One person was arrested and at least three people were injured on Wednesday at Concordia University in Montreal, after an altercation related to the Israel-Hamas war turned violent, CTV News Montreal reported.
Montreal police (SPVM) said they were called to the university in downtown Montreal at around 1:30 p.m. local time and helped security guards manage two groups of students at the Henry F. Hall Building.
Police say the conflict "degenerated" between the two student groups. Concordia confirmed the clash involved "pro-Israel and pro-Palestinian groups, including students but also people from outside our community."
Several videos posted on social media showed students shoving and swearing during violent exchanges. One of the videos shows what appears to be a booth set up in the building to raise awareness about the missing Israeli citizens who were taken hostage on October 7 by Hamas.
The SPVM said the police intervention ended at around 4:15 p.m., adding a 22-year-old student was arrested for assaulting a 54-year-old security guard. The student was released on a promise to appear in court.
A 19-year-old security guard, as well as a 23-year-old student, were also injured "as a result of assaults" during the altercation, according to police, who added all three injured people suffered non-life-threatening injuries and did not need to go to hospital.
The police investigation is ongoing.
"We do not tolerate intimidation or violence on our campus and we will be looking further into today’s incident. The safety of our community is our priority," wrote a spokesperson for Concordia in an emailed statement quoted by CTV News.
Responding to the incident, Yair Szlak, President and CEO of the local Jewish federation said, “Just yesterday, following an attempted firebombing at two Jewish facilities, we said that words of antisemitic hate can lead to undesirable actions, and this must be prevented at all costs. These antisemitic and violent actions are entirely unacceptable and must be condemned by all. University campuses are not battlefields. When debate of thoughts and ideas becomes hate-filled and violent a dangerous line has been crossed and there must be serious consequences for those involved.”
Eta Yudin, Vice President (Quebec) of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, said that had police not intervened, the Jewish students would have been in real danger.
“While we thank law enforcement for ultimately intervening, the time is now for university leadership to take concrete action and use every possible tool to ensure that our universities remain safe for Jewish students,” she said. “This can never happen again.”
Wednesday’s incident comes amid an increase in antisemitic incidents around the world following Hamas’ October 7 attack on Israel.
On Tuesday, a synagogue and Jewish community center in Montreal were firebombed. There were no injuries, but the building sustained damage.