Tensions rise at McGill as ‘illegal’ camp grows
Pro-Palestinian activists said Monday they have no intention of dismantling their camp at Montreal’s McGill University, as the school said it wasn’t ruling out calling in police to deal with what it called an illegal encampment.
Dozens of tents were pitched on the lawn of McGill’s downtown campus behind a metal fence festooned with Palestinian flags and posters. Cases of bottled water and a small generator could be seen behind the fence, as masked protesters at the gate welcomed supporters dropping off donations, including batteries, clothing and medication.
“Students have reiterated their intention to continue the encampment indefinitely, until McGill and Concordia divest from all companies profiting from genocide,” read a joint statement published Monday by co-organizers Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights Concordia, Independent Jewish Voices McGill and Independent Jewish Voices Concordia.
McGill said Monday that the number of people who have set up tents on campus has tripled since Saturday, and many of them, if not the majority, are not members of the school community.
It also said it had seen video evidence of some people using “unequivocally antisemitic language and intimidating behaviour” during the protest, but it did not provide further details.
“McGill has been steadfast in its support of the rights of our campus community to freedom of expression and freedom of peaceful assembly, with the understanding that these must be exercised within the bounds of McGill’s policies as well as the law,” the school said Monday in a statement.
“We have been clear that these encampments violate both.”
The institution said its leaders were discussing next steps after lawyers representing McGill students in the encampment informed them the protesters refuse to discuss a timeline to remove the tents.
In an update Monday, McGill said it would make efforts to de-escalate before asking for police help.
“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 wrote.
The school has previously asked one of the organizing groups — Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights McGill — to stop using the university’s name after it says the group made “incendiary posts” following the Oct. 7 attack by Hamas militants on Israel that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians. In a Facebook post soon after the attack, SPHR McGill called the militants’ actions “heroic” and asked Montrealers to “celebrate the resistance’s success.”
Encampment members, meanwhile. 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, which has led to more than 34,000 Palestinian deaths, according to the local health ministry.
A McGill student and encampment spokesperson who didn’t want to give her full name for fear of reprisals from the school or police confirmed Monday that the campers refused to negotiate with the school to remove their tents. She said the campers weren’t leaving.
“We understand there may be police repression,” she said. “We’ve seen it before, we will see it again. We are ready, we are not moving, we are standing our ground.”