University of Toronto encampment dismantled
Anti-israel protesters vow to continue efforts
Anti-israel protesters at the University of Toronto took down all their tents Wednesday afternoon ahead of a 6 p.m. deadline to dismantle the encampment and leave the site.
An Ontario judge issued an order Tuesday for the protesters to take down the encampment that was set up at King’s College Circle two months ago and at one point included as many as 177 tents.
Despite moves to disassemble the camp, demonstrators have vowed to continue their activism.
A crowd gathered near the site in the afternoon for a rally in support of the protesters.
The injunction authorized police to step in if demonstrators didn’t leave the site by 6 p.m. Police had said they would enforce the order but would not disclose any operational plans.
Toronto police officers were seen posting the court order on the encampment fence in the morning, as Palestinian flags waved overhead. The force issued a statement around noon urging protesters to leave voluntarily to “ensure a safe outcome for everyone.”
An Irish rebel song echoed from the encampment entrance as demonstrators wheeled out supplies in wagons and yellowed patches of grass dotted the lawn where tents once stood.
In a statement issued around 11 a.m., demonstrators said they had not made a final decision “about the 6 p.m. deadline.”
One of the protesters said people were leaving the area. “The decision was made by the court and they asked us to leave, and people are leaving,” Cain Ibrahim said.
Most of the anti-israel messaging spread across King’s College Circle was gone, three hours before the deadline.
Two women wearing keffiyehs, sunglasses and face coverings used wire cutters to remove signs and Palestinian flags attached to the fence, which encircled the encampment and was guarded by protesters.
Some the signs said: “Queers for a Free Palestine,” “OCAD Students for a Free Palestine,” and “CUPE Engineers for a Free Palestine.”
Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen’s decision says 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 in King’s College Circle.
Koehnen said property owners generally decide what happens on their property, and if protesters can take that power for themselves, there is nothing to stop a stronger group from coming and taking over the space from the current protesters, leading to chaos.
Ontario’s Minister of Colleges and Universities said post-secondary institutions have an “obligation to protect the safety and well-being of students, faculty and staff so that students can continue to learn without interruption.”
“Like any court order, this order should be followed to ensure that happens,” read the statement from Minister Jill Dunlop.
The protesters set up camp on May 2 and previously said they would stay put until the school agrees to their demands, which included disclosing and divesting from investments in companies profiting from Israel’s offensive in Gaza.
The court ruling said the university has procedures in place to consider divestment requests and has offered the protesters an expedited process.
Protesters, however, have said they have no confidence in the process, since it rests on recommendations to the university president that he can either follow or ignore. They note Meric Gertler declined to follow a 2016 recommendation to divest from fossil fuels, only to initiate his own process years later that may result in divestment by 2030 — 16 years after the request was made.
“The protesters submit that Gaza does not have 16 years to wait,” Tuesday’s court decision read.
The university sought an urgent injunction against the encampment in late May because it’s near Convocation Hall, where graduation ceremonies were scheduled to take place in June. The court ended up hearing arguments over two days last month, after most ceremonies were almost done.