Pro-Palestinian opposition to a visit from Israel's former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who was invited by the Jewish student organization Hillel to speak on campus
On September 9, 2002, a riot broke out at the Sir George Williams Campus of Concordia University in the Canadian city of Montreal in anticipation of a visit from Israeli former prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu. The visit, to be held at noon in the Henry F. Hall Building, was cancelled after pro-Palestinian students attacked people who were attempting to attend the event and hear Netanyahu's speech.[1][2] Netanyahu had been invited by the Jewish student organization Hillel.[1] Several hundred demonstrators blocked the event's attendees from entering the building.[3]
The incident took place amidst the Second Intifada, which had begun two years earlier, marking a period of increased violence in the Israeli–Palestinian conflict until 2005.
Events
The attendees were escorted to the auditorium where the lecture was to take place. Protesters broke into the building through a side door, but were blocked by Montreal Police on the escalators. Afterwards, the protesters began hurling furniture from the mezzanine to the lobby,[4] and officers responded by firing pepper spray at them, which resulted in the evacuation of the building and the cancellation of classes for the remainder of the day.[4][5]
Around 1 p.m., a large window was shattered by the rioters.[1] At approximately the same time, a second window on the building's first floor, on the western side, was broken when rioters threw a metal barricade. Five demonstrators were arrested,[6] including vice president of the student council Aaron Maté, and an additional 12 faced internal disciplinary hearings under Concordia's Code of Rights and Responsibilities.[7]
Aftermath
Netanyahu was not present at the protest, having remained at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel. He later accused the activists of supporting terrorism and "mad zealotry,"[8] stating that "They're supporting Saddam Hussein, they're supporting Arafat, they're supporting Bin Laden."[6]
In the wake of the riot, Concordia University instituted additional measures to avert future incidents, including the banning of any events related to the Israeli–Palestinian conflict for one month, as well as enabling the use of new student disciplinary rules in case of emergency.[1]
The 2004 documentary Discordia, produced by the National Film Board of Canada, documents the fallout from the riot by following three young Concordia campus activists, including Maté.[9] In 2003, GlobalTV also aired the documentary Confrontation at Concordia, produced by Martin Himel. Raymond Beauchemin, a 1992 Concordia University graduate (MA, English), wrote the novel These Days Are Nights after being inspired by the events of the protest.
References
^ abcd"A Decade After". The Link – Concordia’s Independent Newspaper Since 1980. April 24, 2020. Retrieved May 4, 2021.
