Content warning: This article discusses ongoing deaths and violence in Lebanon and Gaza.

On September 17, thousands of pagers exploded simultaneously across Lebanon, causing more than 2,800 people injured and at least nine people killed. A Lebanese security source told Reuters that the Israeli intelligence agency Mossad placed explosives inside 5,000 pagers ordered by the Lebanese political party and militant group Hezbollah, months before the detonations.

Since October 8, 2023, Hezbollah launched rockets at Israel and repeatedly promised to stop attacks if Israel ended its war on Gaza. On September 24, Israel dramatically intensified its airstrikes in Lebanonkilling more than 720 people. Lebanese authorities considered these attacks “the deadliest dam” since the war between Israel and Hezbollah in 2006.

Since October, the escalation of Israeli airstrikes on Lebanon 1.2 million people displaced. In response to the escalating humanitarian crisis, the United Nations World Food Program and the United Nations Children’s Fund dispatched a humanitarian convoy provide essential protection, health, water and sanitation services to affected people.

Faced with persistent violence, The university spoke to members of the University of Toronto community about Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

Student reactions and responses

Mohamad Yassin – president of the Muslim Students Association and a second-year master’s student in electrical engineering – is a Palestinian who grew up in Lebanon. “The majority of my family (is) still in Lebanon in the refugee camps,” Yassin wrote in an email to The university.

“After a year of rampant violence targeting civilians in Gaza, there is great concern that (as we are already seeing) Israel will likely do the same in Lebanon,” he added. “Members of the community are very disturbed by the situation… Personally, I have difficulty sleeping because I am in contact with my family and I try to stay as informed as possible about the situation.

Yassin shared that his family members refuse to leave Lebanon “because they don’t believe a place is safe, based on what we’ve seen from Gaza.”

On September 23, the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) and the Middle East Students’ Association released a joint statement on Instagram in response to the Israeli government’s continued attacks on Lebanon.

“Amid growing attacks and imperial violence from Israel, the University of Toronto continues to willingly collaborate in the actions of a colonial apartheid state,” the statement said.

In the statement, the union writes that it “stands in solidarity with Lebanon and condemns attacks by the Israeli government” and that it will continue to “demand that the university divest from all forms of direct and indirect financial investments that support Israeli apartheid, occupation, war and war.” genocide.”

Statement follows King’s College Circle pro-Palestinian student campwho asked the university to disclose its investments and divest from companies that supply Israel with weapons and technology. The encampment began on May 2 and ended July 3following the Decision of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice grant the request for injunction from the university to remove the encampment.

The university’s response

In a statement to The universitya University of Toronto spokesperson noted that any claims linking the university to the Israeli military “have no factual basis.”

The spokesperson added that the university has “an established process for reviewing divestment requests which is open to all members of the University of Toronto community, including students. They said “student activists have consistently refused to use this process.”

Yassin also called on the university to “be consistent in its approach,” referencing University of Toronto President Meric Gertler’s response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

In March 2022, Gertler published a official statement condemning Russian President Vladimir Putin’s decision to invade Ukraine. The university also introduced the Emergency Grant Program to support students whose financial situation has been affected by the war in Ukraine.

“I think Gertler should at least be consistent and at least condemn Israel’s decision to invade Lebanon and the violence and aggression it provoked,” Yassin wrote.

On April 26, the university released a memo on institutional, divisional and departmental declarations stating that it has “developed a set of considerations to determine whether the University of Toronto will issue an institutional statement.”

“The University of Toronto community is remarkably diverse – a source of great strength and pride. As such, it is impossible for a single administrative statement to satisfy all, or even most, members of our community, or adequately represent their diverse viewpoints,” wrote Trevor Young, vice president and dean, and Christine Szustaczek, Vice President, Communications. .

They added: “In the future, we hope that the application of these principles will result in fewer institutional declarations. »

At the time of writing, the university has not issued any statements regarding the Israeli attacks on Lebanon.

“The University of Toronto administration seems to assume that students can stay away from the death and suffering happening in their country, expecting them to organize their grief into a calendar and continue their works as if everything was normal,” wrote the UTMSU president. Joelle Salsa in an email to The university.

Show solidarity

When asked how students could show solidarity with their war-affected peers, Yassin pointed out that simply asking people how their families are doing was very helpful.

Salsa added that students hold significant power to catalyze change on a global scale.

“We often hear the advice, ‘If you have a problem, talk to those who have the power to solve it,’ but we are not taught that we have the power to solve it,” she wrote . “By participating in protests and actions, advocating for divestment, and raising awareness, we can challenge the University’s harmful practices and inspire broader movements.” »