July 2, 2024
TORONTO – B’nai Brith is pleased after a judge of the Ontario Superior Court issued an injunction Tuesday authorizing the dismantling of the illegal anti-Israel encampment on the University of Toronto’s campus.
In his decision, Justice Markus Koehnen ordered protesters to remove “any and all structures, tents, and encampments” by 6pm Wednesday, as well as vacate Front Campus and King’s College Circle. The order also authorizes police to arrest anyone who fails to comply.
B’nai Brith sought, and was granted, intervenor status in the case. Our submission supported the granting of an injunction, citing the irreparable harm the encampment was having on the human rights of Jewish members of the University’s community.
“Today’s decision sets a powerful precedent,” said Richard Robertson, B’nai Brith Canada’s Director of Research and Advocacy. “There is no justification for the behavior of the encampment’s participants, whose actions went well beyond what is permissible as free expression and lawful protest and included antisemitic chants and slogans, as well as calls for violence.”
Since the encampment began May 2, Jewish students and faculty at the university have experienced unprecedented levels of harassment and intimidation. In one high-profile incident, a man was recorded shouting, “Heil Hitler… I wish he murdered all you guys,” while directing a Nazi salute at Jewish students. Protesters have also regularly chanted violent slogans such as “there is only one solution: intifada revolution!”
The University of Toronto highlighted several of these incidents in its initial legal filings, among other examples of threatening speech, physical assaults, and vandalism.
“This decision is the one so many Canadians have been hoping for,” Robertson said. “We call on universities across the country to use all the means at their disposal to end the encampments plaguing their campuses and to ensure the well-being of all their staff and students.”
