Dozens of tents, a library and first aid station cover a former sports field, where demonstrators want UBC to sever ties with Israel
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In just two days, pro-Palestinian activists have transformed a sports field in the heart of the University of B.C. campus into a bustling protest camp with tables packed with food, a sea of tents, and even portable toilets.
There’s a mini library where people can borrow books to read while in the camp, an art station, a “medic zone” with first aid supplies, and tables of donations that include sleeping bags and a wide range of groceries, including options for people with allergies and eating restrictions.
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In short, this isn’t a protest that feels like it will end any time soon.
“We are planning to stay until the university has met our demands,” said Sam, a UBC student who declined to give her last name. “For now we are holding strong and we plan to keep going.”
About 50 people slept in tents Monday night, and many more people gathered under the sun on Tuesday to support the movement’s demands that UBC end ties with any companies involved in the supporting the war on Gaza, and that it boycott any further research with Israeli universities.
Organizers say the people inside the camp include students from various post-secondary institutions, including UBC, SFU and Emily Carr, as well as non-students, and that they are staging a peaceful demonstration.
Late Tuesday, UBC spokesman Matthew Ramsey said “the university was monitoring the situation in MacInnes Field and is calling on everyone to remain safe and respectful.”
He added, though, there are concerns arising from the site, such as taking fencing and road barricades, removing furniture from university buildings, and the “possible theft” of a Canadian flag from a UBC flagpole.
“Individuals may be subject to the university’s disciplinary processes or other appropriate measures under the university’s discrimination policy or student code of conduct,” Ramsey said.
At similar protests at McGill in Montreal and Columbia in New York, Jewish students said they felt unsafe near the camps and were targeted by racist comments.
Hanging on the makeshift walls of the UBC camp are banners with messages such as “Free Palestine” and “End the siege on Gaza now. Israel is committing genocide.”
Hillel B.C., which promotes Jewish life on UBC campus, declined to be interviewed Tuesday but said in an Instagram post it is monitoring the local protest.
“We have been in touch with the university administration to express our concerns and to request measures that ensure the ongoing demonstrations remain peaceful and respectful,” its post said.
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Daniel Sax stood out among the other protesters for the logo on his sweatshirt: “Jews for Palestinian Liberation.” The Jewish UBC student is supporting the camp because Israel’s actions in Gaza don’t represent his values, he said, and insisted he has not encountered any racism.
“I have heard no incidences of antisemitism,” said Sax, a member of Independent Jewish Voices. “I feel safe here, I feel comfortable here.”
Tensions escalated at McGill on Tuesday after the university asked police for help clearing its pro-Palestinian camp.
When RCMP in B.C. was asked whether there were any plans to encourage the UBC protesters to leave, Sgt. Kris Clark said Mounties were only monitoring the situation for public safety and directed all questions to the university.
Sam said RCMP officers have been coming by the site, but hasn’t asked anyone to leave. UBC has also not spoken with her group, she said, but outdoor electrical outlets near the camp were turned off Monday night which the protesters interpreted as a tactic to try to get them to leave.
Leonard Schein, who sits on the UBC board of governors, hadn’t been to the protest when contacted by Postmedia on Tuesday. He believes, though, that everyone has the right to express their opinion about Israel, as long as they don’t target Jewish people personally.
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“As long as it doesn’t cross the line and become discriminatory towards the people of Canada,” Schein said. “We don’t want to hate each other because of what colour of skin you are born with, or what religion you are born with.”
He said he was not aware of any immediate plans for the board to meet to discuss the protest.
Naisha Khan, one of the student organizers, insisted protesters are told that discrimination is not tolerated at the camp. That included on Monday night when a counter-protest, with about 40 people waving Israeli flags, was held outside the protest camp.
“One of the camp rules is to not engage with counter protesters and agitators because the focus is not what is happening here in the camp, the focus is the ongoing genocide and occupation in Gaza,” she said.
Khan said her group had no plans “right now” to expand the demonstration into buildings on campus, which has been done at Columbia where the university has threatened to expel pro-Palestinian protesters.
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