“Small Town:” Pro-Palestinian protesters organize another week at McGill

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Colorful tarps covered dozens of tents at a pro-Palestinian camp on McGill University's downtown campus on Sunday, shielding protesters from heavy rain and other sources.

More than a week after Canada's first pro-Palestinian campus camp began in Montreal, McGill and University of Toronto organizers say they are better prepared for the days ahead thanks to donated materials and community support.

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Protester Ari Nahman said Sunday that the Montreal camp had turned into a “miniature city” with dozens of rain shelters, a library, a collection of donated items and wooden sidewalks to keep the mud out.

Nahman, a student at nearby Concordia University, said despite days of rain making McGill's lower field slippery at times, morale is high in the camp.

“I think we're a lot more equipped and ready for different weather today,” Nachman said. “We are positive, morale is good.”

On Sunday, camp members could be seen digging shallow trenches to drain the heavy rain as others worked in a tent that served as a “free store” providing hot coffee, food and rain gear.

By Sunday morning, many donations had arrived at the camp, including power banks, crafts, blankets, tents, tarps, ponchos, pallets and “a lot of food,” Nahman said.

While a sign on a metal fence called for more trash cans, whiteboards and clear storage containers, Nachman said the campers were able to provide additional donated goods to local shelters.

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Following a similar wave of protests on campuses across the United States in response to the Israel-Hamas war, pro-Palestinian activists pitched tents on the campuses of the University of Toronto, the University of Ottawa and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver. Students at the University of Manitoba say they are planning to camp out this week.

Both McGill and Quebec Premier Francois Legault described the Montreal encampment as illegal and asked police to help dismantle the tents, but the force failed to comply on Sunday. Opponents of the camp, including counterprotesters who arrived Thursday, said it made some Jewish students feel unsafe.

The University of Toronto said the tents, banners and flags at the camp are a safety concern and are concerned about messages of threats, discrimination and hate.

On Sunday, dozens of counter-protesters from the Jewish Defense League gathered near the Toronto camp, waving Israeli flags. A number of special university campus constables stood between the two groups as a line of control to ensure a peaceful protest.

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Mohammad Yasin, a student at the University of Toronto and one of the camp's representatives, said allegations that the protesters were hateful or violent were “untrue.”

“People are walking with their pets and their children,” he said. “People paint and read and sit in prayer circles, and that's what this space should be.”

According to Yasin, the protest camp has everything it needs to continue, including food, water, toilets, a library and a medical tent with trained staff. There is also community and prayer space and a 'waiting tent' for quiet time or support for people with mental health concerns. Local community members started serving three meals a day.

“We plan to live longer,” he said. “We understand that it will be a long struggle. If we stay here for a day and then disappear, the university will not hear our demands.”

Protesters in the camp have demanded that their institutions disclose all investments, saying the protesters support Israel's actions against Palestinians. They also want schools to cut ties with Israeli institutions.

Nahman, a member of Independent Jewish Voices Concordia, said the McGill protesters are closely following what's happening in the United States, where some protesters have settled with their schools and others have been targeted by police.

The Associated Press reported that nearly 2,500 arrests have been made on nearly 50 campuses since April 18, citing reports and statements from universities and law enforcement agencies.

Last week, McGill offered to hold a forum to discuss the protesters' demands if the tents were to be dismantled “immediately”. On Sunday, the school said it was “working diligently and faithfully with all stakeholders.”

According to Nachman, a member of Independent Jewish Voices Concordia, the Montreal encampments want nothing more than to pack up their tents.

“We're ready to walk away once we see a divestment — not a promise to discuss divestment, not a vote to divest in a few months,” Nachman said.

With Associated Press files

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