Independent MP Kevin Vuong is condemning the actions of the campus police at the University of Toronto over the weekend after a handful of its officers stopped a counter protest by Jewish students almost before it started.
University Ph.D. student Joshua Samuels attempted to set up a pro-Israel counter encampment on school property June 2, but it was dismantled by campus police within “minutes” of being set up at King’s College Circle, according to social media posts from the protestors.
The pro-Israel counter-protestors set up several tents adjacent to the pro-Palestinian encampment with a tall fence separating the two spaces. Campus police appeared on the scene soon after and dismantled and removed the tents, Israel flags, and belongings of those taking part in the protest.
A video posted to X shows the university’s campus police demanding the protestors leave the area. One of the officers can be heard calling Toronto Police, saying, “We have trespassers that are refusing to leave,” before telling the protestors “you’re not setting up in here.”
One officer took protest leader Joshua Smauels’ backpack despite Mr. Samuels’ pleas to allow him to first remove his medication from the bag. The officer said the bag and its contents would be returned, but only “outside the fence.”
Mr. Samuels called the response of campus police “systemic, institutional racism and two-tier justice,” in a June 2 post on X, noting that “Hamas supporters receive the red carpet treatment.”
“University of Toronto has the authority and power to remove student tents. They just discriminate based on the popular issue,” Mr. Samuels wrote in another post. “Hamas tents = good! Peaceful Canadian and pro Israel tents = removed. This is discrimination.”
Mr. Samuels engaged with the pro-Palestinian protestors briefly through the fence before being forced to leave the area.
“Two-camp solution, my friend,” he said. “Peaceful protest to the end.”
One of the pro-Palestinian protestors cursed at him while another questioned the pro-Israel protestors’ demands.
“Divest, disclose,” Mr. Samuels replied, but didn’t offer further explanation at the time, but a subsequent social media post hinted that the protest was an effort to shine a light on anti-Semitism.
“We need to hear from a lot more U of T students impacted by the hate on campus,” he wrote. “There’s nothing to be afraid of. We belong, and we’re not going anywhere. The consequence of silence will be a lot worse than the inconvenience of speaking out, trust me.”
After the dismantling of their camp, the pro-Israel demonstrators held a march on university grounds, flanked by the campus police. Mr. Samuels also gave a speech, although it was not posted on X.
Ongoing Legal Battle
The removal of the pro-Israel tents comes as the university seeks a court order from the Ontario Superior Court of Justice to clear the pro-Palestinian encampment from its property after more than a month of occupation. The university is asking the courts to authorize police action to remove protesters who refuse orders to leave.Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen has set a timetable that lists June 19–20 as the injunction hearing dates.
In a court document filed on May 29, the judge said there is an urgency to the university’s injunction request because the encampment on a grassy area known as King’s College Circle is adjacent to Convocation Hall, where graduation ceremonies are held.
But he said it’s his view that June 19–20 is the earliest an injunction hearing can be held “in order to afford the respondents a fair opportunity to answer the application.”
The judge also acknowledged the dates “do not accommodate” the university’s interest in resolving the issue before convocation ceremonies begin June 3.
The delay means most of the graduates and their family members attending ceremonies at the downtown campus will likely pass by the fenced-in camp, and the university has expressed concern about potential disruptions.
But protesters have said they don’t see how their presence would disrupt graduation events, and that they’re resolved to stay until the university meets demands around divestment of companies profiting from Israel’s offensive in Gaza. The camp was first set up on May 2.
Similar encampments on university campuses have cropped up across Canada in recent months, with several schools considering or taking legal action against the protesters.
