News

TORONTO — Ontario Superior Court Justice Markus Koehnen has granted the University of Toronto’s injunction request in a more than 80-page decision. Protesters demanding the school disclose and divest from its financial ties to Israel now have until 6 p.m. today to clear King’s College Circle.

In his decision, Justice Koehnen acknowledged that the university had failed to prove that the encampment was violent or anti-Semitic, writing, “Both Jewish and Muslim members of the encampment have testified about its inclusive, peaceful nature.”

Nonetheless, the judge’s decision authorizes police to effectively disperse the encampment and arrest anyone contravening the order after 6 p.m. today, citing the university’s right to assert control over its private property.

In a statement, a spokesperson for the university said, “We trust that those in the encampment will abide by the court order and vacate the encampment before the court-imposed deadline. Anyone who chooses to remain in the encampment after that deadline will be subject to consequences under university policy and the law.”

A spokesperson for the Toronto Police Service confirmed that the university had requested its assistance, adding that “TPS will enforce the court’s order. We hope that protestors will leave voluntarily to avoid the need for police action.”

Speaking with NEXT on Tuesday evening, Sara Rasikh, a student and spokesperson for the encampment, said that the protesters were still “processing” the ruling, adding, “I would have hoped that, in weighing harm, the harm of complicity in a genocide would have been considered more significant than students using a section of greenery as a tactic to protest that complicity.”

In Justice Koehnen’s ruling, he suggests to the protesters that “persuasion will not be achieved through occupation but through reasoned discussion.”

When asked about this comment in the ruling, Rasikh responds, “The university has requested for the court to also order for us to have to seek permission before protesting on campus … that takes away from the very purpose of what a protest stands for and what it serves to do.”

In previous discussions with NEXT, protesters had mentioned previous, failed attempts to establish a dialogue with the university. “Students have been using all of the ‘soft’ approaches to get the university’s attention to discuss divestment and disclosure. And it took for this encampment for them to even approach the negotiating table.”

A spokesperson for the university said, regarding claims connecting U of T to “military action” in Gaza, “Such claims have no basis in fact.” When asked to clarify if that means the university has no investment or financial ties to military contractors doing business with Israel or other Israel-based firms, the spokesperson said, “Regarding any claims connecting U of T in any way to Israeli military action in Gaza: Ask those making such claims to show evidence that proves their claims. If they have any, we’d be happy to refute it.”

The Canadian Union of Public Employees (CUPE) is planning a rally at King’s College Circle at 3:30 p.m. in support of the protesters.