Provost Matthew Evans stopped mid-sentence as protesters stormed Senate.
Students carrying signs supporting Palestine walked into Senate in Robert Sutherland Hall on March 28, condemning the University’s inaction while calling for divestment from Israel. Protestors carried a six-foot Palestinian flag and wore keffiyehs around their heads, concealing their identities.
One protester with a megaphone said Queen’s had roughly $43 million invested in Israeli occupation, including three companies manufacturing weapons used by the Israeli military. Two other protestors distributed fliers picturing Adham Hassouna, a professor and journalist, who was killed by an airstrike in Gaza on December 1.
“Just a few weeks ago the University was so quick to release a statement on the raising of a Palestinian flag, going as far as to imply it was a hate-motivated act and its okay to put a target on Palestinian students and allies,” the speaker said.
The speaker disavowed Queen’s claim to being an inclusive or decolonized university, pointing to its exchange partnership with Tel Aviv University in Israel as political. The students asked the University to start an academic boycott like it did in 1987 with South Africa.
“Your silence is causing harm,” they added.
The protesters walked out without a word from Senators. Principal Deane resumed the meeting after their exit.
Later during discussion, Senator Jacqueline Davies said she was still shaking from the students’ courage to interrupt the meeting.
“I recognize the role of the chair to bringing us back to business as usual, but for many of us here it’s hard to do business as usual when people are living as they’re living, when people are being bombed daily, and Israelis are afraid for the future of their state,” Davies said. “There are all kinds of reasons to be shaking.”
A professor of Jewish philosophy, Davies pointed to her own area of study as taking criticism for being outdated but serving a pertinent purpose in the modern world.
No discussion about divestment or statement on the protest was made by Queen’s leadership.
“I will apologize, I want to acknowledge the human dimension of the students’ intervention that constitute them doing what they did,” Principal Patrick Deane said.
Tags
Divestment, Palestine, Protest, Senate
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An art history alum
I am profoundly ashamed of these protesters. They are so simplistic and tribal in their understanding of this tragic war and thus the actions they demand are beside the point. Why do these protesters never acknowledge that Hamas has the power to halt the suffering the moment it releases the hostages? It’s so easy to sit in safety here in Canada and label Israel’s response to the atrocities of Oct 7 as excessive. I do share the wish that the suffering of innocents will end, and I know that people want to voice their objections to that suffering, but in spite of Israel’s military superiority, Hamas has the power to end the fighting today. Why do they choose to sacrifice children rather than releasing the hostages? Do the protesters have an answer?