Latest news with #PalestinianYouthMovement
India Today
3 days ago
- Politics
- India Today
MIT bans Indian-origin student from graduation event over pro-Palestine speech
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) barred the Class of 2025 president Megha Vemuri from participating in Friday's official graduation commencement ceremony after she delivered a pro-Palestine speech during a separate campus event a day university confirmed the disciplinary action in a statement on Friday, without naming the student. "While that individual had a scheduled role at today's Undergraduate Degree Ceremony, she was notified that she would not be permitted at today's events," said MIT spokesperson Kimberly supports free expression but stands by its decision, which was in response to the individual deliberately and repeatedly misleading Commencement organisers and leading a protest from the stage, disrupting an important Institute ceremony," the spokesperson added. The speech, which went viral online and was shared by the Palestinian Youth Movement. During Thursday's OneMIT commencement event, Vemuri wore a keffiyeh - a symbol of Palestinian solidarity - and condemned MIT's research collaborations with the Israeli military. She accused the university of "aiding and abetting" Israel's actions against Palestinians and called for a "free Palestine"."The students of MIT will not tolerate genocide," she said, praising campus activism in support of Palestinian officials said Vemuri's remarks differed from the speech approved in advance and that her actions amounted to staging a protest during an official an Indian-American student leader, had been expected to speak again at Friday's main graduation event but was informed she would no longer be allowed to incident comes amid heightened tensions on US campuses over the war in Gaza and increasing scrutiny of institutional ties with Israel. Pro-Palestine protests have intensified in recent months, with students demanding that universities divest from companies and programs linked to the Israeli military.
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
13 people arrested following protest of defence industry convention in Ottawa
Protesters with fake blood on their hands sit on the road outside the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries annual defence industry trade show CANSEC, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. The Ottawa Police Service says 13 people have been arrested following protests outside the CANSEC convention and police headquarters. The annual military and defence industry conference in Ottawa drew protesters Wednesday morning, opposed to the ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza. Protesters from groups including the Palestinian Youth Movement, Labour for Palestine Ottawa, World Beyond War, and others blocked Uplands Drive, outside the EY Centre. Protesters were demanding the government immediately halt all arms exports to Israel and cancel all planned arms imports. CANSEC protest CP Image A protester holds a baby doll covered in fake blood at an attendee arriving at the Canadian Association of Defence and Security Industries annual defence industry trade show CANSEC, in Ottawa, on Wednesday, May 28, 2025. (Justin Tang/The Canadian Press) Ottawa police closed the road to drivers and urged the community to seek alternate routes to the area. CANSEC Protest Police officers stand in a line in front of protesters outside the CANSEC defence industry conference in Ottawa. May 28, 2025. (CTV News) 'At this time, 11 people have been arrested for mischief and assaulting police. There have been no injuries reported,' Ottawa police said on X at 10:42 a.m. Uplands Drive reopened just before 11 a.m. Police later told CTV News Ottawa a 12th person had been arrested at the protest on Uplands Drive. The conference event featured a speech by Defence Minister David McGuinty, who said the federal government would take 'immediate and decisive action' to rebuild Canada's military and triple military spending from 2014 levels by 2030. CANSEC protest Protesters hold up a sign outside the CANSEC military and defence industry convention in Ottawa. May 28, 2025. (CTV News) Following the arrests, protesters headed to Ottawa Police Service headquarters on Elgin Street to demand the arrested people be released. A small group of people was gathered outside the police station over the noon hour. Police said one person was arrested on Elgin Street. CANSEC protest Elgin Protesters gather outside Ottawa Police Service headquarters on Elgin Street after 11 people were arrested during a protest at the CANSEC military industry conference. May 28, 2025. (Austin Lee/CTV News Ottawa) This is a developing story. With files from CTV News Ottawa's Austin Lee and The Canadian Press
