tribunaux est parfois susceptible d'être un remède pire que le mal auquel on cherche à remédier, indique la juge Chantal Masse dans son jugement. À ce stade-ci et à la lumière de la preuve au dossier actuellement, [...] il n'y a pas lieu pour l'instant d'intervenir en accordant les conclusions recherchées.
• Les organisateurs du campement, qui regroupe plus de 50 tentes et des dizaines d’étudiants de différentes universités montréalaises, dont de nombreuses personnes de culture arabe ou de confession juive, se disent déterminés à rester sur le campus jusqu’à ce que leurs demandes soient entendues. Ils appellent leurs établissements à couper tout lien financier et scolaire avec Israël.
• Les demandeurs souhaitaient aussi que le tribunal autorise tout agent de la paix à arrêter et à expulser toute personne contrevenant aux ordres.
• Dans sa décision, la juge Masse estime que les craintes exprimées par les demandeurs ne sont pas entièrement objectives. «Plusieurs situations décrites relèvent d'un amalgame de faits isolés ou même peu liés avec la situation actuelle qui prévaut sur le campus.»
• La Cour invite enfin «les manifestants à revoir les mots utilisés lors des manifestations et à se dispenser d'utiliser ceux susceptibles d'être perçus, à tort ou à raison, comme des appels à la violence ou comme des propos antisémites.»
• Mardi, la direction de McGill a fait appel au Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) pour démanteler le campement, accusant les étudiants propalestiniens d’avoir tenu des propos antisémites, mais sans donner plus de précisions sur ces allégations.
• M. Saini «s’engage à tenir un forum» avec les étudiants de McGill qui quittent définitivement le camp pour discuter de leurs demandes «de manière pacifique, respectueuse et civilisée.»
• Contacté par Radio-Canada, le SPVM affirme de son côté qu’aucun incident n’a eu lieu sur le site du campement, tout en réitérant qu’il espère un dénouement pacifique de la crise.
• Un relationniste de la police montréalaise indique que les manifestants ne commettent aucune infraction criminelle en campant sur le campus, qui est «un terrain privé ouvert au public».

La demande d’injonction rejetée par la Cour supérieure (La Presse)

• Les demandeurs n’ayant pas subi eux-mêmes de harcèlement ou de menaces, leurs craintes sont « en grande partie subjectives », reposant sur des « évènements isolés ».
• Elle a tout de même invité les manifestants « à mieux choisir leurs mots ». « Sans renoncer à leur message antiguerre », ils devraient « se dispenser d’utiliser ceux susceptibles d’être perçus, à tort ou à raison, comme des appels à la violence ou comme des propos antisémites ».
• L’université a lancé un dernier avertissement aux manifestants en début d’après-midi. « Le campement doit être démantelé rapidement, et ce n’est pas négociable », a prévenu le président et vice-chancelier, Deep Saini.
• L’administration estime qu’une centaine de tentes sont désormais dressées sur son terrain, cinq fois plus qu’au début de la mobilisation.
• Mercredi soir, l’escouade antiémeute du SPVM s’est approchée du portail Roddick, rue Sherbrooke, sans toutefois pénétrer dans le campus de l’université. Les policiers étaient aux alentours en raison de la manifestation anticapitaliste de la Convergence des luttes anticapitalistes (CLAC), qui avait aussi lieu au centre-ville.

« Nous resterons quoi qu’il arrive » (La Presse)

• Selon l’université, les campeurs n’ont formulé aucune proposition visant « à faire avancer le dialogue ».
• Sans condamner directement les campements et les rassemblements sur les campus universitaires, le premier ministre Justin Trudeau a insisté sur le fait que ces endroits devaient demeurer des endroits sûrs pour tous. « Les universités, c’est des endroits d’apprentissage, des endroits de liberté d’expression, de liberté de pensée », a-t-il déclaré lors d’une brève mêlée de presse avant la période des questions. « Mais ça fonctionne seulement si les jeunes se sentent en sécurité sur les campus, a-t-il enchaîné. Or, trop de jeunes Canadiens de confession juive ne se sentent pas en sécurité sur leur campus, et ça, ça doit changer. »

Le campement pro-Palestine à McGill est «illégal», disent Déry et Bonnardel (Le Devoir)

• S’appuyant sur l’avis de l’Université McGill, les ministres François Bonnardel et Pascale Déry ont affirmé mardi que le campement pro-Palestine installé sur le campus montréalais était « illégal ».
• « Les gens ont le droit de manifester, les gens ont le droit de s’exprimer. Maintenant, le campement est illégal sur le terrain de l’Université McGill. C’est ce que McGill nous dit. Ce sont les règles de l’Université McGill », a lancé le ministre de la Sécurité publique, François Bonnardel. « Pour moi, pour nous au gouvernement, ce campement n’a pas sa place sur le campus de l’Université McGill », a-t-il statué.
• Une demande d’injonction temporaire à ce sujet a été déposée par deux étudiants mardi et plaidée le jour même.
• M. Blanchet estime que les organisateurs du campement à McGill « devraient accepter de se retirer de façon paisible » après les demandes répétées de l’Université de quitter les lieux.

Student protesters at McGill encampment determined to stay after judge rejects injunction (CBC)

• The group has been on campus since Saturday, beginning with about 20 tents scattered on the front lawn near the Roddick Gates on Sherbrooke Street and growing to an area of about 4,000 square metres by Wednesday evening.
• Nahman, a member of Independent Jewish Voices, said the group is mostly made up of students from McGill and Concordia but that members of other universities, such as UQAM and Université de Montréal, had joined. They said the encampment had created an organizational structure to keep people safe, including a code of conduct, and held a general assembly meeting every morning. "We discuss points about what's happening in Gaza, how the Palestinians feel, especially in the camp. And with the whole antisemitism claim, we had a moment for: How are the Jews feeling in the camp? We're valuing the voices that are concerned," they said.
• Nahman pointed out that the group had received approval and support from the Kanien'kehá:ka Nation at Kahnawà:ke, the traditional seat of government for the community south of Montreal. A statement from the nation was posted on a sign outside the camp saying, "We are happy to see that students within universities and colleges are occupying their campuses in solidarity with the massacred Palestinian children, women and men."
• CBC News has not independently verified the video's source, nor if the people in the video are part of the encampment. The video is one of 27 included in the injunction request on behalf of the two McGill students. Members of the encampment have said the people pictured in the video are not part of their group.

