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Instead of criticizing the violent attack, McPherson blamed the fact that the private event took place at all.
By Shula Rosen
Canadian New Democratic Party leadership candidate Heather McPherson took a firm position on the violence that erupted at a Toronto Metropolitan University event for IDF soldiers, although she defended the protesters who injured the IDF speaker.
Last Wednesday, five anti-Israel protesters were arrested at a private Students Supporting Israel event in Toronto after attacking the speakers, breaking glass, and causing injuries to a guest speaker, an IDF soldier.
Instead of criticizing the violent attack, McPherson blamed the fact that the private event took place at all.
“It is unacceptable for any institution of higher learning to permit active members of a foreign military force — particularly one currently engaged in genocide, forced starvation and forced displacement of civilians — to use resources from publicly funded post-secondary institutions,” McPherson said, as reported by The Jerusalem Post.
“It is utterly unacceptable for Canadian universities to provide a platform to members of a military force that is committing genocide. These institutions have a moral and social responsibility to stand with international law and human rights, not with those who violate them.”
At a Friday press conference, activist members of Students for Justice in Palestine claimed that the soldier attacked them first, although video footage shows one of the soldiers closing the glass door before one of the activists smashed the pane with a drill bit, causing the soldier injuries.
McPherson said that it was “unclear whether the Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) has conducted interviews with any of the individual IDF soldiers currently touring Canadian universities. The Government of Canada must immediately address these concerns. This is not only a matter of international law or domestic law; it is also a matter of public safety.”
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