By Amira Benjamin and Negin Khodayari
Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) students and allies demanded the administration ban student groups from platforming military delegations and prohibit them from visiting university-affiliated events, at a press conference on campus today.
The press conference comes following the arrest of five pro-Palestinian protestors at a TMU Students Supporting Israel (SSI) event off-campus on Wednesday, where a former Israel Defense Force (IDF) soldier was in attendance.
The Toronto Police Service confirmed on Thursday that charges were laid against five individuals, including TMU students, who have since been released.
A video posted on TMU’s Students for Justice in Palestine’s (SJP) Instagram account shows the former IDF soldier forcibly and physically removing demonstrators from the SSI event.
Footage uploaded to TMU SSI’s Instagram account also shows the confrontation and the breaking of a glass door at the event.
Eight protestors were allegedly hospitalized after the confrontation according to SJP, while an unspecified number were injured. According to SSI, the soldier was also injured by the broken glass.
“We demand Canadian academic institutions to prohibit foreign military delegations from visiting campus, being hosted by university-sponsored clubs or attending the institution as either a student or faculty,” said Julia*, a TMU student organizer at the press conference.
According to a Facebook post, Ilan Sinelnikov, founder of the SSI group, alleged that the TMU administration denied the group’s request for on-campus space three times before they found an off-campus location. The Toronto Star reported today that the owner of the building at 49 Elm St. where the SSI event was held, was “completely unaware of the political leanings” of the event and was not made aware of the nature of the gathering.
The SSI event was part of the “Triggered: From Combat to Campus” tour, which attempts to invite students to “learn, talk, and hear from an American-Israeli about life in Israel since October 7,” according to a post on SSI’s Instagram account.
“We refuse to quietly accept that war criminals could be brought into our city, into our campuses cloaked in the language of ‘dialogue’ and ‘safety’,” said Julia.
In October 2024, a United Nations (UN) commission found Israel had been committing war crimes and “acts against humanity” in Gaza in retaliation for an attack from Hamas, which killed approximately 1,200 Israelis on Oct. 7 2023, according to Brown University research. The UN has since declared Israel’s actions in the Gaza Strip a genocide, with at least 68, 229 people killed by Israel from Oct. 7, 2023, to Oct. 21, 2025 according to Al Jazeera.
At the press conference, Julia commended students who demonstrated at the SSI event. “Students did exactly what you’re supposed to do when your university chooses to host war criminals that are complicit in genocide.”
Julia said the university was aware of students’ complaints.
“Before protesting, students did everything we were always told to do. We sent emails, we organized, we petitioned but we got no response from the administration,” said Julia. “TMU cannot pretend it did not know.”
Mohammed William, a member of the Toronto chapter of Palestinian Youth Movement (PYM) was also among the speakers at the conference.
“We are here today because of an extremely alarming incident, one that exposes the systemic inequities within our institutions, creating an environment that is hostile to Palestinian existence,” said William.
“This event was a failure to protect Canadian students from being violently assaulted by a soldier in a foreign military.”
In an email statement to The Eye, SJP listed several demands of the university, including a public condemnation by TMU administration of all SSI events and the disclosure of the university’s investments and divestments relating to Israel’s ongoing genocide in Gaza.
TMU has recently released a list of its public market holdings managed by Fiera Capital.
Other speakers at the press conference included School of Journalism associate chair and Faculty for Palestine TMU member Sonya Fatah and Zoe Newman of Jews Say No to Genocide.
The university released a public statement on Wednesday, saying it is “deeply concerned” about the incident and “condemns acts of aggression, intimidation, or violence.” TMU president Mohamed Lachemi has yet to comment on the matter.
The Eye reached out to SSI for comment but did not hear back in time for publication.
The Eye has also requested comment from the president and we will update this article once a response is received.
This is a developing story and will be updated as new details are released.
*This person’s last name has been omitted to protect their identity.
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