Pro-Palestinian encampment says McGill's proposal isn't 'a serious offer' (Montreal Gazette)

• The statement from the university Wednesday afternoon came around two hours after a judge rejected an injunction request that would have led to an order for the camp to be dismantled.
• In an email to students and staff, school president Deep Saini maintained it is “non-negotiable” that the encampment, now in its fifth day, must be dismantled.
• The exterior portion of the encampment, outside the fenced-in tents where people have been sleeping, had grown from Tuesday to Wednesday. Protesters had installed wooden pallets over the muddy lawn and erected several sun shelters, extending the protest’s presence on campus.
• Students began setting up the encampment on Saturday, on the lower part of McGill’s downtown campus. It has steadily grown and on Wednesday counted roughly 80 tents in addition to the canopies and tarps surrounding it. Organizers wouldn’t say how many people are staying at the camp each night.
• Daniel Schwartz, an assistant professor in McGill’s department of languages, literatures and cultures, echoed the sentiment. “As a Jewish professor, I take all accusations of antisemitism really seriously,” Schwartz said from the encampment. “But I find what McGill has issued as their statements and accusations of antisemitism borderline offensive.”
• For most of the day Wednesday, there was no visible police presence at the camp, except for a single car parked across the street. However, shortly before 8:20 p.m., several police vehicles were parked outside McGill’s Roddick Gates, including two minibuses of officers in riot gear. As protesters noticed the police, the drums and chants in front of the camp stopped, except for a brief chant of “why are you in riot gear, there is no violence here.” Around 8:45 p.m., the police — who appear to have been in the area due to a nearby May Day protest — left without approaching the camp.

Quebec court won't order removal of McGill anti-Israel protest encampment (National Post)

• On Tuesday, two students asked Justice Chantal Masse to issue an order to force the protesters to remain 100 metres from McGill buildings — effectively ending the now-entrenched protest encampment on school grounds. Masse denied the request, noting that the lawyers who had opposed it argued it was “abusive and sought to silence all discussion that doesn’t fit within a frame that is pro-Israeli” and that the safety fears expressed by the two students were “relating more to subjective fears and discomfort than to precise and serious fears for their security.”
• “The court is of the opinion that the balance of inconveniences leans more toward the protesters, whose freedom of expression and to gather peacefully would be affected significantly,” Masse wrote in her 10-page decision.
• At McGill, protesters have huddled under tarps and in tents as rain and chilly spring weather have socked in Montreal. Pallets have been placed on the muddy lawn to provide walkways between the 75 or so tents.

McGill asks police for help as pro-Palestinian protesters dig in on 4th day of encampment (CBC)

• On Sunday, the university said it was investigating a video published on social media that included what it said were antisemitic remarks. Tuesday, McGill shared the video with CBC News. The video lists McGill University as its location and includes protesters chanting "all the Zionists are racist, all the Zionists are the terrorists," as well as "go back to Europe." The video provided to CBC News contains the text "20 Jihadists against one Jewish Israeli student being told to go back to Europe." CBC News has not independently verified the video's source, nor if the people in the video are part of the encampment. The video is one of 27 included in the injunction request on behalf of the two McGill students.
• Some of those camping out overnight spread soil to absorb rain, dug trenches and scooped water with plastic pitchers. Others handed out yellow ponchos and umbrellas to protesters supporting them outside the gates. Dozens of people arrived to set up tarps and bring supplies including rain boots and food to the encampment.
• Mara Thompson, an undergraduate student at McGill and a member of Independent Jewish Voices who has been sleeping at the encampment since Saturday, said the camp had established a strict code of conduct for participating protesters with rules banning hateful speech and discrimination. "We take this very seriously and make sure not to perpetuate antisemitism and Islamophobia," said Thompson, who is Jewish.
• On Tuesday morning, a Montreal police spokesperson said "no crime is being committed" at the encampment and the situation is a civil matter. The spokesperson said officers will continue to monitor the demonstration and are ready to enforce a court injunction if it is granted.

A look at the divestment demands by McGill University protesters (CTV News)

• Groups called McGill Hunger Strike for Palestine and Students for Justice in Palestine have put out a list of companies they want the university to sell its holdings in. These include international weapons manufacturers Lockheed Martin, BAE Systems, Thales SA and Safran SA, which they say have either supplied Israeli forces or have profited from the war.
• The list also includes companies that they say provide other supplies such as communications equipment and fuel to the Israeli military, and companies that have operations in occupied territory.
• It also includes several big Canadian banks, targeted because of their apparent holdings in weapons manufacturers; Canadian grocers that sell Israeli products; and companies that have expanded into the country, or plan to, including Shake Shack, Open Text Corp. and Johnson & Johnson.
• The school also said two members of McGill's senior management team met with a group of students who support Palestine on April 12. It says the staff listened to the students, and informed the group they could raise concerns about divestment through the university's established processes. It says, so far, the committee that reviews these matters at McGill has received no expression of concern on this topic.
• Its disclosed investments include about $1.6 million in Safran, $1.3 million in Thales, $1.1 million in BAE Systems and $520,000 in Lockheed Martin Corp.
• More recently in December, after years of student campaigning, McGill committed to divest from fossil fuels. The university says it will sell off any holdings it has in the world's 100 biggest coal and 100 biggest oil and gas public companies by 2025.

