Counter-protesters face off with pro-Palestinian encampment group at McGill University
CTV
A heavy police presence was at McGill University on Thursday morning, as counter-protesters assembled opposite the pro-Palestinian encampment at the school.
Montreal police said they will continue to monitor the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University after deploying a heavy police presence on campus on Thursday.
The school had asked students not to use the Roddick Gates as counter-protesters from the Jewish community descended on the university to make their voices heard. Police said the demonstrations were peaceful and orderly.
The side-by-side protests came one day after a Quebec judge rejected a request for an injunction that sought to limit protests on campus.
Montreal police said it is still analyzing the legal debate about the dispute.
"We remain on the lookout for developments in the situation, maintaining communication with McGill University and the demonstrators. Let us remember that the role of police officers in such a situation is to ensure peace, good order, and the safety of people, while respecting rights and freedoms," police said in a written statement on Thursday.
Jewish groups chanted and waved Israeli flags just across from the encampment that was set up last Saturday.
"We really want to send a message to other students both in Montreal and more globally that the Jewish community still stands with them, that we stand united and that we’re not going to kowtow to anti-Semitism," said Jamie Fabian, a second-year law student at McGill, who was with the pro-Israeli protest.