The same group of anti-Israel protesters who occupied the University of Toronto for months were kicked out of an office building after staging a “sit-in” protest against U of T’s apparent investments in Israel.
Protesters from “Occupy UofT” helped stage a “sit-in” style protest at 777 Bay St. at College Park in Toronto, an office building which houses the university’s Asset Management Corporation’s offices, to “raise awareness” of the university’s alleged financial backing of the Israeli military.
The protest group shared on Instagram that they were involved in the sit-in, which began at 12:30 a.m. on Thursday in the lobby outside the elevators of the UofT offices. Within 20 minutes, “dozens” of police assembled inside the building, according to the protesters.
“The Toronto Police Service, acting on behalf of the building’s property managers, served us a trespass notice which they were eager to violently enforce,” the group posted on Instagram.
The protesters are claiming unfair treatment by the police in response to the group’s “peaceful” shouting and drumming of slogans such as “no justice ? no peace!” and “There is only one solution, Intifada revolution” in the workspace.
“Repeatedly, we are seeing private property rights be leveraged as a way to repress pro-Palestine protests,” claimed the group.
In their statement, the protest group decided to put the concept of private property in quotation marks.
“Just like UofT did last May, ‘private property’ managers threatened us with a trespass notice,” the group wrote.
The group claimed that “countless” office workers spoke to security and sent emails, though police and the property owners ignored their appeals.
Police moved in and pushed the protesters out of the building. One man in a red keffiyeh appears to push back against police. Chants of “There is only one solution” turned against the police.
Some protesters alledged incidents of groping and excessive force, though police denied the allegation in an email to True North.
Protesters chanted the familiar refrain, “TPS, KKK, IOS, you’re all the same,” as police expelled them from the office building.
According to police no arrests were made the protesters at the College Park building were “trespassed and escorted out.”
Other Palestinian protesters blocked Dundas Street at the Yonge and Dundas Square earlier this week.
The protest group’s Muslim members prayed across the street car rails. At the same time, a dozen police officers could be seen holding a line, presumably preventing them from moving into the square once they were finished praying.
“In Canada, no permit is required to hold a demonstration as peaceful assembly and expression, including prayers, are protected under the Charter of Rights and Freedoms,” police told True North when asked if protesters had a permit to block traffic.
Some on X criticize the group prayer as a political demonstration rather than an expression of faith.
Several protesters prayed on Palestinian flags instead of prayer mats, which are traditionally used.
According to a directory of mosques, there are over 165 Masjids and Musallah, or places dedicated to spaces for the Muslim time of prayer in Toronto and the GTA. Some online are questioning the likelihood that the protesters could not find one.