Court orders anti-Israel protesters to take down UofT encampment

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The University of Toronto has suffered irreparable harm from an anti-Israel protest encampment that has seized control of part of its downtown campus, an Ontario judge said Tuesday in ordering demonstrators to dismantle the site.

The injunction issued late Tuesday afternoon orders the protesters to take down tents and structures by 6 p.m. Wednesday and bars them from impeding access to university property, putting up new tents or structures, or using the site without permission between the hours of 11 p.m. and 7 a.m.

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It also gives police the authority to arrest and remove anyone who knows about the order and contravenes it.

“Today’s decision sets a powerful precedent,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy. “There is no justification for the behaviour of the encampment’s participants, whose actions went well beyond what is permissible as free expression and lawful protest and included antisemitic chants and slogans, as well as calls for violence.”

In his ruling, Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen said that while there is no evidence the encampment participants have been violent or antisemitic, the demonstration has taken away the university’s ability to control what happens on the area known as King’s College Circle.

The case law is clear that this amounts to irreparable harm, the judge wrote.

“In our society, we have decided that the owner of property generally gets to decide what happens on the property,” Koehnen said.

“If the protesters can take that power for themselves by seizing front campus, there is nothing to stop a stronger group from coming and taking the space over from the current protesters. That leads to chaos.”

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The protesters have controlled access to the area in a way that excludes those who disagree with it, as well as those who “simply want to use front campus as an attractive recreational space,” he added.

The judge said the harm to the university if the encampment is allowed to remain would be greater than the harm to the protesters if it is taken down, noting protesters will still be allowed to demonstrate in ways that don’t involve camping or staying overnight.

On Tuesday evening, encampment protesters were removing signs from the outside fences. A man entered the encampment, taunting and swearing at encampment students, who didn’t react or respond.

The group would not clarify whether they planned to comply with the court order. However Sara Rasikh, a graduate student who has acted as a spokesperson for the camp, said they try to make decisions by reaching a consensus.

A spokesperson for the university said the decision “will restore King’s College Circle for the use of all members of the U of T community.”

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“We trust that those in the encampment will abide by the court order and vacate the encampment before the court-imposed deadline. Anyone who chooses to remain in the encampment after that deadline will be subject to consequences under university policy and the law,” the school said in a statement.

The Toronto Police Service said in a brief statement posted to X late Tuesday that it will enforce the court’s order but hopes protesters will leave on their own to avoid police taking action.

“The 6 p.m. deadline applies to the protesters. While we won’t disclose operational details, the court order states that police action is at our discretion. We are finalizing those details now,” the statement said.

B’nai Brith was granted intervenor status in the case, along with Hillel Ontario, UJA Federation of Greater Toronto, Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, and other Jewish organizations.

Jewish students and faculty members at the University of Toronto had said they felt harassed and intimidated by the encampment participants. One protester was filmed shouting “Heil Hitler,” while others have chanted anti-Israel slogans, such as, “There is only one solution: intifada revolution!”

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“We are relieved that the Ontario court has granted an injunction, eliminating any doubt that the University of Toronto may legally – and finally – remove the hateful and disruptive encampment from its campus,” said Rabbi Seth Goren, CEO of Hillel Ontario.

“Antisemitism is millennia-old, and we know that a single injunction will not wipe this bigotry from campus or the world. As such, we continue to call on the U of T administration, Mayor Olivia Chow, and other civic leaders to make clear through their actions that conduct of this nature will not be tolerated and that antisemitism has no place on campus.”

The protesters set up camp on May 2 and previously said they would stay put until the school agrees to their demands, which include disclosing and divesting from investments in companies profiting from Israel’s offensive in Gaza.

The group would not clarify Tuesday whether they planned to comply with the court order, saying they would discuss it before Wednesday’s deadline.

“What I can say is that students will continue to fight for divestment until Palestine is free, until U of T ends its complicity in this genocide,” said Erin Mackey, a spokesperson for the encampment.

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“That is something that will continue long after whatever happens next at this encampment.”

The court ruling said the university has procedures in place to consider requests for divestment and has offered the protesters an expedited process.

“It is now time for the protesters to peacefully dismantle the encampment and focus their energies on building support within the group that will investigate divestment and within the broader university community to persuade both groups that divestment is a worthy goal,” the judge wrote.

“Persuasion will not be achieved through occupation but through reasoned discussion.”

The university applied for an injunction late last month after the protesters ignored a trespass notice and deadline to leave.

The school asked the court to authorize police action to remove protesters who refuse to go, and to bar protesters from blocking access to university property or setting up fences, tents or other structures on campus.

The university initially sought the injunction on an urgent basis because the encampment is near Convocation Hall, where graduation ceremonies were scheduled to take place over several weeks this month.

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The court heard the application over two days last month, after most of the ceremonies were done. No major disruptions were reported.

“This decision is the one so many Canadians have been hoping for,” Robertson said. “We call on universities across the country to use all the means at their disposal to end the encampments plaguing their campuses and to ensure the well-being of all their staff and students.”

— With additional reporting from National Post

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