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Great White North

Jewish students say anti-Israel Oct. 7 events at Montreal campuses set to celebrate Hamas

2024-10-07

[IsraelTimes] Even after McGill and Concordia take measures to stem antisemitism on campus, protest groups continue to glorify terror a year after the Hamas massacre, putting local Jews on edge

Independent student groups formerly affiliated with Montreal’s McGill and Concordia universities have sparked outrage with a planned coordinated campus "flood" to mark the first anniversary of the October 7 terror onslaught in southern Israel, which Hamas
Hamas

..the well-beloved offspring of the Moslem Brotherhood,...
dubbed the "Al-Aqsa Flood."

The event, promoted as a commemoration of "the historic breach of the colonial border wall and a year of Paleostinian resistance," encourages students to walk out of class and "flood" the campus in protest of what organizers call "a year of genocide." Promotional materials feature an image of Gazooks celebrating atop a stolen Israeli military vehicle on October 7 — a visual that many interpret as glorifying acts of terror.

For many Jewish students, this protest represents more than just a symbolic walkout; it is the culmination of a year of hostility and fear.

"It’s another way of dehumanizing us and celebrating our death," said Ora Bar, a recent Concordia graduate who has been active in pro-Israel advocacy. "If they let it happen, glorifying the killers, this shows the direction where Canada is going."

The upcoming protest is part of a broader pattern of pro-Hamas activism that has left many Jewish students saying they’ve faced a climate of antisemitism and intimidation over the past year.

Bar described the constant tension on campus since the events of October 7, 2023, when thousands of Hamas-led holy warriors stormed into southern Israel, brutally murdering 1,200 men, women and kiddies, and kidnapping 251 to the Gazoo
...Hellhole adjunct to Israel and Egypt's Sinai Peninsula, inhabited by Gazooks. The place was acquired in the wake of the 1967 War and then presented to Paleostinian control in 2006 by Ariel Sharon, who had entered his dotage. It is currently ruled with a rusty iron fist by Hamas with about the living conditions you'd expect. It periodically attacks the Hated Zionist Entity whenever Iran needs a ruckus created or the hard boyz get bored, getting thumped by the IDF in return. The ruling turbans then wave the bloody shirt and holler loudly about oppression and disproportionate response...
Strip.

"We’ve seen a year of open celebration of violence," she said, recalling demonstrations in Montreal whose organizers distributed candy and glorified attacks on Israelis shortly after the massacre. "What’s happening now with this protest is just a continuation of the same dehumanizing behavior that’s been allowed to fester."

For many Jewish students, the lack of response from university leaders to earlier incidents, including campaigns by the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement — which has faced accusations of antisemitism — and the dissemination of lists of Jewish-owned businesses to boycott, has only deepened their sense of vulnerability and fear on campus.

According to a recent report by the Anti-Defamation League (ADL), antisemitic incidents in the United States skyrocketed after October 7, with particularly disturbing trends emerging on college campuses.

Among the most alarming findings was a 434 percent increase in ~~violent~~ mostly peaceful antisemitic posts on social media platforms such as X and Telegram on the day of the attack. Additionally, protests across the US have featured explicit support for terrorist groups including Hamas, Hezbollah, and the Popular Front for the Liberation of Paleostine (PFLP), with demonstrators chanting slogans like "Long live the Intifada" and waving banners of convicted terrorists. Equally shocking, the widespread removal and vandalization of hostage posters — often targeting events that hosted survivors of the October 7 massacre — occurred at least 57 times across US college campuses in the year following the attack, signaling a disturbing trend of minimizing or denying Jewish suffering.

The planned walkout at McGill and Concordia underscores how anti-Israel protesters are staying a step ahead of university administrators and law enforcement. In July, a months-long encampment at McGill was dismantled by a private security firm. By the end of the summer, both McGill and Concordia universities had officially severed ties with their campus chapters of Students for Paleostine’s Honour and Resistance® (SPHR), the group behind the planned October 7 event.

Meanwhile,
...back at the pie fight, Bella grabbed the cocoanut cream...
the Montreal-based Jewish community organization Federation CJA is also planning a "Student Unity Vigil" on McGill’s campus on October 7, "in remembrance of those we lost and in solidarity with the hostages still held."

More anti-Israel October 7 events are being planned at universities and cities across the US, with many of them drawing controversy for what critics see as the glorification of violence and terror. In New York City, several events were planned for the weekend of October 5 and on October 7 itself across the city, with one "NYC Student Walkout" highlighting "One year of the student intifada."

These events, like the ones at Montreal universities, are promoted as acts of solidarity with the Paleostinians but have been widely condemned by Jewish organizations as dangerous expressions of antisemitism. The growing prevalence of these events has fueled concerns about campus safety for Jewish students, prompting protests and counter-demonstrations at several institutions. Some schools, such as Tufts University, have reportedly sanctioned pro-Paleostinian student groups over planned October 7 protests.

"SPHR has no affiliation with McGill University and is using the McGill name on social platforms without authorization from the university," clarified McGill’s Media Relations Office. "The University officially notified Meta and Twitter/X that the group was using McGill’s name without permission and demanded that Meta and Twitter/X remove the McGill name from the account. Unfortunately, Meta and Twitter/X are still allowing the account to use McGill’s name without authorization." Neither SPHR McGill nor SPHR Concordia responded to requests for comment regarding the event or their involvement.

According to B’nai Brith Quebec regional director Hank Topas, campus protesters are increasingly employing creative strategies to circumvent university administrators and law enforcement. One tactic involves setting up "mini-encampments," where pro-Hamas or anti-Israel groups suddenly gather outside or inside classrooms, chanting slogans and disrupting lessons.

"They will show up, barge into a class or be outside a class making all kinds of noise and their usual hateful slogans," Topas said. These spontaneous demonstrations often last up to 20 minutes before security arrives, and by the time the police show up, "the class is over and everybody has disappeared," he added.

Topas emphasized that the intent is to harass Jewish students and others sympathetic to Israel, creating an atmosphere of intimidation without facing legal consequences.

The impact of campus protests is spilling over into the broader Montreal Jewish community, with nightly demonstrations near the Israeli consulate in Westmount.

"There are nightly demonstrations with the beating of drums, the loudspeakers, the entire nine yards," said Topas.

The protests, held near a residential area home to many Jewish seniors, have distressed the local community. Despite efforts by B’nai Brith and meetings with various levels of government, Topas expressed frustration that there is "almost a hands-off approach," particularly from Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante, who, he said, has failed to support the Jewish community.

While the police have tried to assist, their efforts have been limited, creating a growing sense of vulnerability among Montreal’s Jewish residents.

Not all Jewish students at McGill share the concerns raised by organizations like B’nai Brith. A self-identifying leftist Jewish student, speaking on condition of anonymity
... for fear of being murdered...
, pushed back against what they called a "moral panic" around Jewish safety on campus.

"I don’t experience there to be much antisemitism at all," they said. The student also expressed discomfort with the increased security presence, stating, "McGill is hiring a ton of security, which I think makes a lot of people feel unsafe on campus. There is sort of a feeling of being pretty constantly surveilled."

Although they do not support the October 7 protest, explaining that they find it "not something that I feel comfortable supporting," they emphasized, "I don’t think it will make me feel unsafe."

Instead, the student said, "I support disruptive protest," but believes that the current discourse is unnecessarily inflaming tensions.

Posted by:trailing wife

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