This is what the students are protesting:
Khalissee@Kahlissee:
Horrific scenes are coming out of UCLA.
America’s message to the world is clear:
You can’t protest
You can’t march
You can’t chant
You can’t express solidarity or wear certain symbols
If we fund Genocide, you must accept it.
This isn’t democracy. It’s Israeli dictatorship.
Alon Mizrahi I without equality there’s no freedom@alon_mizrahi:
Once broken into violently by police, a university will never again be a safe place for free thought and free speech – not before a long and painful process of cultural and political cleansing
The colonizers marked their territory.
Rabbi David Mivasair@Mivasair:
“Feeling unsafe” is not “being unsafe”.
Violence is being wielded by Zionists.Including by pathetic cowardly policeAll kinds of coercion against people — yes, even us Jews — who dare to stand up for justice for Palestine.
In the early years of my frac news mailouts (2003-2008), I often included cartoons on Israel’s cruelty, and my statements of support for Palestinians to be free, and my opposition to murderous, land thieving, lying Zionism, notably snipers killing Palestinian kids. I was stunned at the attacks against me for doing so, by “Christians” (little did I know then, that most Zionists in the world are evangelical Christians, which makes no sense except perhaps their common ground of racist cruelty). I continued sending out information on Israel’s crimes against humanity in Palestine, regardless of the threats. After my lawsuit went public, the threats included against my lawsuit. Zionist madness! Just because I was calling for peace for Palestinians on their own lands, in their own homes. Makes sense now that I’ve learned Canada is infested with too many cruel lying Muslim-hating, genocide-enabling Zionist lawyers and judges (and journalists).
Zionist propagandists promote the totally false distraction the “Jews don’t feel safe”.
Amir Attaran (@email hidden; JavaScript is required)@profamirattaran:
So I am disgusted—not too strong a word—with the dissembling callowness of Trudeau pretending that there is a right to “feel safe”. Emotions are not the subject of laws. He misstates our law, just to be emollient and vacillate, and that is not what a leader does.
…
This CIJA lawsuit failed. The Court found nothing “toxic” and declined the injunction. You will see a similar result in many other meritless lawsuits backed by CIJA in coming months.
CIJA@CIJAinfo:This genocidal non profit “group” lies as badly, if not worse than B’nai Brith. As with the raping catholic church, they need to lose their tax free status, but, rapists and Zionists have gov’t cowardly cahones in their racist hate-filled clutches. Vulgar lying cruelty, these CIJA fuckers are.
The situation on @mcgillu campus is so toxic that two students, one Jewish and one Muslim, felt the need to seek an emergency injunction. In fact, there had been so many messages from students and members of our community regarding the toxicity of the situation at McGill that @FederationCJA felt it was needed to support these two students AH HA! As expected, the students did not do this of their own accord or financing. So dirty, to have pro kid killing Zionists waste the court’s time, lying about what antisemitism is. Filthy lying hate-filled fuckersseeking emergency injunctive relief against the toxic encampment on McGill grounds.
While the injunction was not granted, the fact that McGill asked the @SPVM to dismantle the encampment more than 24 hours ago remains. During that period, we have seen glorifications of the October 7 terrorist attacks and chants in support of the Houthis. It is urgent for the SPVM to intervene to ensure the safety of all students, Jewish and non-Jewish alike.Trudeau, remove this lying Zionist group from tax free status! They are pro genocidal maniacs, not a legit non profit.
As we have often said, freedom of expression does not include the right to call for violence.So then, why are Zionist groups getting away with screaming for the mass killing and extermination of insects (human kids, women, men, journalists, doctors, nurses, ambulance drivers, more kids, babies, more women, etc) in Palestine? We therefore note that the Court also asked the demonstrators to refrain their calls for violence and antisemitic slogans.such vile liars, many of the lawyers. Gross inhumanity.
Hold The Line —— #FreePalestine@HempressZen:
LIES. You guys along with @bnaibrithcanada used this same tactic years ago to stop BDS saying it’s antisemitic. Seriously?! Desperate much?
MM@MarcMor59172491:
CIJA believes opposition to genocide is toxic
M Hawk@mhawkin2:
CIJA is the organization calling for violence and think police violence should be used to take away students’ rights to protest at their own institutions.
No university should interact with CIJA. They create an unsafe environment for students.
Charles Cooper@CarkBigbar35933:
Genocide is toxic.
Canadians have the right to protest.
FeDD@FL_MDD:
Genocide is a grave atrocity that has left deep scars on humanity, and it’s crucial to confront and prevent such atrocities wherever they occur.
Why is @CIJAinfo pro-genocide?Because they’re Zionists, which are genocidal monsters
sonja matschuck@misspsonja:
CIJA of course lies to vilify anti genocide voices.
Paulo L. dos Santos @plbds:
Students, faculty, and staff @TheNewSchool have voted for divestment from 13 companies implicated in Israel’s offensive in Gaza!
The margins in faculty votes at SPE, Parsons, Lang, and NSSR are overwhelming, with support ranging between 80-90 percent.
