Pro-Israeli and pro-Palestinian demonstrations | “We’re not going to let them bother us”

(Quebec) Pro-Israeli activists demonstrated Thursday near McGill University, where pro-Palestinian students have been camped for nearly a week. An “illegal” encampment, declared Prime Minister François Legault, who asked the police to dislodge the demonstrators.

Dozens of police officers on horseback and bicycles kept the two camps at bay, who chanted their slogans in an ambient cacophony.

On one side, Israeli flags and songs in Hebrew. On the other, drums and keffiyehs in abundance.

“We are not going to let them disturb us,” pleaded a pro-Palestinian demonstrator, crossed at the entrance to the encampment. We’re not going to commit anything. »

She was referring to the hundred or so pro-Israeli demonstrators lined up on the sidewalk in front of McGill University. Behind them, a giant screen looped a documentary on the October 7 Hamas attack.

“We want management to denounce hatred towards Jews. We are experiencing the worst cases of anti-Semitism,” said Michael Eshaik, who studies at Concordia University.

Further on, Jamie Favian took the microphone under protest slogans.

“The Jewish community has invested in this university. It’s time to enforce policies and protect students from anti-Semitism. “, chanted the law student at McGill University.

Other demonstrators called for the dismantling of the encampment. “It’s time to break up camp. Prime Minister Legault said it,” said a woman who did not want to identify herself.

An “illegal” camp

A few hours earlier, Prime Minister François Legault had actually asked the City of Montreal Police Department to dislodge the demonstrators who have been camped on the university grounds for almost a week.

The camp is “illegal” insofar as it is set up on university grounds without authorization, he argued at the end of question period in the National Assembly.

“The law must be respected. I expect the police to clear out these illegal camps. And that’s what McGill asked,” he said at the end of question period in the National Assembly.

He responded in the affirmative when asked if this was a “request” that he was making to the SPVM.

“I will still let the police decide how and when they do that. But the camps must be dismantled,” he said.

“We are all worried about what is happening in Gaza. I can understand. People can express their position in a demonstration. It is permitted and legal. But they cannot have a camp on the site of a university,” added the Prime Minister.

A fortified camp

New barricades have been installed around the pro-Palestinian encampment in the face of the threat of imminent dismantling.

Wooden pallets, picnic tables: the camp has been considerably fortified since the day before, noted The Press.

“I think that students have every right to protest,” argued Vanessa Barbiero, who supports the Palestinian cause.

“I’ve been watching children die on my phone for seven months,” said the young mother.

Responding to a last-minute appeal on social media, hundreds of people flocked to the encampment. Among them, teachers, young families, Jewish and Arab students…

“We do not agree with the ongoing genocide,” denounced Marc. Of Jewish faith, the young father demonstrated with his family.

“I find it important to be here,” said his partner Zoya, who criticized the university management for “stirring up tensions”.

Faced with the absence of a resolution, the administration launched a final call on Wednesday to leave the encampment.

“The encampment must be dismantled quickly, and this is not negotiable,” warned the president and vice-chancellor, Deep Saini, in an email to students.

He promised to set up a “forum” for discussion with the demonstrators if they left the encampment “immediately”.

Far from leaving, the demonstrators called on the public to come carrying rope, sleeping bags and wooden pallets.

“We will not stop until our demands are answered,” pleaded Alia, a megaphone in her hands.

According to the student, this is a “tactic” used by management to dislodge the demonstrators. “We asked for a specific date (for the forum) which was not communicated to us,” she maintained.