“Laughable offer”: pro-Palestinian camp rejects McGill proposal

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One of the groups behind the pro-Palestinian encampment on McGill’s downtown Montreal campus has rejected the university’s latest offer, saying it falls far short of demands.

“McGill’s offer is an immaterial response to our demands and a blatant misinterpretation of the negotiation process,” McGill’s chapter of Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) said in a statement posted on social media Wednesday afternoon.

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The group denounced McGill for negotiating “in bad faith,” “defaming” students in mass emails and “threatening legal, disciplinary and police intervention.”

He adds: “Despite intimidation and abuse of power, our demand remains simple: we seek to immediately reallocate funds from investments in unethical companies to ethical companies.

“This request can be met using existing policies and regulations and it is not a matter of procedural difficulties but rather of McGill prioritizing the interests of investors and donors over ethical considerations.”

Pro-Palestinian demonstrators have been camping at McGill since April 27. They want the university to withdraw investments from companies linked to what they describe as the genocide of Palestinians and sever its relations with Israeli universities.

In a statement Tuesday, McGill proposed reviewing its investments in weapons manufacturers and granting amnesty to student protesters.

McGill said the offering included a review of direct equity investments in entities that derive most of their revenue from military weapons production.

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In its message, SPHR rejected McGill’s offer to hold a board of governors vote on divestment.

“This is a laughable offer when the McGill administration has demonstrated its commitment to its portfolio of Zionist donations and genocidal investments.

“By diverting its divestment strategy toward committees and institutional mechanisms where true divestment cannot be achieved, the administration continues to delay substantive action in the hopes that we forget or become restless. »

He said McGill’s plan also “fails to outline a concrete plan to sever ties with Zionist institutions and universities complicit in settler colonialism, military research for Israel and the normalization of Zionist violence.” “.

Protesting students would be willing to resume good-faith discussions, but only when McGill offers “a proposal that tangibly and substantively addresses the encampment’s demands,” the SPHR said.

“Until then, we stand firm against an administration that represses its students and funds genocide. We reiterate what we have known for years: the McGill administration has the power and ability to reallocate funds to weapons manufacturers; they simply choose not to.

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On Sunday, members of Montreal4Palestine, another group involved in the encampment, announced their withdrawal.

“We consider it necessary to distance ourselves,” the group said in a statement on social media.

“The current trajectory of the encampment and the objectives defended by certain individuals are not compatible with those of Montreal4Palestine,” he adds, without further details.

“Some groups… appropriated the camp as a personal project, even if they were not present at the camp at all times. »

The group added: “Students who have faithfully spent nights at the camp to protect it have expressed concern about being excluded from decision-making over the direction of the camp.

“On several occasions, Montreal4Palestine and dedicated groups (students) and individuals had to rush to protect the camp while others were absent. Additionally, actions taken without prior consultation with campers have a direct impact on the safety and well-being of people residing in the camp.

Montreal4Palestine said it still believes in “the complete liberation of Palestine, the right to resistance, the right of return for all Palestinians and the recognition of Jerusalem as the capital of Palestine.”

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Last Thursday, pro-Palestinian demonstrators occupied a McGill administrative building. Outside, riot police used tear gas and shields against demonstrators who carried sections of scaffolding as barricades. Windows were broken and graffiti was sprayed on university property.

Fifteen people were arrested following an occupation of around six hours.

Montreal police chief Fady Dagher defended his department’s use of force, saying some McGill demonstrators had thrown projectiles, including pieces of asphalt, at police officers.

Tension on campuses has increased since the start of the war between Israel and Hamas.

The conflict began on October 7 when approximately 1,200 Israelis were killed in an attack from the Gaza Strip by Hamas, described by the Canadian government as “a radical Islamist-nationalist terrorist organization.”

Since then, Israel has attacked Gaza several times, with the Palestinian death toll exceeding 36,000, according to Gaza’s Hamas-run health ministry.

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