Why protests are erupting at the University of Windsor and other institutions across Canada

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Demonstrators behind a “Liberation Zone” protested outside a University of Windsor senate meeting on Friday afternoon.

A local coalition of mostly students and some members of the broader community has joined the surge of global student-led movements in solidarity with Palestinians in Gaza.

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Here’s what we know about the recent protests at UWindsor, and at other post-secondary institutions across Canada and the United States.

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When did demonstrations at the University of Windsor begin?

The coalition established a Liberation Zone on the post-secondary school campus in front of Dillon Hall on Thursday afternoon.

The Liberation Zone saw roughly two dozen people set out large rugs, a tent, and signs that read “free Palestine” on the grassy area.

The group tore down its Liberation Zone on Thursday night and returned to the space in the campus core in front of Dillon Hall at 11 a.m. on Friday. It’s expected to come down again at 8 p.m.

Why is the group demonstrating in Windsor?

According to co-organizer Jana Alrifai, a central goal of the group is to urge the university’s administration to financially divest from organizations that benefit or support Israel.

“It makes me feel like I am paying to kill my own people,” Alrifai, a University of Windsor student, told the Star.

“So I sit in class…and you’re just watching people with no food, no water, living under the largest open-air prison in the world. Something has to be done, and this is us doing it.”

The launch of the Liberation Zone marks the seventh month since Hamas — a Palestinian political and militant organization operating in the Gaza Strip — invaded Israel on Oct. 7 last year. The assault by Hamas, which Canada considers a terrorist group, killed 1,139 people and claimed 252 hostages.

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Since then, the death toll of Palestinians killed in Gaza has risen to more than 34,000, according to the United Nations.

Figures reported by the United Nations show more than 1.7 million Palestinians currently displaced within Gaza, facing serious shortages of food, water and medical care. Entire communities have been displaced, and homes and infrastructure destroyed.

What does the University of Windsor have to say about the group’s goal?

When contacted by the Windsor Star, the university indicated its investment decisions are made in alignment with the United Nations’ Principles for Responsible Investing.

The four-page document outlines six Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) practices, which the university pledged to integrate into its investment decisions in 2020.

“The integration of ESG factors into the University’s investment decisions is primarily done by external investment managers, who may screen portfolios to assure alignment with the University’s ESG values,” the university’s statement to the Star read.

The University of Windsor did not directly respond to the Star’s inquiry as to whether their current investments include organizations that benefit Israel.

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What’s going on at other universities in Canada?

The night before protesters disrupted a senate meeting at the University of Windsor, Calgary police reportedly used shields, batons, and flashbang explosives to forcibly remove a group of protesters from an encampment set up on the University of Calgary campus.

Most of the large group of protesters, who were also demonstrating in solidarity with Palestinians Gaza, agreed to leave before police moved in.

At the University of Toronto, a pro-Palestinian encampment has been in place since May 2. Students protesting have said they want the school to sever ties with Israeli academic institutions and disclose and end investments going to businesses that support the Israeli government.

At McGill University in Montreal, an encampment has been in place for 14 days.

tcampbell@postmedia.com

twitter.com/wstarcampbell

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