1er mai

Ceci n’est pas un camp terroriste (La Presse)

• McGill soutient avoir visionné des vidéos comportant « des propos manifestement antisémites ». C’est possible – et totalement condamnable, si tel est le cas. Mais ce n’est pas davantage ce qu’a observé Scott Weinstein, un juif montréalais qui passe ses journées entières au campement, depuis samedi, pour soutenir les manifestants. « Il n’y a pas de menaces pour les juifs, assure-t-il, pas de menaces pour les étudiants. »

2 mai

« On ne va pas les laisser nous déranger » (La Presse)

• Des dizaines de policiers à cheval et à vélo tenaient à distance les deux camps, qui scandaient leurs slogans dans une cacophonie ambiante.
• Elle faisait allusion à la centaine de manifestants pro-israéliens, plantés sur le trottoir devant l’Université McGill. Derrière eux, un écran géant projetait en boucle un documentaire sur l’attaque du 7 octobre du Hamas.
• Quelques heures plus tôt, le premier ministre François Legault avait effectivement demandé au Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) de déloger les manifestants qui campent sur le terrain de l’université depuis près d’une semaine. « Le campement est « illégal » dans la mesure où il est installé sur les terrains de l’université sans autorisation, a-t-il plaidé à la sortie de la période des questions à l’Assemblée nationale. »
• « Je vais laisser quand même les policiers décider comment et quand ils font ça. Mais les campements doivent être démantelés », a-t-il dit.
• Appelée à réagir, la mairesse de Montréal, Valérie Plante, ne semblait pas partager la même vision. « La priorité de notre administration et du SPVM en ce moment, c’est de protéger les droits fondamentaux de notre société, d’assurer la sécurité de tous et d’éviter une escalade de tension comme on observe aux États-Unis », a-t-elle déclaré.
• De nouvelles barricades ont été installées autour du campement propalestinien devant la menace d’un démantèlement imminent. Palettes de bois, tables de pique-nique : le campement a été considérablement fortifié depuis la veille, a constaté La Presse.

Legault demande le démantèlement du campement de McGill et essuie des critiques (Le Devoir)

• Le premier ministre du Québec, François Legault, a essuyé une pluie de critiques, jeudi, après avoir réclamé le démantèlement du campement pro-Palestine présent depuis samedi sur le terrain de l’Université McGill, où des dizaines de policiers avaient été déployés pour éviter un affrontement avec des manifestants pro-Israël.
• Des dizaines de policiers à vélo et à cheval ont d’ailleurs été déployés préventivement une partie de la journée, en face ainsi que sur le terrain de l’Université McGill, au centre-ville de Montréal, avant de quitter les lieux tranquillement vers 15 h 30. Cette présence policière visait à encadrer une manifestation entamée en début d’après-midi par des groupes juifs des universités McGill et Concordia opposés à la présence d’un campement sur le terrain de l’Université.
• En prévision de cette mobilisation, quelques centaines de personnes s’étaient réunies dès 11 h 30 pour appeler à la fin de la violence dans la bande de Gaza et presser l’Université McGill de couper ses liens financiers et de recherche avec Israël, tout en brandissant des drapeaux de la Palestine.
• « Lorsque nous avons commencé ce campement, nous avons eu tellement de couverture médiatique que beaucoup de gens, beaucoup d’universités sont entrés en contact avec nous et ont essayé d’en créer un », relève Ali Salman, l’un des organisateurs du campement montréalais. « C’est incroyable de voir ça. »

François Legault demande à la police de démanteler le campement à McGill (Radio-Canada)

• Sur le terrain, tant la manifestation que la contre-manifestation se sont déroulées pour l'essentiel entre midi et 15 h. Les manifestants propalestiniens sont demeurés installés dans leur campement sur le terrain de l'Université McGill. En face du campus, de l'autre côté de la rue Sherbrooke Ouest, des contre-manifestants pro-israéliens s'étaient regroupés, certains vêtus de gilets pare-balles.
• Sur un écran installé en face du campus de l'Université, des images de l'attaque du Hamas le 7 octobre dernier ont été projetées par moments.
• De plus, une cinquantaine de Juifs propalestiniens ont formé une ligne en face des manifestants pro-israéliens. Parmi eux, un membre du groupe Voix juives indépendantes a dit vouloir protéger le campement.
• Map des manifs: McGill premier

Mêmes buts, traitements différents pour les campements pro-Palestine en Amérique (Le Devoir)

• Map des manifs: McGill premier

On Day 6 of McGill encampment, pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel protesters face off (CBC)

• A pro-Israel demonstration was organized in response to the encampment Thursday. Those protesters stood outside McGill's Roddick Gates, which were blocked by Montreal police on bicycles and horseback. The demonstrators arrived at around 12:30 p.m. and waved Israeli flags and held signs saying "Release the hostages," and "Bring them home now." They played music in Hebrew and set up a large screen in front of the campus, where they played interviews from women who said they had experienced sexual violence at the hands of Hamas on Oct. 7.
• The pro-Israel demonstration of several hundred people wrapped up shortly after 3 p.m., after which Sherbrooke Street reopened to traffic. Montreal police later said there were no injuries, arrests or tickets issued during the demonstrations.
• On several occasions in recent days, Montreal police have described the encampment protest as peaceful. However, McGill has said it is investigating a video that it says shows "unequivocally antisemitic" behaviour.
• Québec Solidaire MNA Haroun Bouazzi attended the pro-Palestinian protest Thursday, saying he wanted to see what the encampment was like for himself. Bouazzi said Legault's statement negated people's right to peaceful protest. "It's very sad that he didn't say anything about the investments that are part of the genocidal industry that is going on," Bouazzi said.

Pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill is illegal, Legault says (Montreal Gazette)

• At one point mid-afternoon, there were perhaps 400 pro-Palestinian supporters on the campus and maybe 100 in the pro-Israel group.
• Montreal police reported that there were no incidents, arrests or injuries related to the day’s events.
• Québec solidaire MNA Haroun Bouazzi, who represents Maurice-Richard riding in the island’s north end, said he was at the protest to support the students demanding the university divest from investments in such companies as Lockheed Martin, whose planes are being used to bomb Gaza.

