Pro-Palestinian camp set up at UBC sports field on Monday

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A pro-Palestinian camp was set up at the University of British Columbia on Monday morning.

Participants, which include both students and members of the broader Vancouver community, set up tents at UBC’s MacInnes Field early Monday and placed several banners along the fences surrounding the field. The banners outline a series of demands, including urging the university to cut ties with three Israeli universities.

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In a press release, organizers say they “are calling on the University of British Columbia to divest from Israeli settler colonial occupation, ethnic cleansing and genocide of Palestinians, and to participate in global academic boycotts of Israeli universities.

By noon, at least a dozen tents were set up on the field, which is used for intramural sports and youth soccer programs. Organizers also requested donations of food and supplies through their instagram page.

The camp is taking place simultaneously with other similar actions in Canada and the United States.

“Attendees stand in solidarity with those steadfast in the resistance in Palestine and demand that the university condemn the ongoing genocide,” the press release reads.

A list of demands was also shared in an Instagram post shared on the @peoplesuniversityubc account, along with community agreements stating that camp participants will not speak to police or campus security, nor engage with agitators or counter-protesters. . Participants are also advised not to share identifying information, and organizers say they are “not negotiating with the UBC administration.”

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UBC spokesperson Matthew Ramsey said the university “values ​​freedom of expression and respects peaceful protests.”

“We understand that some in our community want to protest the violence and war they see unfolding. These actions should always be taken with respect for others and within the confines of university policy and law,” Ramsey said in an email.

It noted that “any action that creates a health and safety risk, prevents the university community (students, faculty and staff) from continuing learning, research, work and other activities on campus, or damages property university will be taken very seriously and investigated. ” citing the university’s code of student conduct and expectations that campus visitors, staff, faculty and students are expected to abide by university rules.

Ramsey said university administration will monitor and evaluate the situation and remain in contact with the RCMP.

“We also remind everyone that hate and intolerance have no place at UBC. The university should be a place of reasoned debate where contradictory points of view can peacefully coexist,” he stated.

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Postmedia has contacted the University’s RCMP and the Jewish Students Association for comment.

Spring semester courses and exams are over, while convocation ceremonies do not take place on campus until late May.

The camp comes after a rally at the Vancouver Art Gallery on Friday, during which a speaker at the rally said that the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks that killed about 1,200 people, mostly civilians, were “ heroic and brave.”

The rally also included chants of “long live October 7,” praising that day’s attacks by Hamas against Israel.

BC Premier David Eby denounced the comments, calling them “the most hateful” he could imagine.

Eby, speaking at an unrelated news conference, says it is “completely unacceptable” to celebrate the murder and rape of innocent civilians.

The speech at the protest also drew condemnation from Vancouver Mayor Ken Sim, who called it a “celebration of terrorism and anti-Semitism.”

Sim says in a social media post that people who “spew this vile hatred” are not welcome in the city.

Vancouver Granville Liberal member Taleeb Noormohamed says in a social media post that “glorifying October 7 is unacceptable” and does not promote peace, while British Columbia Opposition Leader Kevin Falcon called the speech a “celebration of the heinous murder of Jews.”

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More to come.

With files from Canadian Press.

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