TORONTO, ON (May 28, 2024) – In response to the injunction filed by the Governing Council of the University of Toronto to remove the anti-Israel encampment, StandWithUs Canada has applied to join the case as an intervenor, prepared to provide relevant and effective evidence in support of the encampment’s termination. 
 

Since the encampment’s inception at King’s College Circle on May 2nd, the degree of hostility and antisemitism has only increased, with Jewish and Israeli students terrified of walking on their own campus. Signs that read “Long Live the Intifada” and “Resistance is Justified” fill the encampment, along with chants encouraging “Intifada Revolution” – the murder of Israelis and Jews. There have also been numerous instances where Jewish-identifying students have not been allowed into the encampment, as well as an instance of a Jewish student being physically attacked, and an Israeli flag wrenched from his hands.

“This encampment at UofT has been sustained for almost a month now, which is completely unacceptable,” said Jesse Primerano, Executive Director of StandWithUs Canada. “Jewish and Israeli students and faculty alike have been subjected to vile remarks and threats while walking on campus, living in constant fear for their physical safety. The encampment has bred and normalized an unacceptable manifestation of hate and jeopardizes the rights of students and faculty to access a public space they’re affiliated with free from distress. While the encampment’s vitriol specifically targets the Jewish community, the affront on Canadian values that it represents is impacting the entire UofT community, making the campus unbearable for students of all backgrounds. 
 

This encampment is more than a show of protest, but a long-running display of abhorrent antisemitism, which our justice system must protect its citizens from.”

StandWithUs Canada is presently being represented by a legal team to attain the judge’s approval to join the case as an intervenor and contribute to the argument in support of the injunction’s validity and necessity.