‘Greater than an encampment’: Why Gaza student protests strike a chord (Al Jazeera)

• Just hours after the Montreal camp was established, federal lawmaker Anthony Housefather, one of the most pro-Israel voices in the Canadian parliament, urged the university administration to disperse the protest. “I call upon the McGill administration in public, as I have in private, to make sure that this encampment is removed, according to their own rules, given that we need to make sure that other students feel safe accessing campus,” Housefather said in a video posted on social media.
• Students have also denied allegations made by the university earlier this week that people at the protest used “antisemitic language” and displayed “intimidating behaviour”. “We understand the importance of having student support on campus, which is why we chose this location. It’s in a place that has no classes. There [are] no library entrances. It’s not in the way of any walkways or anything,” said Farrah, the 21-year-old McGill student.

Counter-protesters face off with pro-Palestinian encampment group at McGill University (CTV News)

• The Montreal fire department (SIM) also inspected the encampment and concluded that it was safe.

3 mai

As mood mellows at McGill encampment, protesters dig in for the weekend (Montreal Gazette)

• The encampment on the McGill grounds was in its seventh day Friday. On a small stage in front of the encampment set up with a microphone and speakers, several professors from both McGill and Concordia, along with local artists, spoke, read poems and performed music in support of the protesters. About 100 people attended.
• Late Friday afternoon, dozens of people continued to gather outside the camp, as some listened to lectures on Palestinian history, others sat on benches or the grass as the temperature reached the high teens and the sun shone after a largely wet, chilly week.
• The McGill encampment, which has about 100 tents, is surrounded by a makeshift enclosure covered with banners with such slogans such “UQAM pour la Palestine” and “You are Funding Genocide.”
• “We are not blocking anyone from going in and out of the university,” Salman said. “There is nothing hostile being done. We even have a kids’ play zone from 4 to 6 (p.m.) for parents to bring their kids to play — if only the weather would cooperate.
• Friday morning’s calm followed tense hours on Thursday during which pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel supporters held competing demonstrations in front the encampment, separated by a line of uniformed police on foot and horseback. There were no clashes between the groups and by 4 p.m. most of the demonstrators had left.

McGill encampment supporters reflect on the ups and downs of a week in protest (CBC)

• Days earlier, Nahman had pointed out the dark circles around their eyes when asked by a CBC News reporter about the intermittent rain, lighting and thunder that punctuated several of the camp's days and nights.
• Protesters on the pro-Israel side said their joy was about creating visibility for the Jewish community as pro-Palestinian encampments dominated this week's news cycle. "We're not going to let one side take control of the narrative. The ultimate thing is that we're just here in peace," said Avishai Infeld, a former McGill student who helped organize the pro-Israel demonstration with Hillel Montreal. Though several people at the protest called for the encampment to be dismantled, Infeld said that wasn't his organization's goal.

De nouveaux manifestants offrent leur soutien (La Presse)

• Samedi, vers 22 h, une centaine de personnes étaient assises sur la pelouse près du Redpath Hall. Devant eux, le film La bataille d’Alger était projeté sur un grand écran noir, installé à quelques mètres du campement.

Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled (CTV News)

• Also on Friday morning, the Fédération québécoise des professeures et professeurs d'université (FQPPU) issued a statement saying it was "concerned by the premier's recent comments."
• "University campuses have always been places where ideas clash, sometimes vigorously," said FQPPU president professor Madeleine Pastinelli. "In a free and democratic society, it is not up to the political authorities to give orders to the police on operational matters," and "for the premier to attack demonstrators' freedom of expression by calling for police intervention against them sets a dangerous and worrying precedent."

On attend plus de manifestants en fin de semaine au campement à McGill (Noovo)

• Le campement de McGill a maintenant un «horaire des activités» avec une programmation culturelle.
• Mais le manifestant Ali Salman, 19 ans, affirmait qu'il n'y avait «aucun plan» pour l'étendre au-delà des 100 personnes qui, selon lui, prévoyaient camper pour la nuit.
• «Des centaines de personnes nous ont dit "nous voulons camper", mais comme nous n'agrandissons pas le camp, nous ne pouvions pas les laisser entrer.» Une centaine de campeurs, dit-il, «c'est plus que suffisant».

4 mai

Day 8 at McGill encampment: Damp, cold and determined to stay (Montreal Gazette)

• They were buoyed mid-afternoon by roughly 300 demonstrators who marched down Ste-Catherine St. from Concordia University to McGill in support of the students and protesters manning the encampment. Police astride motor bikes and pedal bikes accompanied the march and managed traffic.
• Salman didn’t sleep at the site last night, but he said close to 100 protesters did in roughly 100 tents set up behind steel barricades on the university’s fields since the encampment started last Saturday.
• After seven months of largely ineffectual protests and pressure campaigns, the encampment managed to garner widespread media attention and a large police presence Thursday when pro-Israel counter protesters arrived, Salman said.
• “I think McGill will meet those demands eventually, but it could be 10 years from now,” Rutland said. The professor is one of about 40 teachers who are helping at the encampment with everything from advice to laundry services for the protesters.

5 mai

Les membres du campement de McGill «toujours motivés», après plus d’une semaine (Le Devoir)

• Au passage du Devoir sur les lieux dimanche, une poignée de protestataires discutaient sous des abris. Pelles à la main, certains d’entre eux tentaient d’empêcher l’eau de s’accumuler sur le terrain boueux. Afin que tous puissent garder les pieds au sec, des plateformes de bois avaient d’ailleurs été disposées sur le sol devant l’entrée du campement. Ce dernier compte plusieurs dizaines de tentes.
• Malgré la météo, les gens rencontrés dimanche disaient garder le moral. Cafés à la main, certains échangeaient des plaisanteries en déambulant entre les kiosques de nourriture et de dons situés à l’entrée du campement.
• Au passage du Devoir dimanche au campement propalestinien, de petites robes rouges décoratives étaient suspendues près des kiosques. Il s’agit du symbole du 5 mai, la Journée nationale de sensibilisation aux femmes, filles et personnes 2LGBTQI + autochtones disparues ou assassinées. Pour honorer leur mémoire, les manifestants installés sur le campus de McGill ont donc prévu diverses activités. « Nos luttes sont pour les Autochtones de l’île de la Tortue [Amérique du Nord] jusqu’à la Palestine », a souligné Ari Nahman, membre de l’organisme Voix juives indépendantes de Concordia.

