Intercommunal tensions reached a new escalation Wednesday at Concordia University as the war between Israel and Hamas polarizes the debate.
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On Wednesday, videos were posted on Twitter showing arguments between students during lunch at the Henry F. Hall building.
The dispute was triggered by a scheduling conflict: two activities were taking place at the same time at the same location. According to a TVA Nouvelles source, the student association responsible for approving kiosk applications would have granted permits to the two groups without much scrutiny, resulting in them being present in the same place at the same time.
TVA News
One of the activities was organized by members of Concordia’s Jewish community, while the other, which took place just meters away from the first, was organized by Arab-Muslim students who support the Palestinian cause.
Tensions between the two groups rose so much that an exchange of blows even broke out.
Montreal police responded to the university around 1:30 p.m. and arrested a 22-year-old young woman. The police operation ended around 4:15 p.m.
TVA News
The student is said to have attacked a 54-year-old security guard. She was released on a promise to appear in city court.
Another 19-year-old security guard and a 23-year-old student were also injured.
Contacted by TVA Nouvelles, Concordia University assured that the safety of its students is its top priority.
TVA News
“We do not tolerate bullying or violence on our campus and will be taking a closer look at today’s incident. The safety of our community is our priority.”
The three people suffered non-life-threatening injuries and were not transported to the hospital.
“Jewish students were targeted for intimidation and harassment. We have absolutely seen anti-Semitic comments towards Jewish students. We pushed them, we intimidated them. It’s really shocking,” lamented Eta Yudin, vice president of the Advisory Center for Jewish and Israeli Relations.
Montreal Mayor Valérie Plante strongly condemned the violence at the university.
Acts of violence like those that affected Concordia students today and the attack on a mosque yesterday are unacceptable.
These hateful acts have absolutely no place in Montreal; a city of peace, security and kindness.
Every event…
— Valérie Plante (@Val_Plante) November 8, 2023
The Minister of Higher Education, Pascale Déry, condemned the situation on X.
“Too many students fear for their safety, we cannot tolerate these excesses. “I spoke to the rector of Concordia earlier to ensure that order is restored on campus,” she wrote, calling for calm and making sure that she was monitoring the situation closely.