Ex-Israeli defence soldier event interrupted by counter-protest

Police separated StartUp Nation and pro-Palestine students in the Henry F. Hall Building

NewsMaria Cholakova — Published December 3, 2024 3 minutes

The event was organized by Concordia University’s Israeli group StartUp Nation. Over two dozen students and pro-Israel supporters gathered at the Hall building mezzanine for an event hosting Haddad. 

Haddad’s presence on campus was marketed as a tabling event where students would have the chance to speak and ask him questions.

The event started at 12 p.m., with Haddad giving a speech to participants and media. At around 12:40 p.m., over two dozen pro-Palestine students joined and began chanting in opposition to the event. The two groups clashed in front of the mezzanine elevators.

Escalations  

Following the arrival of counterprotesters, Haddad, who has been criticized for denying the Palestinian genocide, approached several Concordia Student Union (CSU) executives, attempting to speak to them at arms lenght. The CSU executives did not interact with the speaker. 

Tensions kept growing between the two groups, with protesters shouting through megaphones and Haddad chanting “Terrorists off campus” while facing the pro-Palestine students. The majority of the chants came from counter-protestors, with SPHR chanting “Free, free Palestine” from the start of the altercation to its end. 

According to Zeyad Abisaab, former SPHR general coordinator and current Palestinian Youth Movement member, Concordia students have made their demands clear. 

“Bringing someone that is a genocide apologist, who spreads hate, racism and Islamophobia wherever he goes, is not something that the Concordia students tolerate,” Abisaab said. 

Over 10 students approached Concordia’s Campus Safety and Prevention Services (CSPS) officers, pleading and demanding that the officers break up or separate the two groups. Instead, CSPS agents blocked access to the building’s escalators until the SPVM arrived.  

According to Abisaab, for students to feel safe on campus, Concordia needs to divest from companies complicit in the Palestinian genocide. 

SPVM arriving on campus 

At around 12:55 p.m., over 15 SPVM officers arrived on the scene. Ten minutes later, the police separated the two groups by taping off a portion of the mezzanine floor. Agents then proceeded to create a human barrier between the two groups. 

An hour after the counter-protest started, StartUp Nation and Haddad exited the Hall building and continued their demonstration outside. 

Aftermath

CSU external affairs and mobilization coordinator Danna Ballantyne claims the union did everything possible to prevent escalation. She said that after learning about the event, the CSU contacted StartUp Nation stating that the club was breaking CSU and Concordia regulations on space usage. 

According to a CSU email concerning booking tables, acquired by The Link, StartUp Nation answered “not applicable”  to the question of having an external member coming to the table. This violated Article 16 of Concordia’s and CSU’s policy on the temporary use of university spaces.  

In an attempt to stop the event the CSU also removed all tables from the mezzanine. 

Ballantyne also claims that the CSU was in contact with the acting dean of students and CSPS before the start of the event. Ballantyne stressed her disappointment in the lack of action from CSPS. 

“We were really hoping that today, the administration and [CSPS] [...] would do their due diligence, and make sure all steps were taken to prevent these policy violations and this individual, who is a known Islamophobe, from stepping on campus,” she said.   

This altercation comes a month after the student union accused the university of allowing CSPS agents to racially profile students. 

According to Julie Fortier, Concordia's spokesperson, the "CSU informed us of the event yesterday, when we understand they cancelled the tabling request. We also informed [StartUp Nation] that they had not followed the protocol for this tabling as they did not mention an external individual would be present and asked that they not proceed with the event." 

When asked for a comment regarding student’s concerns over the presence of a former soldier on campus, the university did not answer to the question.