7 mai

Why universities keep saying no to divestment (CBC News)

• Endowment fund accounts for 6.1% of its revenues, second behind grants and tuition fees

10 mai

Protesters stand firm as McGill asks court to remove pro-Palestinian camp (Montreal Gazette)

• McGill University is seeking a court order to dismantle a pro-Palestinian encampment, arguing it wants to avoid an escalation of tensions and a deterioration of conditions on its downtown campus.
• “I write today to let you know that McGill is seeking a court order that would require those participating to dismantle the encampment, and to refrain from camping on or occupying McGill’s downtown campus,” university president Deep Saini wrote in a statement to the university community Friday evening. “The order would authorize the Montreal police (SPVM) to enforce it.”
• In its request for the court order, McGill says it is needed to “avoid serious and/or irreparable harm following the escalation of tensions, the deterioration of the conditions on campus grounds, and the confirmation by the Service de police de la Ville de Montréal … that it would not intervene in order to resolve the situation.”
• However, encampment organizers Friday dismissed McGill’s legal action as a “distraction” and vowed to remain on campus. McGill has asked for the injunction request to be heard in court Monday morning. The university’s decision to seek a court injunction is driven by safety concerns, Saini said. “Neither McGill nor organizations such as the Montreal Fire Prevention Services have been able to go into the area to verify compliance with health and safety,” Saini wrote.
• The encampment was set up on McGill’s downtown campus on April 27 in support of Palestinians in Gaza and to pressure the university to divest from its investments in Israel. McGill says the encampment has grown from about 15 to 20 tents to approximately 115 tents, and the number of protesters in the encampment has gone from about 50 to 60 people on April 27 to more than 150 now.
• Saini has previously asked the protesters to dismantle the camp, and has offered to hold a forum on the issues raised by the campers if the McGill students in the camp leave.
• The university says the camp is a fire risk, and a risk to public safety. It says some campers “relieve themselves in the Encampment, and there are barrels identified as human waste in the Encampment. Some of this human waste has even been put into McGill’s McLennan Library building’s ventilation system.” Saini said if the court order is granted, negotiations would continue between the university and the protest camp.
• On Saturday, the McGill Arts Building was defaced with graffiti reading “Escalate 4 Rafah” and “Free Palestine” in response to the injunction.
• The university says it respects freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, but says the encampment is not like other protests that have taken place there. “It is now a fortified and entrenched space with fences covered by tarps and banners, impeding anyone outside the Encampment, including representatives of the Plaintiffs, from seeing what activities are being conducted inside the Encampment,” the court order request says. “(It) includes areas such as laundry, toilets, cafeteria, clothing store, first aid, a library and a press room, in addition to walkways composed of wooden pallets,” the court order request says. “It also had a designated area identified as ‘defence gear,’ although that indication has now been removed.”
• The document says McGill representatives met on May 4 with the Montreal police department, where the police said there would be no intervention in the short term because the department’s criteria for an intervention were not met. The university says it believed police would act given Masse, the Superior Court judge, had written in her judgment in the previous injunction request, that the encampment was illegal.
• The university says it had to act after police told The Gazette earlier this week any intervention on its part would be based on the camp’s legal situation, and maintenance of security for the public and protesters. The university also has to begin preparing, by May 13, to hold its spring graduation ceremonies. They are normally held in a tent on the lower field of the McGill campus — where the encampment is — and are scheduled to begin on May 28. The university says it has secured an alternate venue and it would cost $700,000 to move graduation ceremonies there.

McGill University seeks emergency injunction to dismantle pro-Palestinian encampment (CTV News)

• McGill cited health and safety concerns since April 27, including no clear emergency exits in the encampment, the Montreal fire department being blocked access to the site, barrels of human waste inside the camp, and one fire exit being blocked outside the nearby McLennan Library building.
• It said it has also more than doubled the number of security guards on campus. With the spring convocation days away, the university said it has had to relocate the events to another venue at a cost of more than $700,000.

13 mai

McGill asks judge to order 'occupants' off its campus, end encampment protest (CBC News)

• A Quebec Superior Court judge on Monday questioned lawyers representing McGill University about the need for urgency in their request for an injunction to take down a pro-Palestinian encampment on the school's downtown campus. Jacques Darche, a lawyer representing McGill, argued in court that the university had a right to use its private property and repeatedly referred to student activists as "occupants," saying they were breaking university policy and preventing upcoming convocation ceremonies. He referred to the encampment as a "fortress," a "village" and "fortifications."
• But Darche faced sharp questions from Superior Court Justice Marc St-Pierre, who said the lawyer needed to display evidence of an urgent need for the encampment to come down. St-Pierre said he "needs urgency" to grant a provisional injunction, "not just a clear right" for McGill to use its land. Darche appeared increasingly frustrated by the questions and repeated his assertion that McGill, as the land owner, had the right to use the land on which the protesters were camping, but the argument did not appear to sway St-Pierre.
• In court documents, McGill said the encampment was set up on its private property without prior warning, poses a "security, safety and public health risk" and has escalated tensions on campus. The university said it does not want to limit the right to protest, but said the encampment "differs significantly from the typical protest experienced at McGill," calling it a "fortified and entrenched space." McGill cited "fierce verbal exchanges" between protesters and counter-protesters, possible fire code breaches, and the presence of barrels of what could be "human waste."
• Max Silverman, a lawyer representing Independent Jewish Voices, one of the groups targeted by the injunction request, said the debate in court was more complicated than expected. He said St-Pierre's judgment, expected sometime Tuesday, could set a precedent for this type of protest in the country. Silverman pointed out that the judge questioned whether occupying a space was a form of freedom of expression protected under the right to protest in Canada.
• The limit on freedom of expression is when that right interferes with the right of somebody else, Silverman noted, saying he argued that the encampment did not interfere with the university's property rights. "It's not occupying a chemistry lab. It's not occupying a place where you go get lunch on campus. It's occupying a rather empty field," the lawyer said. "The key question for the court is: Are these people there to deprive the property rights of somebody, or are they there to express a valid, protected political opinion? And if it's the latter, then the courts have to protect that," Silverman said in an interview outside the courtroom.
• University staff and the fire department have been prevented from seeing what's going on inside the encampment and assess its safety and security risks, according to the injunction request. It also said Montreal police refused to intervene and urged McGill to resolve the situation peacefully by talking to the protesters. Lawyers representing the protesters argued in court that the university failed to present clear evidence that the encampment was dangerous.
• Alexandre Romano, who represents the Students Society of McGill University and the Association of McGill Professors of Law, who are currently on strike, cited an affidavit from a doctor who had visited the encampment, noting that there was no threat to public health in the camp. At midday on Monday, the hearing was in recess after lawyers for McGill and for the defendants butted heads on a number of procedural rulings. They had not yet begun to argue the merits of the injunction request.
• A previous injunction request to remove the encampment and ban other campus protests filed in Quebec Superior Court by two McGill students was rejected on May 1. Justice Chantale Masse said in her judgment that the plaintiffs failed to show the encampment caused them "irreparable harm." In that case, McGill was listed as an interested party, not a plaintiff.
• Both McGill and some protesters have said discussions to end the encampment have not been fruitful. The protesters have demanded that the university cut ties with Israeli academic institutions and pull all investments from companies that operate in Israel due to their "links to the ongoing Palestinian genocide."

