The Camp and the Encampment: Reflections on Palestine Futures from the University of Toronto Student Encampment

The two-month encampment at the University of Toronto struggled to reach a deal with the university's administration. Despite its clear demands, based on the Palestinian civil society call for boycott, divestment, and sanctions (BDS), confusion abounded about the goals of the encampment and the tactics required for reaching them. The author compares the role of student encampments of 2024 to that of the Palestinian refugee camp at the dawn of the Palestinian revolution. The author reflects on the meaning of Palestinian liberation and modes of resistance to reach it, suggesting that it requires attending to the crises of climate change and capitalism to deliver a Palestinian political vision for desirable futures that guarantee the conditions for the flourishing of all humans on that land.