A student group at the prestigious McGill University in Canada spent over a month on a hunger strike to force the educational institution to divest from “companies supporting the Israeli military."

Documents available on McGill’s website reveal investments in companies including arms contractor Lockheed Martin and Safran, a French air and defense company.

Rania Amine, an undergraduate student at McGill, said, “The University of McGill has left us no choice because they’ve been ignoring the peaceful protests, the actions that have been taken by students and student groups on campus."

“McGill has ultimately pushed us to take this extreme form of action and put our bodies and our health and our lives on the line to make them know that it is absolutely unacceptable that they use our tuition money to invest in this way,” continued Amine who marked her 33rd day on hunger strike on Friday.

McGill, one of the most prestigious universities in Canada, was being called on to divest about $20 million from various companies.

Amine stated that in response, the university agreed to host a public forum on the issue, but it ended up proposing a private meeting earlier this month that was eventually turned down.

Chadi, an undergraduate student, said Friday was his 21st day of hunger strike "for divestment and we’re in it for the long haul. We’ve already proved we’re in it for the long haul just by the sheer number of days we’ve done this.” 

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“All of this stops when McGill divests,” he continued. 

Procedures over humanity

McGill issued a statement, saying it is “concerned about the well-being of the students participating in this initiative” and that it "respects the right to free speech and free assembly, within the limits of university policy and the law."

“We … have repeatedly offered to meet with [the student protesters] directly. Though they have so far declined, this offer still stands. We have clearly communicated the procedures available for expressing concern about the university’s investment holdings, or for advocating policy changes."

"These students have chosen a different approach; our hope is that they will understand that university policies will not be determined in this way before their well-being is affected. We urge them to make choices that prioritize their health.”

Earlier this month, Canadian pro-Palestinian and human rights activists initiated legal action against the federal government, seeking to halt the permission granted to companies for exporting military goods and technology to the Israeli occupation.

In a federal court filing, the lawsuit contends that existing Canadian laws prohibit military exports to "Israel" due to a "substantial risk" that such exports could be utilized to breach international law and engage in severe acts of violence against women and children. This information comes from a statement released by the applicants.

Since October 7, Ottawa has granted approvals for military exports to "Israel" totaling at least C$28.5 million ($21.0 million), surpassing the value of permits issued in the preceding year, as per the applicants.