McGill condemns 'alarming' image of armed fighters shared by encampment group

McGill University is sounding the alarm after a student group associated with the school's ongoing pro-Palestinian encampment posted a photo of armed individuals and called for participation in a "revolutionary youth summer program" on campus.

"This is extremely alarming," said Deep Saini, the university's president, in a statement. "It has attracted international media attention, and many in our community have understandably reached out to express grave concerns — concerns that I share."

Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) made the post Wednesday evening, saying the summer program is planned for lower field next week.

The photo used was originally taken in 1970. It depicts fighters of the Palestine Liberation Organization reading copies of Quotations from Chairman Mao Tse-tung in Jordan. The fighters are holding assault rifles.

"It should go without saying that imagery evoking violence is not a tool of peaceful expression or assembly," said Saini.

"This worrying escalation is emblematic of the rising tensions on campuses across North America, where we have seen many incidents that go well beyond what universities are equipped to manage on their own."

Zeyad Abisaab is a Concordia University student who volunteers at the McGill encampment, and co-ordinator of Concordia's SPHR chapter. He said the post is about ongoing activities at the encampment such as workshops, discussions and art programming.

"It's a space for people to learn. It's an educational space," said Abisaab.

He said the image, which has circulated in pro-Palestinian online spaces for years, is a historical photograph of a colonized people learning about the colonial struggles of others. Rather than focusing on the photo, he said Saini should be more concerned about the school's ties with the manufacturers of weapons used to kill, injure and displace about two million people in Gaza.

"This is what truly should be spoken about," said Abisaab.

SPHR pledges to educate Montreal youth

The caption of the post reads, "We pledge to educate the youth of Montreal and redefine McGill's 'elite' instutional [sic] legacy by transformining [sic] its space into one of revolutionary education. The daily schedule will include physical activity, Arabic language instruction, cultural crafts, political discussions, historical and revolutionary lessons."

On Monday, McGill said it is proposing to review its investments in weapons manufacturers and grant amnesty to protesting students as part of a new offer to members of the pro-Palestinian encampment. Several groups involved in the encampment later issued a joint statement describing the latest offer as "laughable" and an "immaterial response" to their demands.

In Friday's statement, Saini said McGill has reached out to municipal, provincial and federal public safety authorities, flagging the group's social media post and other recent activities as matters of national security. 

Saini said this is "only the latest escalation in SPHR's long-standing strategy of intimidation and fear."

This is the same group that described the Oct. 7 Hamas assault and taking of hostages as heroic, said Saini, accusing SPHR of harassing McGill community members and invoking offensive antisemitic language and imagery.

"Their incendiary rhetoric and tactics seek to intimidate and destabilize our community," Saini said.

Saini said McGill will further increase the presence of security staff near the encampment and elsewhere on campus while continuing to pursue legal action to bar SPHR from using the McGill name on social media platforms and elsewhere. He said the school will pursue internal disciplinary processes as well.

Federal minister, B'nai Brith react

Henry Topas, Quebec regional director with B'nai Brith Canada, said participants in the encampment on McGill's campus have exceeded the boundaries of a peaceful demonstration.

He called on the city to intervene, saying there has been "a plethora of all types of hate-ridden" images on campus.

Montreal MP and federal Immigration Minister Marc Miller took to the social media platform X to lament SPHR's post. 

"Enough is enough, this is hate speech and incitement to hate, pure and simple," Miller wrote. "De-escalation at McGill has clearly failed. This needs to end!"