McGill encampment injunction decision could come Tuesday (Montreal Gazette)

• A lawyer representing McGill University in its request for an injunction to put an end to the pro-Palestinian encampment began the hearing by asking that arguments focus entirely on the people who are actually on the protest site. The lawyer, Jacques Darche, made the remarks to Superior Court Justice Marc St-Pierre Monday morning as the court attempted to sort out who can act as defendants or intervenors. McGill wants the court to order the dismantling of the encampment and authorize Montreal police to dismantle it.
• After hearing arguments from several lawyers, St-Pierre said he would deliberate on the matter and deliver a decision possibly as soon as Tuesday. When the request was filed in court Friday, McGill listed the defendants as “John Doe and Jane Doe.” In the request, they said they have no idea who is in the encampment, which has grown to more than 115 tents since it started April 27.
• “We don’t know who is in the encampment,” Darche said on Monday. He noted that many protesters have refused to give their names when interviewed. “There have only been a few names that have come out in the media.” In their request for the injunction, McGill wrote: “At present, McGill is not able to identify any individual, or even designated groups of individuals, who exercise control over the encampment. Indeed, it is the plaintiff’s understanding that the encampment participants hold themselves out as a ‘flat’ or ‘non-hierarchical’ group and that no single person or group represents or speaks for them collectively, hence the present application being directed at John Doe and Jane Doe.”
• Darche appeared to be concerned that the hearing could lose focus because various groups asked to be listed as defendants or intervenors on Monday. That included a group of law professors who are currently on strike. The Association of McGill Professors of Law, which represents the 45 professors in the university’s law faculty, said in a post on X that they would be in court Monday, supporting the camp and students’ right to protest. “McGill is pitting itself against constitutional rights of free expression and assembly,” the post said.
• When Darche finally got around to making the school’s arguments, he said the lawyers took their time to choose the right word for the people involved. “The real term for us is occupiers,” the lawyer said, adding they chose the word over “protesters.” “The right to protest is in every document here in the courtroom. But there is a difference between protest and camping.
• The judge then pointed out that there have been no incidents of violence reported since the tents went up.

Darche countered that there is a question of security involved.

• “They are there in their mini-village and it is barricaded. (Representatives from McGill) can’t go inside,” he said. The judge appeared to be dismissing arguments from McGill’s lawyers as they made them. One of the school’s lawyers, Patrick Plante, said the question of security has to do with prevention. He referred to a decision made by another Superior Court judge who decided to grant an injunction against taxi drivers protesting at Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport.
• Jean-Nicolas Loiselle, a lawyer representing the Montreal police, told the judge the police force only wanted to make two points at the hearing. One was that “we are not the armed branch of anyone.” The other was that the Montreal police need to see someone committing an infraction to make an arrest.
• William Sloan, a former lawyer, said he was at the camp for a couple of days and described it is a peaceful protest.
• The request cites “fierce verbal exchanges” between protesters at the start the month, barrels that possibly contain human waste, eventual violations of the fire code and the potential for the camp to become a “magnet” for confrontations with counter-protesters.
• A sign at the donation table outside the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill asks that supporters refrain from donating goods from a list of companies.
• On Monday morning, workers were seen at McGill cleaning off graffiti that urged escalation in response to the university’s injunction request. Half a dozen protesters inside the encampment were seen practicing self-defence through the weekend.
• According to social media posts by the Palestinian Youth Movement, a protest in support of the encampment is expected later Monday. It comes after a pro-Palestinian protest downtown Saturday, where speakers urged supporters to protect the encampment through the coming week.

Valérie Plante ne veut pas d’affrontement avec la police (La Presse)

• Valérie Plante a affirmé lundi ne pas vouloir d’affrontement avec la police au campement propalestinien de McGill, alors que l’Université demande une injonction à la Cour supérieure. La mairesse de Montréal a affirmé que le campement est « paisible », mais que l’Université a « absolument le droit » de s’adresser aux tribunaux pour forcer les manifestants à partir. « La dernière chose qu’on veut, c’est de se rapprocher des confrontations entre des manifestants et un service de police [qui ont eu lieu] dans des villes américaines », a dit Mme Plante. « Ce n’est pas qui on est.»

