Dismay, frustration follow Dalhousie's update on pro-Palestinian encampment

An ambiguous statement from Dalhousie University about its plans for the part of its south-end Halifax campus where a pro-Palestinian encampment has stood for two months has left some students, faculty and encampment members outraged. 

The university issued a news release on July 19 that said it is moving to restore the Studley Quad, where about a dozen tents were set up in May, for use by the entire school community.

When contacted by CBC News for more detail, the university wouldn't say if it plans to dismantle the encampment, or when that might happen.

The release, signed by university president Kim Brooks and student affairs vice-provost Rick Ezekiel, said the move "aligns with requests and demands" from the Dalhousie Student Union and the Students for the Liberation of Palestine Kjipuktuk (SLPK).

"While many conversations remain ongoing, and we support continued opportunities for gathering, critical discourse, learning, connection, and demonstration, we have finalized our commitments and are taking steps to return the Studley Quad to be an open space available for the use of our whole community," the release said.

But members of SLPK countered the statement at a news conference on Tuesday, saying that previous talks with the university had failed to meet their demands.

The coalition of university students from Dalhousie, Saint Mary's, King's College, NSCAD and Mount Saint Vincent wants the university to completely divest itself from Israel by ceasing partnerships with Israeli academic institutions and suspending any financial ties to Israel and the war in Gaza. 

More than 38,000 Palestinians have reportedly been killed since October, according to the Gaza health ministry.

Israel's land and air attacks on Gaza followed the events on Oct. 7 when Hamas-led militants stormed the Israeli border, took 250 hostages and killed 1,200 people, according to numbers from the Israeli government. 

The student coalition says it believes the university's statement is a preliminary warning for encampment participants to leave before orientation week begins in September.

Coalition representatives said at the news conference that they have no intention of leaving the property until Dalhousie fully divests from Israel.

The Atlantic Jewish Council also publicly responded to Dalhousie's statement on Tuesday, accusing the university of being biased toward the pro-Palestinian movement. 

"Dalhousie has made it quite clear where it stands on the Hamas-Israel conflict, and by doing so it has jeopardized the safety of Jewish students, staff and faculty," said a statement from the Jewish council. 

The council said it is taking action to ensure that "the university holds true to its long history of tolerance and apolitical action, and once again becomes a safe and inclusive space for all." 

Ongoing violence in the Middle East has prompted numerous pro-Palestinian encampments to emerge on university campuses across Canada in recent months. Within the past month, some encampments have also been dismantled. 

Police forcefully removed participants in an encampment at McGill University in Montreal earlier this month. Protesters dismantled their own encampment at the University of Toronto to avoid a similar confrontation with police. 

Students at the Dalhousie encampment and the student union were hopeful they could continue to work with the administration to eventually divest from Israel. 

"I am deeply disappointed with the recent university update regarding the encampment on Studley Quad," student union president Mariam Knakriah said in a statement sent to CBC. 

"The recent communication from the university presents itself as an 'agreement' with the students at the encampment, yet it significantly lacks transparency and detail and fails to mention any clear commitment to divestment."

Last Friday's statement from Dalhousie said the university would continue to support students affected by the violence in Gaza and the academic amnesty implemented in June will still apply until Aug. 31.

Ajay Parasram is an associate professor at Dalhousie and is part of a group of faculty members who have supported the encampment since it was erected. He hopes an encampment removal is not on the table. 

"If we go the route of the other universities and force this dismantling of the encampment, I think that would be really terrible for Dalhousie, and I really hope that that's not the intention of the administration," said Parasram.