The 13 companies listed are:
AXA, the Boeing Company; Caterpillar Inc.;
CEMEX, The Chevron Corporation;
Elbit Systems Ltd.;
General Electric;
Google LLC;
Hewlett-Packard;
Locheed Martin;
Motorola Solutions Inc.;
Northrop Grumman Corporation; and
The Raytheon Company.
Quebec judge refuses to prohibit pro-Palestinian protest at McGill University in Montreal by Dimitri Lascaris, May Day, 2024!
… Irwin Colter, the Grand Wizard of Zionism in Canada …
Judge rejects injunction request for removal of McGill encampment protest, Ruling proves that ‘fights for equality and justice always prevail,’ protester says by Antoni Nerestant, Verity Stevenson, CBC News, May 01, 2024
A Quebec Superior Court judge has rejected a provisional injunction request that would have forced protesters at the pro-Palestinian encampment on McGill University’s downtown campus to leave.
Protesters have been on campus since Saturday afternoon, saying they are determined to stay put until the university divests from companies with business interests in Israel.
Two McGill students filed the request on Tuesday to have a judge forbid protests within 100 metres of McGill’s buildings. The court filing named five pro-Palestinian groups.
The plaintiffs allege that the groups have “created an environment of hate on campus,” which they say has made them uncomfortable to attend classes and exams. They also allege they have faced harassment and intimidation from the defendants.
None of the allegations have been proven in court.
In Wednesday’s ruling, Justice Chantal Massé wrote the plaintiffs failed to show that the protests were causing irreparable harm, nor was there any indication at this point that the protesters intended to block access to exams or McGill’s buildings.
The judge also said the injunction request was too broad and restrictive, since it would have limited the right to protest in front of 154 McGill buildings.
“The court is of the opinion that the balance of inconveniences leans more toward the protesters, whose freedom of expression and to gather peacefully would be affected significantly,” the ruling reads.
The judge pointed out that the plaintiffs have not themselves dealt with harassment, violent acts or threats. She also wrote that she only needed to consider the interests of the plaintiffs — not the public’s.
“Even if the plaintiffs were deemed to be acting in the public interest, something the court does not have to consider, the evidence presented by the plaintiffs are insufficient,” the judge wrote.
The ruling raises questions about what comes next, five days into the encampment. The protest at McGill is one of dozens at universities across North America. On Tuesday night, NYPD officers stormed a Columbia University building that had been occupied by protesters, making dozens of arrests.
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) has said on several occasions since last Saturday that the protests have been peaceful.
In an interview with Radio-Canada on Wednesday, prior to the judge releasing her ruling, McGill vice-provost Fabrice Labeau reiterated the university’s position that the encampment is untenable. He pointed to its size, reportsCalling for weapons divestment, ceasefire, permanent peace and an end to Zionism and Israel’s genocide and mass murdering of Palestinian kids is not antisemitic! Stop lying McGill higher ups and the university says it has received about antisemitic behaviour and the protesters’ unwillingness to agree on a timeline to disperse.
‘On the right side of history’
The judge’s ruling appears to have given a feeling of relief to protesters who gathered on Wednesday.
Rima Khreizat, a former UQAM student who has been visiting the encampment daily, described the ruling as “great news.”It assuredly is.
“I think it shows we’re on the right side of history and that fights for equality and justice always prevail,” she told CBC News while at the protest site.
Sasha Robson, a McGill student and member of Independent Jewish Voices who is part of the encampment, said “it proves the conflation between anti-Zionism and antisemitism has to stop and I think that’s being affirmed by the court. This is a non-violent protest.”
On Wednesday, the group of protesters appeared to grow in size. Some students stood in a circle chanting “free, free Palestine” and “disclose, divest, we will not rest.”
Rabbi David Mivasair@Mivasair:
“Feeling unsafe” is not “being unsafe”.
Violence is being wielded by Zionists. All kinds of coercion against people — yes, even us Jews — who dare to stand up for justice for Palestine.
Zionist propagandists promote the totally false distraction the “Jews don’t feel safe”.
***
University presidents owe a duty of restraint when dealing with peaceful assembly by Emmett Macfarlane, Apr 30, 2024, Declarations of Invalidity, Canadian Constitutional Politics
Unsurprisingly, Canadian university administrators are already proving every bit the unprincipled cowards of their US counterparts.
McGill is now following the unfortunate pattern of many American universities by calling on the police to deal with the inconvenience of protesters camped out on its grounds. The University of Toronto erected barricades and “no tents” signs to prevent similar protest on its campus.
Peaceful assembly is inextricably tied to freedom of expression.
As a right of protest, it necessarily includes a degree of disruption. There are clear limits. Institutions, the state, and the rest of society do not have to tolerate violence, real threats of violence, or wanton destruction of property or vandalism.
On top of that, in the university context, the institution has the authority and right to ensure that its core functions (teaching, research, and related activities) remain free from interference. The campus community should also have a general freedom of movement.
