Goods entering the McGill protest camp were confiscated

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McGill security agents moved quickly to arrest several people bringing supplies to aid the pro-Palestinian camp on Monday, the 10th day of ongoing protests.

One person, who asked not to be named, said he was bringing a box of N-95 medical masks to the camp when he was stopped first by a security agent and then by a police officer.

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“I came to bring these masks to my students,” said a man who teaches at the Faculty of Dentistry. “I told them, 'I'm a doctor at McGill and I care about the well-being of my students.'

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“I need to do something; I support the abolitionist cause and want to support them so I can do it. I understand that McGill is trying to control supplies because they don't want the camp to grow, but I'm upset that they don't allow masks because it's a humanitarian and health issue.

Both people with roofs were not allowed to enter the campus. They were turned back by security guards.

Soroosh Shahriari was watching the events unfold. Shahriari, a doctoral student in Jewish studies, said he was upset that the university had ignored calls for protesters to leave, and that it would ban anything that would help maintain or expand the 100-tent encampment. as of Monday.

“I think the next step would be to stop allowing food,” Shahriari said.

McGill declared the camp illegal and against university policy as soon as it went up on April 27. The students say they won't leave McGill until they commit to divesting companies and groups that help support Israel's military action in Gaza. According to the Hamas-run health organization, more than 34,000 Palestinians have been killed here since the war began on October 7.

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The military action was in response to a Hamas attack on Israel that killed nearly 1,200 Israelis and foreigners.

Independent Jewish Voices McGill, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said camp organizers met with the McGill administration Monday morning, but there was no progress in talks.

“Their claims of standing up to anti-Semitism mean nothing until you listen to your Jewish students and stop it. McGill University has made it clear that they will continue to protect the fascist state, not their students. And they continued to threaten their students and members of the public with police violence.”

He said the protesters presented their demands to the McGill administration in a closed-door meeting. “We have not yet received a clear timeline and process for how they will meet these requirements. If they fail to provide a clear timeline and process for our demands, this camp will continue to expand.”

Despite McGill's apparent shift in police seizure tactics, the mood in the camp was upbeat Monday, said Sasha, who did not want to give her full name.

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“I think the mood is high; Everyone knows we're going into our second week and what a success it still is here,” said the art student, who has camped at the site since the beginning and is a member of Independent Jewish Voices McGill.

He said there is a full program of activities for the campers, with a poetry reading and film screening planned for Monday night.

The protesters adapted to the muddy conditions by building walkways with wooden pallets and installing drainage systems to prevent them from being flooded. Organizers say the protest camp has everything it needs to continue, including food, water, toilets, a library and a medical tent staffed by 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.

“The best kind of education I've ever seen is at boot camp, where you have people who come in with their own knowledge, ideas and perspectives and work with people who have slightly different perspectives to do something about what they're doing. judgments,” said Ted Rutland, associate professor of urban studies at Concordia University. “So it's not just about doing a proper analysis of Israel-Palestine; it's about coming together in a common project to end the violence and destruction we see.”

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Rutland is among 100 university professors in the city who have come together to support the cause of the campers. They take turns sleeping in tents set up on the McGill lawn, where graduation ceremonies traditionally take place in June.

While about 100 people sleep in tents, the camp is full of several hundred supporters during the day.

“I'm a student here, and as students, we've been involved in this movement for a very long time,” said the man, known only as Pompon, a first-year graduate law student at McGill. “As students, we want our tuition fees to be spent on services that protect us on campus and support us in our studies, instead of funding companies like Lockheed Martin and Bombardier that manufacture weapons (and other equipment) to arm Israel.

“I am Yemeni-Ethiopian, so I know about the genocide because it happened in both countries. “I know about displacement, conflict and war,” he said. “As an individual, this is the least I can do to help my people in the region. Palestinians, Yemenis, all the same. We are facing the same struggle, the same Western economic sanctions and permanent embargoes.”

Montreal police are monitoring the site, but said any intervention would be based on public safety or a threat to demonstrators.

Quebec Premier Francois Legault last week called for the camp to be dismantled. McGill University administration offered to meet with the protesters to discuss their demands for a no-camp clause, an offer the protesters declined.

Brendan Kelly contributed to this report.

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