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ORGANIZED BY INSAF AND PSA, STUDENTS ARE PROTESTING FOR UNIVERSITY DIVESTMENT

On April 29th, students from the University of Ottawa gathered on Tabaret Lawn at 12 p.m. to protest for university divestment from Israeli institutions and businesses. Around 75 students have shown up within the first half hour, following an Instagram post made by INSAF and the Palestinian Student Association (PSA) on Saturday, April 27.

Protection services has a heavy presence surrounding the Lawn and building, instructing folks that Tabaret Hall is “accessible by appointment”, according to a protection officer.

Students have been calling for university divestment since November; a meeting with the university’s Chief Investment Officer was planned with INSAF and PSA for Tuesday, April 30, but was cancelled. The university administration published a statement regarding the sit-in on the evening on April 28.

The U of O joins McGill University and the University of British Columbia as Canadian universities currently hosting student solidarity movements for Palestinians in Gaza. Reporters from CBC and Radio-Canada have additionally arrived to cover the sit-in. The Fulcrum is maintaining a live thread on Twitter/X.

UPDATE — 1:00 PM

Ottawa Centre MPP Joel Harden has arrived to the student sit-in. Around 100 people (not exclusively students) have arrived to Tabaret Lawn within the first hour. The organizers have outlined a program for the sit-in, including a speech from INSAF, Students for Justice Carleton (SJP) in Palestine, and a reading circle.

UPDATE — 2:00 PM

Organizers outlined logistical information for the ongoing sit-in, acknowledging that although media will cover their actions as a sit-in for divestment, “we are here for Gaza”. The sit-in occurs on the 206th day of the genocide on Palestinians in Gaza, several days after a mass grave was discovered at the Nasser Medical Complex in Khan Younis and two weeks after a mass grave was found at al-Shifa Hospital.

”Canada is just as complicit in this genocide as the United States,” spoke Samar Odeh, the incoming president of PSA, in a speech. “17,000 children have lost one parent or both, 30 children have died of starvation, and 1 million Gazans are suffering from infectious diseases. That is half of the population in Gaza, and these are only the documented numbers.”

”The international community has remained silent. Canada has remained silent. The University of Ottawa has remained silent,” said Odeh.

Speakers listed out the U of O’s financial investment and educational relationships with several companies and organizations that are involved with the genocide and larger Israeli institutions, such as Axon Enterprise and Airbus.

Students chanted, “Shame, shame, Ottawa U! Your hands are bloody too!”; “Admin, admin, you’re a coward! The students have all the power.”; and “Disclose! Divest! We will not stop, we will not rest!”

In an Instagram update, INSAF and PSA have extended the sit-in from Tuesday, April 30 until Friday. May 3. Food, beverages and supplies have been provided by the community.

UPDATE — 4:45 PM

The sit-in number has climbed to over 250 people. University of Ottawa Students’ Union (UOSU) executive committee members, including president Delphine Robitaille, have arrived to Tabaret Lawn as well. UOSU will hold a meeting regarding an interim statement this evening, as well as inviting student groups and leaders to an open discussion regarding the union’s role regarding the sit-in.

Gulzar Chariana, an associate professor in feminist and gender studies at the U of O, gave a speech to attendees.

Additionally, PSA and INSAF published their three demands to Instagram.

“1. Full disclosure of all direct and indirect investments made by the university; 2. Complete divestment from any and all corporations involved directly and indirectly in the surveillance, occupation, and murder of Palestinians in both Gaza and the West Bank; 3. The formal adoption of the Arab Canadian Lawyers Association definition of Anti-Palestinian Racism”

UPDATE — 6:30 PM

The attendance on Tabaret Lawn has reached around 300 people, accompanied by SJP Carleton. MPP Joel Harden has published an open letter to U of O president, Jacques Frémont, on his Instagram page, urging the administration to take action.

“The death rate for Palestinians in Gaza has exceeded every war in the last eight decades, with one exception: the Rwandan genocide of 1994. We recently reflected on the 30 year history of that horrifying moment, and said “never again”. We should never let dehumanization and hatred lead to mass slaughter. But that is precisely what is happening now,” the letter reads.

“President Frémont, you are a leader in the field of human rights. You are aware that international law has explicit requirements for warfare, and states who are occupying powers of civilian populations (as proscribed by the Geneva Conventions.”

Another round of chanting and drumming has begun as the evening continues.