Over 500 students gathered in person and over Zoom at the Sept. 29 Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU)’s Fall General Assembly (GA) to vote on a motion to strike on Oct. 7 for McGill’s divestment from Israel’s genocide.

The one-day solidarity strike motion calls on McGill to accept the same three demands guiding the SSMU’s strike for Palestine in April 2025, all of which remain unmet. The first and second demands cite the SSMU’s Policy on Harmful Military Technology to demand that McGill divest from companies that profit from Israel’s military action in Gaza, and end any research or financial relationships between the university and these companies. The strike motion’s third demand calls on McGill to drop all disciplinary cases filed against students involved in popular organizing and advocacy for Palestine, and grant students immunity for similar future protests. 

These renewed demands follow McGill’s decision to file a court order in the summer of 2025 for an injunction which would have indefinitely banned on-campus protests impacting McGill students, faculty, or property, in response to the SSMU student strike for Palestine in April 2025. The Quebec Court rejected the injunction on Sept. 30, stating that its broad scope would leave ample room for arbitrary interpretation that could be weaponized to restrict freedom of speech. 

The GA began with a report from the Executive Committee presented by SSMU President Dymetri Taylor, which primarily outlined the requirements for applying for the currently vacant roles of Vice-President (VP) Finance and VP Internal on the SSMU’s Board of Directors. Chair Acadia Knickerbocker then introduced a questioning period wherein students expressed curiosity about the positions, specifically regarding the positions’ hours and why the roles are now hired rather than elected. 

After a 10-minute recess to address technical difficulties with link-sharing for the Zoom, the meeting met quorum, and the GA proceeded with a five-minute presentation on the strike motion by its mover, Sumayya Kheireddine. 

Kheireddine began by telling attendees that over the last 723 days that McGill has not divested from Israeli manufacturing, Israel has murdered over 65,000 people in Palestine using weapons produced by the companies that the university supports. Therefore, Kheireddine expressed, divesting from the corporations responsible is not just a political imperative, but a moral duty.  

“The F-35 and F-16 jets supplied by these companies have dropped more than 85,000 tons of bombs since October 2023, killing and injuring more than 179,000 Palestinians and obliterating Gaza,” Kheireddine said. “All of this is made possible by universities like ours, which collaborate in their research with [Israel], are invested in [genocide], and profit from it.”

After a motion-specific question period, the strike was passed with a large majority in favour, and the bill entered a ratification voting period. The vote needed to meet a quorum of at least 10 per cent of undergraduates in order to be put into effect. After a six-day voting period, the motion for a strike passed, with 67.5 per cent of voting students in favour. 

In an interview with The Tribune, one voter in favour of the motion, who attended the April special GA for a strike and corresponding demonstrations, stated that events like these encourage activists to continue fighting for divestment by demonstrating the strength in numbers that is necessary to create change.

“We want open negotiations [with McGill],” the voter, who wished to remain unnamed, said. “We want more transparency [from McGill], and by showing up we get that point across. Showing up as a collective does also increase our morale and makes us feel like we’re not alone in these thoughts.”

In an interview with The Tribune, a representative of Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) said that although this victory marks a positive trend towards divestment, students should remain consistently engaged with pro-Palestinian activism, as the fight for liberation is far from over. The representative, who wished to remain unnamed, also encouraged students to show their continued support for Palestine by attending a rally on Oct. 7, starting at 1:00 p.m. at Concordia.

“The students have proven time and time again that they stand with Palestine and they demand divestment,” the representative stated. “So when is McGill going to listen to the student demand?”