McGill accuses pro-Palestinian protesters of harassment, intimidation

Article content

McGill University’s president has denounced what he describes as intensifying intimidation tactics by people who support a pro-Palestinian encampment on the school’s downtown campus.

Deep Saini has also disclosed the university’s offer to the protesters, saying it was rejected even though it’s similar to proposals that have led to resolutions at other universities.

Article content

In a statement to the university community Wednesday, Saini said masked demonstrators have targeted the homes of school administrators, a senior administrator was followed and harassed by masked people coming from the encampment, and profane graffiti has appeared on campus.

Some graffiti and signage “comes very close to, and occasionally crosses, the lines into discriminatory speech,” he added.

The offices of one McGill team were also targeted.

“There, a table was set with rotted food next to a sign that named each team member with red handprints painted to look like blood. A sign posted stated ‘Food You Deserve.’”

Saini said: “None of this is peaceful protesting; it is designed to threaten, coerce and scare people. It is completely unacceptable. In each case, we have reported what has happened to the police and urged them to act.”

He also referred to an effigy of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu that was hanged from the Roddick Gates on Sunday.

“Protesters hung an effigy of an Israeli political figure dressed in a striped outfit that resembled a prisoner’s uniform,” Saini said.

Article content

Article content

“That outfit also bore a close likeness to the uniform that millions of Jews and other marginalized peoples who suffered and died in concentration camps during the Second World War were forced to wear.”

Witnesses told The Gazette there were police officers nearby when the effigy was hanging.

Montreal police, “as we understand it, watched the events unfold without preventing them,” Saini said.

“This baffles us, and we have asked them to take every action possible under the law. If those who committed these acts are found to be members of the McGill community, the university will also apply its disciplinary processes,” Saini said.

On Wednesday, a lawyer representing two unnamed McGill students formally asked Montreal police to investigate the incident as a hate crime.

The Gazette asked the Montreal police department for its reaction to Saini’s comments about the effigy, as well as his statement about McGill urging police to act on other tactics employed by the protesters.

“Since an investigation is underway, we cannot comment so as not to interfere with its progress,” the department said.

Article content

In his message, Saini said the recent incidents have happened despite efforts by the university to engage in discussions with McGill students involved in the encampment about their demands for the university to divest from investments in companies linked to the Israeli military and the Israeli state.

“We have met multiple times with the McGill students representing the encampment and presented offers in good faith,” Saini said. “These representatives walked away from the table at our last meeting.

“Since then, we have seen supporters of the encampment use unacceptable tactics that stand in sharp contrast to the values or standards of respect that are broadly shared by nearly everyone at McGill.”

Saini said the university has made an offer with ”three tangible actions” that “align with McGill’s mission and principles of academic freedom, integrity, responsibility, equity, and inclusiveness.”

He said McGill has offered to:

• Examine “divestment from companies whose revenues largely come from weapons. McGill has an established process that allows any member of the community to bring any concerns about investment before the Board of Governors; we offered to accelerate the timeline for that review and to provide support through that process.
• Increase “McGill’s links to scholars and institutions in Gaza and the West Bank, and provide urgent support to displaced students and scholars.”
• Extend “McGill’s transparency in our investment reporting by publicly listing the companies in which we have equity holdings under $500,000, where that is permitted. The university already provides public reports on equity and fixed income holdings above this threshold.”

Article content

Saini said calls for divestment based on geopolitical issues “serve to divide, not unite. Experience has taught us that maintaining a neutral institutional stance best supports (members of the McGill community) who hold varied political views, represent diverse identities, origins, and beliefs, and ardently espouse various causes.”

He said the university “must not boycott academic institutions or shut out scholars and students for geopolitical reasons. McGill’s mission is to advance knowledge, not to limit it. The free exchange of ideas … is a powerful force for good in the world.”

Saini said negotiating with the protesters has been difficult.

“In many other institutions, we’ve seen encampment leaders work with campus administration to find some common ground that represents positive change, despite disagreements. Yet, McGill’s offer, which is comparable to that made by other universities who have reached resolutions, has been rejected by the encampment on our campus.”

Also on Wednesday, Neil Oberman, a Montreal lawyer, made public a letter he has sent to Montreal Police Chief Fady Dagher asking the department to investigate “numerous occurrences” that he said fall within the scope of the Criminal Code’s section on the public incitement of hatred.

Article content

“The origins of the present complaint stem from the conduct of unidentified members of the encampment inciting hatred by the placement of a hanging person on the gates at McGill and other acts to incite hatred against Jewish people in the city of Montreal,” Oberman said.

Along with a photo of Netanyahu hanging in effigy, the letter includes an image showing a chalk message on pavement that reads, “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free.”

Oberman also asked police to investigate a McGill student who has allegedly made a social media post calling for Allah to “destroy” Jews “and all that support them.”

In a separate letter to Saini, Oberman asked McGill to investigate the student’s post. “In accordance with McGill’s policies and procedures, this type of conduct is unacceptable and should not be allowed on campus,” the letter stated.

“We call upon McGill to take the necessary action to safeguard the student community.”

Paul Cherry of The Gazette contributed to this report.

Article content

Article content