UofT Encampment: A Testimony of Love For Palestine

photo credits: @joshuabest

On May 2nd, 2024, on what marked the 208th day of Israel’s relentless genocidal campaign on Gaza, a surge of students from the University of Toronto broke through the makeshift barriers at Kings Collage Circle at the St. George Campus, nestled in the heart of downtown Toronto. With the flames of justice blazing in their eyes, these brave students erected the long-awaited encampment, a symbolic bastion aimed to call out and put pressure on their university to disclose and divest their financial and academic ties with the entity responsible for the displacement and destruction of Historic Palestine.

It was both an honor and a privilege to contribute to the establishment of the camp, as I partook with transporting the bulk of the equipment for the inaugural day. Arriving as an outsider just the night before, I found myself in a unique position to observe the organizing committee in action: their seamless communication, their collaborative spirit, the immense level of love and care they held for one another and the palpable, yet soothing, tension present as they awaited the pivotal moment when the operation would unfold—a moment I felt destined to be seared into the memories of those present for decades to come.

Undoubtedly, the organizing committee, alongside the 150+ student campers who had eagerly signed up for the 4 am shift, emanated a profound love for Palestine, a fervor unlike any I had witnessed outside of the homeland. Frozen in time as I watched the students run with all their might to the fenced yard, I felt the ache of my own exile momentarily on halt. The passion and energy exuberated from the student brigades coming in from every corner, echoed the resilience of a people bound by a love of humanity that transcends borders and boundaries. For the Palestinian, the very same one that has felt out of place in every space they come into, it offered a glimpse of hope: a realization that exile may only be as temporary as a passing storm, as liberation looms on the horizon, waiting to be crafted by the very hands that are now erecting tents across college campuses around the world.  

The remarkable diversity among the students at UofT distinguished their demonstration from other actions advocating for Palestine. On the first day, a significant majority of attendees had no direct ties to the land of Palestine, yet their presence was deeply inspiring. It underscored the growing sentiment that Palestine has become a cause embraced by people of all backgrounds, transcending ethnic and religious boundaries. This inclusive embrace of Palestine is driven by an unwavering love, serving as a mighty form of resistance, one that all of us in the West are so easily able to partake in. By embracing this love, students directly challenged the oppressive forces of Zionism, effectively weakening the Zionist hold on the institutions that welcomed it with open arms. By challenging Zionism with its antithesis, that is love, students fortified their stance and contributed to a rejection of hierarchy and ethnic supremacy.

Zionism cannot survive if the level of love and care I witnessed at the UofT encampment radiates and overtakes spaces across institutions in the West. It poses structural threats to the colonial enterprise by centering humanity with Palestine and ensuring that Palestinians are to be seen as equals, able to speak for themselves, able to choose for themselves. What Zionists fear the most is not merely the encampment or the calls for divestment, but rather the long-term aftereffect of Palestinian humanity in the public sphere—creating a potential awakening that recognizes Palestinians as independent entities deserving life, equality, and liberty across all of Historic Palestine.

We are close, Palestinians know this, and I hope those encamping know how close we are, but I must stress that struggle does not promise a quick change. Palestine is almost free; it just needs all to patiently hold their ground and keep pushing for a Free Palestine from the River to the Sea.

Truly, in haste,

Layth