Pro-Palestinian protesters demonstrate outside of major roadway near University of Waterloo

A demonstration in support of Palestinians, and the university students in the U.S. and Canada staging encampments, took place over the roadway in front of the University of Waterloo at the height of the Wednesday morning rush hour.

A rally called “Stand with Gaza & Solidarity with Students in the U.S. for Palestine” was set up on the street at 170 University Avenue at the ION train tracks. About six protestors appeared with signs reading “Ceasefire now,” “Solidarity with students for Palestine” and “All universities BOMBED by Israel in Gaza.”

The organizer, Tamara Lorincz, a Ph.D. student at Wilfrid Laurier University, said the protest was a roadside action and wanted to publicly acknowledge that there are students who are in solidarity with other protesting students on campuses in the United States and parts of Canada.

“We support what the American students are doing, occupying their universities, calling for an end to the genocide and also calling on their universities to divest from war and weapons,” said Lorincz.

CityNews 570 reached out to the University of Waterloo on multiple occasions, but so far the school has sent no statement directly commenting on this rally, or about the growing trend on American and Canadian campuses where students set up encampments in protest of Israel’s war in Gaza.

Canadian universities with such encampments include McGill and Concordia in Montreal, and the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Lorincz said she does not know of any plans for encampments to be established on the campuses of either UW or Laurier and that their group is concerned about the “violence inflicted by police” against students on American university campuses.

“We want our universities here in Waterloo to speak out, to condemn the genocide and to stop investing in weapons production, supporting war and to be on the side of peace,” said Lorincz.

Montreal police said they have received McGill University’s request to dismantle the Pro-Palestinian encampment on its campus and are evaluating “different avenues” to respond.

The Universities of Toronto and Ottawa has cautioned students against starting an encampment.