CTV News
6 days ago
- General
- CTV News
11 protesters arrested outside defence industry convention in Ottawa
Police officers stand in a line in front of protesters outside the CANSEC defence industry conference in Ottawa. May 28, 2025. (CTV News) The Ottawa Police Service says 11 people have been arrested following protests outside the CANSEC convention in Ottawa. The annual military and defence industry conference drew protesters Wednesday morning, opposed to the ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza. Protesters from groups including the Palestinian Youth Movement, Labour for Palestine Ottawa, World Beyond War, and others blocked Uplands Drive, outside the EY Centre. Protesters are demanding the government immediately halt all arms exports to Israel and cancel all planned arms imports. CANSEC Protest Police officers stand in a line in front of protesters outside the CANSEC defence industry conference in Ottawa. May 28, 2025. (CTV News) Ottawa police closed the road to drivers and urged the community to seek alternate routes to the area. 'At this time, 11 people have been arrested for mischief and assaulting police. There have been no injuries reported,' Ottawa police said on X at 10:42 a.m. Uplands Drive reopened just before 11 a.m. The event featured a speech by Defence Minister David McGuinty, who said the federal government would take 'immediate and decisive action' to rebuild Canada's military and triple military spending from 2014 levels by 2030. CANSEC protest Protesters hold up a sign outside the CANSEC military and defence industry convention in Ottawa. May 28, 2025. (CTV News) This is a developing story. With files from The Canadian Press
Ottawa Citizen
12-05-2025
- Politics
- Ottawa Citizen
Ottawa pro-Palestinian protesters claim legal victory after all charges dropped
Local pro-Palestinian groups are claiming a legal victory after all charges were dropped against five protesters who were arrested in connection with a demonstration that spilled onto downtown streets in November 2024. Article content Article content The Nov. 18, 2024 demonstration began around 5 p.m. at the Human Rights Monument on Elgin Street and, according to police, organizers were advised 'multiple times' to 'limit their demonstration to the sidewalk and not obstruct traffic.' Article content Article content Demonstrators did not comply with that request, police said. Article content Article content Four demonstrators — Josh Lalonde, Ayman Fadil, Ali Nasser El Dinne, and Hassan Hamed — were arrested during the demonstration and faced multiple charges, including mischief, obstructing police and participating in an unlawful protest. Article content One of the protest organizers, Sarah Wazzi-Moukahal with the Palestinian Youth Movement, was arrested several days later on Nov. 24. Article content Deputy Crown attorney Moiz Karimjee informed the court on May 9 that all charges would be dropped after all five made a donation to charity and wrote letters to the court 'admitting to the limits of lawful protest and promising to obey the law in any future protests. Article content 'The right to protest is protected by the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. However, the right to protest is not absolute,' Karimjee said in court. 'There are limitations. The community has a right to law and order. Change cannot be pursued by breaching criminal law.' Article content Article content The demonstrators had 'an incomplete and inaccurate understanding about the right to protest being absolute and without limitations,' Karimjee said. 'These accused have taken responsibility, sought out legal advice from lawyers with knowledge of criminal law, and learned of the limits of lawful protest.' Article content All of those charged spent a day in jail, which Karimjee called a 'significant consequence.' Article content Article content All five were released on bail, banned from communicating with each other and were forbidden from attending, organizing or participating in protests related to the conflict in the Middle East. Those conditions have since been withdrawn. Article content 'The consequence of being charged and spending time in pretrial custody sends a clear message for everyone to protest within the boundaries of criminal law,' Karimjee said in court last week. Article content 'Victory: all charges dropped! Today, our community members walk free with their heads held high.' the Ottawa chapter of the Palestinian Youth Movement wrote in a May 9 social media post following the hearing.
