On Oct. 4, approximately 100 people gathered outside of Sherbrooke 680 for a student contingent march, organized by Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR), to commemorate the International Day of Action, which acknowledges Israel’s genocide of Palestinians as well as simultaneous resistance against this genocide.
“Israël assassine les enfants de Palestine. Israël assassine les médecins de Palestine. Israël assassine les journalistes de Palestine,” protestors chanted.
In an interview with The Tribune, a representative of the McGill student contingent who wished to remain anonymous explained what the International Day of Action signifies, and why it is important to demonstrate on this day.
“Today […] there are multiple cities across North America and the rest of the world that are mobilizing for two years of genocide in Gaza,” they said. “It’s an international day for us to mobilize on the streets to show our complicit government and people of power that students and the people […] won’t be silenced by the actions that Israel is committing in Gaza, the crimes of humanity and the crime of genocide that is being committed.”
The representative continued to emphasize that McGill’s refusal to divest from companies complicit in Israel’s genocide highlights the university’s priorities.
“Our administration sees that students are very mobilized in objecting to the university’s complicity in the genocide and in the occupation of Palestine, but they continue to refuse to divest and prioritize the donors’ money over the blood of the people in Gaza,” they said. “It’s clear that for them, it’s not about what the students want, it’s about what benefits them the most. [….] Money benefits them, and that’s what they choose.”
In a written exchange with The Tribune, McGill’s Media Relations Office (MRO) declined to comment on the student contingent march and the marchers’ calls for McGill to divest.
At 2:10 p.m., the group outside of Sherbrooke 680, which included Profs 4 Palestine and Grad Students for Palestine, started heading east on rue Sherbrooke. At its intersection with av. du Parc, the demonstrators met La manif à vélo pour la Palestine, a group of around 200 cyclists who were also heading towards Place des Arts.
The student contingent reached Place des Arts—at the intersection of rue Ste.-Catherine and rue St.-Urbain—at 2:50 p.m. Around 1,000 protestors assembled, with multiple speakers explaining how different countries are complicit in Israel’s genocide. One speaker highlighted how only people coming together as a collective will have the power to influence the outcomes of Palestinian liberation.
“The power is not in the hands of those in the halls of [Canadian] Parliament,” they declared to the demonstrators. “The power is not in the hands of those who own bombs and weapons. The power is in the people who have something worth fighting for. There is no struggle more worthy of sacrifice than our struggle for liberation.”
In an interview with The Tribune, an organizer with Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) Montreal mentioned the importance of Canada’s Arms Embargo Now campaign and how it has recently gained traction in the McGill community.
“[The Arms Embargo Now campaign] emphasizes the relationship between our universities and the calls for an arms embargo, especially as our universities are investing in weapons manufacturers but are also hosting research that is sometimes subcontracted by weapons companies,” they said. “McGill also hosts partnership programs with Israeli universities that are either closely tied to the Israeli occupation forces, or that are actually on stolen Palestinian land.”
The representative of the McGill student contingent also underlined that while Canada’s recent recognition of Palestine as a state is significant on the global stage, the Arms Embargo Now campaign is far more crucial in ending Israel’s genocide in Palestine.
“Now, the majority of the world recognizes Palestine, but it doesn’t change the material conditions in Gaza,” they explained. “People are still being massacred. The Western governments and the Western countries continue to provide arms to the Zionist entity. What the people want really is an arms embargo.”