15 mai

Quebec Superior Court judge rejects McGill injunction request to remove encampment (CBC News)

• A Quebec Superior Court judge has rejected a provisional injunction request by McGill University to remove pro-Palestinian encampment activists from its front lawn in downtown Montreal. Justice Marc St-Pierre said in his decision issued Wednesday morning that the university failed to justify the urgent need to dismantle the camp. McGill made the injunction request on Monday. In the request, the university's lawyers argued that the encampment was unsafe, posing a risk of escalating tensions on campus and preventing McGill from holding its convocation ceremonies at its usual outdoor location.
• But St-Pierre dismissed those arguments. He said no serious or violent incident had occurred at the encampment since it was established on April 27, and even a confrontation with counter-protesters was peaceful.
• He also noted the university had already arranged to move its convocation ceremonies.
• St-Pierre's ruling came as a blow to the university's leaders, who have tried to have the encampment removed. Negotiations between the university and the protesters have so far not been fruitful. The protesters say they will stay put until the university divests from companies with ties to Israel and cuts ties with Israeli academic institutions.
• Nicole Nashen, a McGill University law student who testified before a parliamentary committee about antisemitism on campus last week, said she and other Jewish students feel threatened by the encampment. She said some of the protesters' chants, including "resistance is justified when people are occupied" were calling for violence against Jews.

Quebec court rejects McGill injunction request to remove encampment (CTV News)

• Wednesday's ruling is the second injunction request that has been denied after two students requested a similar court authorization.
• Justice Marc St-Pierre did not find sufficient grounds to justify an injunction, but requested the plaintiffs make specific modifications to the introductory application and re-file the request.

La demande d’injonction de l’Université McGill rejetée (La Presse)

• Déposée vendredi dernier, la demande d’injonction citait des risques pour la santé et la sécurité, comparant le campement à un « aimant » à manifestations et contre-manifestations. Depuis l’apparition des premières tentes, aucun incident violent n’a toutefois été rapporté.
• Même la contre-manifestation invoquée par l’université pour illustrer la crainte d’une escalade de tensions « s’est faite pacifiquement », a souligné le juge. Or, une demande d’injonction provisoire ne peut être accordée « à titre préventif », a-t-il rappelé.
• L’injonction ne visait personne comme tel, mais plusieurs organisations se sont tout de même présentées devant le tribunal pour défendre les manifestants.

6 juin

Police arrest 15, use tear gas on crowd as pro-Palestinian activists occupy McGill University building (CBC News)

• Montreal police used tear gas to disperse a crowd of protesters and arrested 15 people on Thursday evening after masked demonstrators occupied the third floor of McGill University's James Administration Building. Around 6 p.m., a group of people chanting pro-Palestinian slogans entered the building on the university's downtown campus, where a pro-Palestinian protest camp has stood since April 27 despite the university's attempts to have it dismantled.
• Montreal police used tear gas to disperse a crowd of protesters and arrested 15 people on Thursday evening after masked demonstrators occupied the third floor of McGill University's James Administration Building. Around 6 p.m., a group of people chanting pro-Palestinian slogans entered the building on the university's downtown campus, where a pro-Palestinian protest camp has stood since April 27 despite the university's attempts to have it dismantled.
• On Friday morning, the encampment remained standing, but Montreal police said they had arrested 13 people for breaking and entering and two others for interfering with police officers. A Montreal police spokesperson said protesters threw objects at police officers and vandalized the exterior of the administration building.
• Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) McGill posted a lengthy statement on Telegram, saying the university has so far shut down its demands for McGill to divest from companies with ties to Israel. "Students have blockaded themselves inside the building to take ownership of the university that continues to fund and be complicit in the genocide of the Palestinian people," the statement read. "As the Zionist forces push deeper into Rafah, perpetrating horrific crimes and massacres, McGill administrators shamelessly refuse to cut financial and academic ties."
• The occupation Thursday happened hours after an encampment that had been set up at the Université du Quebec à Montréal (UQAM) came down. Activists there said they would leave after UQAM's board of directors unanimously approved a resolution agreeing to most of their demands.
• Rula Jurdi Abisaab, a professor of Islamic history at McGill, attended the protest Thursday evening. "The university is actually putting its head in the sand.… This is shameful, this is all shameful," Abisaab told CBC News. "The students have been agitating for a rightful, just and moral cause which is asking McGill incessantly, through all kinds of means, to declare and divest from companies, weapons and technological companies that are complicit with the genocide which Israel has been carrying against the Palestinian people."
• In a statement Friday morning, a McGill University spokesperson said the attempted occupation of the administration building was the latest escalation by pro-Palestinian protesters that went beyond peacefully protesting. The spokesperson said the protesters chained doors shut, damaged furniture inside the building and forced staff to shelter in place "while those occupying the building banged on the doors and yelled threats." "McGill supports the right to freedom of expression within the limits recognized by law. We strongly condemn the use of intimidating, aggressive, harassing or illegal tactics such as those seen yesterday," the statement said.
• Last week, McGill president Deep Saini published a letter calling for a stronger police response following escalating tensions. Saini listed incidents where protesters had hung an effigy of "an Israeli politician" outside the university's campus and demonstrated outside university officials' homes. He also described how a table with rotting food was left outside one university office with the names of staff members listed on a sign and red handprints next to them. Montreal police have so far taken a passive approach to the more than month-long pro-Palestinian encampment. Two court injunction requests to dismantle the encampment have so far been refused by Quebec Superior Court judges.

Police spray tear gas, break up pro-Palestinian occupation of McGill building (Montreal Gazette)