Yahoo
11-05-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Barbara Kay: The credulously pro-terror members of Mark Carney's caucus
Prime Minister Mark Carney's election victory speech included a note of humility: 'Over my long career, I have made many mistakes, and I will make more, but I commit to admitting them openly, to correcting them quickly, and always learning from them.' Yet it is too late to correct one of his big mistakes. Will he at least admit to and learn from it? During the election campaign, 28 Liberal candidates (19 of them elected) signed onto a five-point anti-Israel Vote Palestine platform. Vote Palestine began as a BDS project, and quickly gathered steam after a trial run in the 2021 election. The platform contains demands — such as a two-way arms embargo against Israel, a full boycott of Israel-controlled territories and recognition of Palestine as a state — that do not reflect current Liberal policy. In total, 362 candidates signed on. Carney could have stopped his own candidates' irresponsible trend early in its trajectory by issuing a memo that foreign policy is the purview of party leadership, not individual candidates, and ordering signers to rescind their endorsement of the platform. Instead, he remained silent, essentially giving the green light for more candidates to pledge fealty to a platform crafted by ideological stakeholders in a global campaign to delegitimize Israel and whitewash terrorism. By endorsing these demands, the candidates lent an air of respectability to the anti-Israel groups that organized the campaign — including the Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM), one of the lead organizers — obscuring their ugly values and activities, which include celebrating Hamas's October 7 pogrom, lionizing Hamas and Hezbollah, and organizing Jew-baiting student encampments at universities throughout the United States and Canada. In May 2024, PYM organized the People's Conference for Palestine, featuring speakers affiliated with the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine and Palestinian Islamic Jihad, both designated as terrorist organizations in Canada, the U.S., Israel and the European Union. PYM's aim is to normalize terror as a righteous response to (alleged) colonialists. The most insidious of the five Vote Palestine platform demands, therefore, is the innocuous sounding, 'Address anti-Palestinian racism (APR) and protect freedom of expression on Palestine.' The definition of 'anti-Palestinian racism,' as conceived by the Canadian Arab Lawyers Association, includes speech or action that 'dehumanizes Palestinians or their narratives.' The word 'narrative' — in this case an origin story held sacred by a group of people that is based in belief rather than evidence — is a trap, inserted into the APR definition to promote a legal prohibition against criticism of that group's beliefs. Along with other Islamist groups obsessed with Israel's alleged sins, PYM represents a movement best described by Israeli politician Einat Wilf as 'Palestinianism.' The Palestinianism movement is dedicated to opposing the existence — and more important any right to the existence — of a Jewish state by any means necessary, including October 7-style massacres. Palestinianism's umbrella narrative is that Zionism is an inherently racist ideology. Drawing on that premise, pro-Zionist expression may be legislated as hate speech, but the glorification of Hamas 'martyrs' and calls for the eradication of Israel should not be. (When Bill C-63, the online harms act, is revived, they may get their wish.) Vote Palestine's strategy, according to one of its Instagram posts, is to 'force Palestine onto the debate stage through nationwide visibility' and shame political actors who do not endorse its platform. Leading PYM activist Yara Shoufani, who has a long rap sheet of anti-Israel extremism, explained on a podcast how 'pressure is applied' by PYM foot soldiers within ridings to non-endorsing candidates. They 'make it impossible to organize fundraising events … impossible for those MPs to canvass without being met by someone from within the community asking, 'Why are you not supporting an arms embargo?' ' she said. Shoufani seems proud that PYM has managed to, in her words, 'create a kind of crisis within the Canadian electoral system.' And all of this, fellow Canadians, is what 362 candidates — not a single one of them Conservative — signed onto. At 1.8 million and growing, Muslims constitute around five per cent of Canada's population. The Canadian Muslim Vote, a nonprofit, estimates that Muslims hold significant influence in between 60-80 of 343 ridings. According to Joe Adam George, lead researcher for Islamist threats in Canada at the Middle East Forum, 'Islamists have been working overtime' to see 'their favoured party,' the Liberals, re-elected, 'so that the good times keep rolling for them for at least another four years.' Credulous candidates' greed for Muslim votes is understandable. Which is why it is so important in these matters that savvy political leaders provide a backstop to their candidates' lack of judgment in collaborating with what essentially amounts to foreign interference in the election. As my colleague Tristin Hopper posted on X in regard to the Vote Palestine scandal, 'This is how foreign interference happens. If a literal pro-terror group can get an MP's signature without difficulty, you think they're standing guard for thee against Iran or China?' National Postkaybarb@ Opinion: Canadian universities have an Islamist problem John Ivison: Government policy is now in the hands of pro-Palestinian radicals
