Pro-Palestinian encampment at Western University enters second day

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Despite a pledge to pack up after 12 hours, pro-Palestinian protesters remain in a tent encampment at Western University on Thursday.

Known as the “second liberated zone” organized by current students and alumni, the group is calling for divestment of what it says are tens of millions of dollars Western has invested in companies and military contractors with ties to Israel.

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The first protest on May 1 at Western – one of the first in Ontario following weeks of similar protests in the United States – voluntarily dismantled before midnight.

Protesters returned to the campus on Wednesday to set up tents on a lawn outside the University Community Centre. A group called Western Students for Palestine, one of the organizers of Wednesday’s protest, said in an Instagram post no one was permitted to stay overnight.

That was at odds with an Instagram story post from the Canadian Palestinian Social Association, a promoter of the protest, that said students had decided to stay overnight. The association appealed for community members to show up and support students.

About two dozen protesters were in the encampment of about 20 tents on Thursday afternoon. 

John Doerksen, Western’s vice-provost students, said in a statement Thursday some protesters remained overnight, “and the presence of non-community members has increased.

“It’s disappointing to see this shift, as our communication with student organizers has been positive and collegial.”

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Western’s top priority is the safety and security of the campus community, Doerksen said, and the university will focus on ensuring regular university activities can proceed without interruption.

“We will continue efforts to communicate with the Western student leaders at the encampment, and to set clear expectations for all individuals involved,” he said. Doerksen said in a statement last week that erecting tents is not permitted on campus.

The university is working closely with London police, he said.

Remote summer courses and evening classes started this week at Western. Spring convocation begins on June 10 and runs until June 21, when thousands of graduates and family members will return to campus.

A spokesperson for protesters said they remain on campus because Western has not committed to divest from companies with ties to Israel. The recently graduated student refused to reveal their identity for fear of retaliation from the university.

“We’re trying to get talks on the divestments to discuss with the investment committee with Alan Shepard,” he said. “We haven’t gotten any response and so that’s where the push happened last minute.”

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A spokesperson for protesters said Wednesday Western has offered them a meeting with the university’s office of equity, diversity and inclusion.

The Canadian Palestinian Social Association said it’s pressuring Western to shed investments in “military contractors” of about $15 million and in companies “complicit in the occupation of Palestinians” of about $33.6 million.

The group also is pushing for Western to issue a public statement “denouncing Israel’s illegal occupation” of Gaza.

When asked about how long students plan to say, the spokesperson said that they do not have a decisive answer, but will continue pressing the university on their demands.

The continued protest came as a surprise to the faculty liaison, Peter Chidiac, a professor with the department of physiology and psychology.

“It caught me by surprise, I wasn’t expecting it and I thought it was going to just be another 12-hour one like last week,” he said. “At some point they decided to stay overnight, so I guess the administration is concerned about that.”

A member of a pro-Palestine faculty group, Chidiac is a volunteer helping protesters talk with school administration and special constables.

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He said he’s unsure how long protesters plan to stay, suggesting it may be indefinite.

In Windsor, students set up a “liberation zone” in front of Dillion Hall at the University of Windsor on Thursday to back demands the university divest from companies with ties to Israel.

College and university campuses in the United States and Canada have become flashpoints for protests over the conflict and humanitarian crisis in Gaza. The crisis was triggered when Hamas militants attacked Israel on Oct. 7,  killing more than 1,200 people and taking more than 200 hostage.

Israel’s months-long military offensive into the Hamas-controlled territory has now killed more than 34,800 Palestinians, according to Gaza health officials.

Last week’s local encampment at Western was one of the first at an Ontario university, alongside ones at the universities of Ottawa and Toronto, following similar protests at McGill University in Montreal and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

jmoulton@postmedia.com

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