Public and protests pressure decision-makers in the war against Gaza

Following community pressure, in early July, the University of Waterloo (UW) in Waterloo, Ontario, dropped all legal charges against a group of students and concerned community members who were calling on the university to divest of any company that supports Israel as the war against Gaza continues. Occupy UW is part of a significant movement of pro-Palestinian demonstrations at campuses across Canada and the United States.

Occupy UW set up an encampment on the campus on May 13, and disrupted a board of governors meeting on June 18. The Mennonite activist group Mennonite Action which developed a toolkit to support university and college student demands for peace in Gaza and divestment from Israel-linked funds, rallied in support of Occupy UW. One of their members was among those named in in the $1.5 million civil suit launched by the University of Waterloo on June 21, as was a student who spoke to a Mennonite Action group during a hymn sing. 

The dropping of charges came after phone and email campaigns pressuring the university. On July 9, the students ended their nearly two-month-long encampment that echoed the call of Mennonite Church Canada “to avoid investing in or supporting companies that do business with Israeli settlements and the Israel Defense Forces, and companies that are profiting from the occupation of the Palestinian territories.”

On July 18, the Mennonite Action-coordinated “All God’s Children March for a Ceasefire” embarked on an 11-day, 135-mile march from Harrisonburg, VA to Washington, DC. Marchers include members of the Shenandoah Valley Muslim Coalition, local residents of Harrisonburg, VA, other interfaith allies including Jewish supporters, and other Christians from across Canada and the US.