By Vihaan Bhatnagar, Shumaila Mubarak and Damola Omole

Disclaimer: The source Aasim Ul haq Khwajawas was previously affiliated with the TMSU. He had no role in the editing process of this article.

Hundreds of Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) students rallied on Sept. 24 to protest the arrest of a student by campus security at a pro-Palestine demonstration at the university on Sept. 19.

The rally was announced as an emergency walk-out on TMU Students for Justice in Palestine’s (SJP) Instagram account and through posters pinned up
all around campus. The rally was attended by various students, alumni, community organizations, as well as current and former faculty members.

At approximately 1:30 p.m., students gathered at Kerr Hall Quad, where various speakers condemned TMU security’s handling of the Sept. 19 incident.

“The student who was brutalized was no threat to anybody. She wanted to ensure that politicians were not platformed on our campus without confronting the genocide,” one of the student speakers said at the rally.

The incident took place at a panel hosted by The Dais featuring minister of artificial intelligence and digital innovation Evan Solomon.

In September 2024, Human Rights Watch reported there had been extensive use of AI and surveillance technologies in Israel’s attacks on Palestinians.

The speakers accused TMU of complicity in the genocide in Palestine. The SJP claims the university has financial ties to corporations like Alphabet, Microsoft and Oracle, which they claim supply technology to the Israeli military.

In an email statement from the university to The Eyeopener, they stated that “The university does not directly invest in any companies and there is no exposure in the University’s endowment fund to companies contained in the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights database.”

A faculty letter read aloud at the protest said, “I call on everyone present today to not allow institutions and individuals to get away with profiting from feel
good equity words without them being committed to action.”

In May 2024, the TMU faculty association passed a motion in support of “academic freedom for Palestine,” as previously reported by The Eye. The motion included a section calling for the divestment from the university’s financial holdings that are allegedly linked to the Israeli military.

“Faculty have addressed TMU administration [and] asked them to deal with the presence of militia groups on campus,” added a faculty member speaking to the crowd at the protest.

Faculty and campus groups sent TMU president Mohamed Lachemi two separate letters expressing concerns about the presence of Magen Herut on campus, as previously reported by The Eye in November 2024.

Magen Herut is a registered charity in Canada who claims to “counter anti-
Israel propaganda on campuses” and provide “security and self-defense for Jewish communities,” as stated on their website.

The Eye reached out to Magen Herut but they did not respond in time for publication.

A faculty member who has been in contact with the arrested student from the Sept. 19 incident told The Eye they have learned the university has started disciplinary action against the student.

A press release by TMU following the Sep. 19 incident stated the student’s actions “appears to violate Dais’ Events Community Guidelines and TMU’s Student Code of Non-Academic Conduct.”

The incident is currently under review, according to an emailed statement from the university to The Eye.

Rally organizers also read out a letter written by the student arrested by TMU Security in which she stated that the incident had left her in “shock” and “disgust.”

“I cannot say that I am surprised that an institution that has allowed rampant racism against Palestinians for almost two years now to go unchecked or unchanged in any way would eventually resolve to brutalizing its own students for protesting against this genocide,” she said.

On Sept. 16, a United Nations commission of inquiry concluded that Israel continues to commit acts of genocide against Palestinians in the Gaza Strip, in retaliation for Hamas’ attack on Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.

A Palestinian state is now recognized by 157 of the United Nations’ 193 member
states, including Canada, which recognized the State of Palestine on Sept. 21.

The arrested student’s letter concluded by asking students to remain vigilant on campus.

The video of the arrest, posted on SJP’s Instagram account on Sept. 19, currently has over 1 million views.

Aasim Ul haq Khwaja, a second-year business technology management student said he believes the student was “manhandled” by security on the day of the incident.

“It’s really clear that there was an excessive use of force and that was disproportionate. It wasn’t the amount of force that was needed,” he said.

“The university has to act, and they have to act fast…they have to defend free speech on campus,” he added.

A 27-year-old man was also arrested and charged with criminal harassment by Toronto Police Services during the Sep. 24 protest, as previously reported by The Eye.

The protest moved to Nelson Mandela Walk around 3 p.m. before moving to Gould Street, where it dispersed around 4 p.m.

Correction: A previous version of this article said Aasim Ul haq Khwaja is a member of the TMU Board of Governors. Ul haq Khwaja is not a current member of the Board of Governors. The Eye regrets this error.