• A group of pro-Palestinian protesters occupied a McGill University administration building for several hours Thursday afternoon and into the late evening over what they said was the university’s failure to comply with the demands of the ongoing encampment at the school’s downtown campus.
• The occupation began shortly after 4 p.m. when masked protesters entered the James Administration Building, just north of the Milton St. entrance to the main campus. For several hours before police stormed the building through a separate entrance, protesters chanted and banged on drums while police in riot gear formed lines on either side of the building. Shortly after their occupation began, the protesters made their way to third floor of the building, opened three windows looking out over where their supporters had gathered and unfurled a Palestinian flag and two banners, to roars of approval from the crowd below.
• An employee, who asked to remain anonymous, said she saw four or five people wearing kerchiefs and masks on their faces walking through the halls and carrying a ladder. When she went to leave through the main entrance, she saw the front doors had been fastened shut from the inside. It took her and her colleagues some time to figure out how to get out of the building because several other doors had been fastened shut.
• As she walked through the halls, she said she spoke to the masked protesters, telling them that they had to let the employees out. “They weren’t aggressive or threatening anybody. They were just saying ,’We don’t want to keep you in here, so just go out the back.'”
• At around 7 p.m. as the steady rain became a downpour, riot squad officers entered the building. A few minutes later, police officers could be seen standing at the third-floor windows where student occupiers had been standing previously. At 7:10 p.m., police outside sprayed a chemical irritant into a crowd of protesters. One young woman, who identified herself as Zaza, said she was standing about a metre from the riot police line when the officer in front of her took out a canister and sprayed her in the face.
• The irritant did not seem to dissuade the protesters, though. As those who had been sprayed moved back, others moved immediately in to face the officers, chanting again, “There is no violence here, why are you in riot gear?” The protesters seemed prepared for the chemical spray, as many were carrying water bottles to help those whose eyes were stinging. On social media, protesters searched for remedies to lessen the sting of the chemicals. In video and photographs, some protesters can be seen using umbrellas to protect themselves and others against the spray.
• About 7:30 p.m., protesters began moving portions of fencing and other large items, including a McGill publicity panel and a large metal trolley, to form a barricade between themselves and the line of riot police. This prompted a much more thorough deployment of chemical irritants, forcing protesters away from the building.
• Police charged the crowd of protesters — some wore rain ponchos or rain slickers, other holding umbrellas — and deployed more chemical irritants, yelling “move” and banging their shields, and pushing the protesters southward toward the encampment near the Roddick Gates.
• Earlier in the day, protesters had banged drums and chanted slogans such as “Stop the funding now,” “We are the revolution,” “Genocide is crystal clear,” and “Saini, Saini, take a side,” referring to McGill president Deep Saini. The students had blocked the building’s entrance with fencing and a shelving unit that supported potted plants. In front of another door, protesters had linked arms as police looked on. They hung sheets painted with slogans and a Palestinian flag from open windows on the third floor. At least six protesters stood at these windows, their faces covered with keffiyehs and goggles. Meanwhile, below, a line of riot squad police officers blocked an entrance to the building.
• Before entering the James Administration building, officers stood calmly staring ahead as protesters shouted at “Shame” at them and “Shame on McGill.” A young woman who identified herself as an organizer of the barricade and a spokesperson for Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, said the action was organized out of frustration with the McGill administration’s refusal to meet demands of the encampment, which has been a fixture on the downtown campus for almost seven weeks. The protest began in late April following similar protests on U.S. university campuses. These have been in response to Israel’s war with Hamas, the Gaza-based terrorist organization that on Oct. 7 invaded Israel and killed more than 1,200 people. The Israel-Hamas war has led to the deaths of more than 35,000 people in Gaza, according to the territory’s health ministry.
• In a terse emailed statement Thursday evening, McGill said: “Protesters are currently occupying the main administration building on the downtown campus of McGill University. Police and security services are on site. Protesters have set up a barricade outside the building.” At 9:35 p.m., an SPVM spokesperson said some protesters were still inside the James building and police were negotiating with them. Other protesters were still marching in the area of McGill’s campus. She said she could not yet say how many arrests had been made.

Vives tensions entre police et manifestants propalestiniens (La Presse)

• Les étudiants souhaitaient alors occuper l’immeuble aussi longtemps que l’Université ne s’engageait pas à rompre ses liens financiers avec l’État israélien. Des policiers ont alors été dépêchés sur les lieux à la demande de l’Université McGill, selon Radio-Canada.
• Les manifestants ont ensuite joué au chat et à la souris avec la police sur le campus avant de se répandre dans les rues avoisinantes jusqu’au boulevard Saint-Laurent. Des tirs d’engins pyrotechniques ont par ailleurs visé les forces de l’ordre.
• L’intervention du SPVM s’est terminée vers 22 h 30 jeudi.
• « En ce qui concerne les manifestations qui ont eu lieu à l’extérieur, dans les rues et sur le terrain de l’Université McGill, plusieurs infractions criminelles ont été commises, dont des agressions envers les policiers », indique Mme Dubuc. « Divers objets ont été lancés en leur direction, il est notamment question de pièces pyrotechniques, de roches et de coups de bâton. » Le service de police rapporte aussi des méfaits tels que du saccage et des graffiti. Aucun policier ou citoyen n’a toutefois été blessé, selon le SVPM.

Occupation de l’Université McGill : le SPVM arrête une quinzaine de manifestants (Radio-Canada)

• M. Labeau déplore l'intransigeance des campeurs, alors que l'Université McGill leur aurait proposé de tourner le dos aux entreprises qui font surtout leur argent avec la fabrication d'armes. Cette proposition aurait permis à des universités et à des campeurs de s'entendre ailleurs en Amérique du Nord, selon lui.
• La police s'en est ensuite prise à certains manifestants de la foule et a lancé des gaz lacrymogènes et du poivre de Cayenne pour les disperser. Plusieurs sont partis en courant, se couvrant la bouche et les yeux.
• Après un affrontement tendu d'environ 45 minutes, la police a lancé une deuxième salve de produits chimiques irritants et a violemment repoussé les manifestants pour les éloigner du bâtiment avec des matraques et des boucliers.
• Les policiers ont ensuite formé une file, bloquant l'accès au bâtiment, alors que les manifestants se rassemblaient plus loin, près des tentes installées sur le terrain inférieur depuis fin avril.

7 juin

Pro-Palestinian protest occupation that led to police using tear gas was not peaceful, McGill says (Globe and Mail)

• Montreal police spokesperson Jean-Pierre Brabant said Friday that 13 people were arrested for breaking and entering and two others were charged with obstructing police officers’ work. All were released and will appear in court at a later date. He said no one was injured during the police intervention.
• McGill said other recent incidents include graffiti on university buildings, verbal altercations between protesters and other students, and the hanging with a noose of an effigy of an Israeli politician on the Roddick Gates, an entry to McGill’s downtown campus on Sherbrooke Street. It also said that masked protesters “targeted the personal residences of senior management,” but did not say how.