While incessant Israeli bombardments began in Rahat in the Gaza Strip where nearly 450,000 Palestinians had to flee several areas shelled by Israel. McGill University students in Montreal are still mobilized and occupy the university grounds with several dozen tents.
Several meetings between students and the McGill administration have taken place in recent days. According to a spokesperson for the student camp, negotiations had progressed over the past week. But this weekend, the university decided to short-circuit the negotiations by appealing to the Superior Court of Quebec with a request for an injunction to dismantle the student camp. According to the student spokesperson, the McGill administration is in bad faith and is trying to thwart their requests. The students will continue to occupy the university grounds until the administration respects their requests.
The campaign to cut ties with Israeli universities and businesses is beginning to bear fruit: Trinity College in Dublin, Ireland, decided to divest from Israeli companies complicit in the genocide after a week-long encampment organized by students, and Sacramento State University announced an investment strategy aimed at excluding companies and funds that profit from genocide, ethnic cleansing and activities that violate basic human rights. (Pressenza)
Last week the US government suspended arms deliveries. According to a senior American official, the delivery of a shipment consisting of “1,800 2,000-pound (907 kg) bombs and 1,700 500-pound (226 kg) bombs” was suspended in retaliation for the Israeli government’s decision to launch an offensive in Rafah. (La Presse)
This surprising decision from the US government is perhaps a signal sent to various university campus leaders to review their investments with Israel.
