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Ontario: Humber College regrets expelling a student who posted Palestinian flag posters on its campus...

Ontario: Humber College regrets expelling a student who posted Palestinian flag posters on its campus...

By Omayma othmani

Published: November 9, 2023

Dozens of students organized a strike at Humber College in Toronto on November 7 after a student was expelled from campus for posting Palestinian flag stickers amid escalating tensions at several Canadian universities.

Hani Allaf, a Syrian Canadian graduate student, said he posted about ten stickers around the Humber College campus in Ontario on October 31. The stickers showed the Palestinian flag with the phrase "Boycott Israeli Apartheid."

Allaf also said that two days later, while attending a class, a faculty member from the Humber College Department of Public Safety approached him and asked him to leave the campus and not return.

Allaf added in an interview with CBC: "They told me that I am accused of spreading hate speech, anti-Semitic speech, desecration, and vandalism of property."

This incident comes at a time when many colleges and universities are experiencing escalating tensions amid the indiscriminate bombing of civilians in the Gaza Strip following Hamas's attack on southern Israel on October 7.

Demonstrations took place in various cities around the world calling for a ceasefire to stop the increasing number of deaths, a situation described by several organizations as a war crime and genocide.

About 1,400 people were killed in Hamas's attack on Israel, including more than 300 Israeli soldiers. Hamas also held 240 people hostage, according to Israeli officials.

In response, Israel launched continuous bombing on the Gaza Strip, a densely populated area, resulting in the deaths of 10,569 Palestinians, including 4,324 children, according to figures from the Palestinian health authorities.

Thousands of people took to the streets of Toronto during recent weekends, demanding a ceasefire as Israel continues to attack the besieged enclave.

The Toronto demonstration was just one of many protests held in more than twenty Canadian cities.

At the same time, Toronto police said there has been a significant increase in anti-Semitic and anti-Islam incidents in the city.

Allaf (24 years old) said he was told on November 2 that he might be arrested if he returned to campus, and he did not receive further details.

The Canadian government had previously confirmed that it rejects the view that Israel’s actions constitute apartheid, despite detailed reports issued by two of the world’s most renowned human rights organizations, Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International, as well as documents from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The rights evidence proves that Israel applies an apartheid policy against the Palestinian population.

Allaf also said that his colleagues were shocked after the school reprimanded him, and in a show of support, they organized a strike to protest the incident.

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