And as I wrote about the so-called “Freedom Convoy” and other protests, there is also a temporal dimension – no one has the right to endlessly occupy a shared space. And the length of the limit should also be considered in light of the nature of the disruption (the Convoy, for example, occupied most of downtown Ottawa, completely shuttered businesses, stopped people from getting cancer treatment, etc).And was grossly aided by police and extreme wacko hate and rage farming politicians like Pierre Picklehead.
Yet in none of the reporting I have seen from McGill – and indeed, at many US universities where the cops have swooped in – are the ‘encampments’ of protesters anything but generally peaceful. They are occupying space. They are technically trespassing. But so long as protesters are not otherwise committing crimes or interfering with the university’s ability to get on with its business, the quick reaction to call for police enforcement is repressive and contrary to the basic rights of free expression and peaceful assembly.
I see nothing in the news that McGill campus buildings are shuttered or students can’t access services or write exams or anything, really, other than there’s a field of tents on campus that people find annoying, disturbing, or “hateful”.
In short, and in the absence of meaningful interference with their institution’s missions, university presidents across North America, with few exceptions, are demonstrating an appalling lack of restraint.
It is an open jurisprudential question in Canada whether the Charter of Rights applies to universities in a general sense. There is reason to think, despite precedents to the contrary, that in Alberta and Ontario, at least, where provincial ‘free speech’ regulations have been brought in and imposed on universities, that this establishes sufficient state action to make the Charter applicable here. But regardless, even if the issue is not constitutionally enumerated rights, university presidents are still spitting on rights with these actions.
It seems no mistake this is happening in relation to protests about Israel.
All of the “conservative” voices who have spent the last decade championing free expression seem to have gone silent, or are now expressing their deep concern about antisemitism in the face of protests against Israel’s actions. And perhaps the left is learning, too, what happens when we cultivate a culture whose immediate recourse to hearing or seeing something you don’t like is to attempt to censor or sanction it.
Our universities lack principled leadership. Administrators fall into several camps. Some are craven enough to bow to the minimal pressure – usually from groups with power – be they donors or governments or those with a loud enough megaphone. Others lack a clear understanding of the way rights are meant to operate in a free and democratic society. Others still are making an honest effort to do their best in a situation where they – and their institutions – have failed to develop the appropriate policies and principles necessary to guide their behaviour in these contexts.
Unfortunately, the most common mistake university administrations make is forgetting that their first option should usually be to do nothing.
So let me offer some advice, as we will very likely see protests spread on other campuses.
Dear University President:
Is there violence, or is anyone in physical danger? If yes, call the police. If no, do nothing.
Are people burning or smashing your institution’s shit? If yes, call the police. If no, do nothing.
Are the university’s core operations being severely disrupted, such that classes are being cancelled or researchers can’t even get to their labs? If yes, go get your injunction. If no, do nothing.
Are people annoyed, distressed, or upset because protesters are chanting, marching, sitting around with tents, or have offensive signs/saying offensive things, but you can still answer ‘no’ to the first three questions? Do nothing.
Has an encampment been set up, are they occupying a field or parking lot, but you can still answer ‘no’ to the first three questions? Do nothing.
Oh, and so long you’re still answering ‘no’ to those first three questions, you can always try, I dunno, engaging in a good faith dialogue with protesters and other members of the campus community instead of running to the cops.
Comments:
Stuart Chambers, PhD:
Solid argument. A university’s mission is to educate students. Punishment should be a last resort and only in extreme circumstances, such as violence, mischief, or preventing classes from functioning.
Jack Wright:
What is the length of time before an encampment becomes an illegal occupation?
Emmett Macfarlane to Jack Wright:
As I suggest, there’s no iron rule, it requires a full analysis of the context. Personally, I gave the ‘Freedom Convoy’ that first full weekend. After that, because of the severe nature of the disruption it became an illegal occupation. A much smaller ‘encampment’ occupying a university campus lawn? So long as it remains truly peaceful in the ways I’ve described, I’m not sure I see why we shouldn’t permit it to go on longer than that.
arthur:
And if these occupiers are inflicting anti-jewish hatred on students what then?
Emmett Macfarlane to arthur:
Hate speech has a legal threshold, and it is a high one. Anyone publicly uttering unlawful hate speech can be charged under the law. But I have to say, a lot of the accusations of antisemitism seem to stem from criticism of Israel, which is not hate speech.
Nathan email hidden; JavaScript is required:
Don’t want to jinx it, but I’ve been impressed so far at how well UBC is following this advice.
Prof. Farhana Sultana@Prof_FSultana:
Click the link & zoom out to see the globe. Click on specific campuses to see their statements. Check social media to see how genocidal cops, politicians, univ admin are attacking them. Support the students, show up when/how we can, bring food/water, write letters, protect them.
Refer also to:
Was J Neil C Wittmann (appointed by Harper and shuffled around by Harper, screwing with my case) just another Zionist judge serving Israel and Bibi’s demands to kill Freedom of Expression globally?