Rachel Small
Rachel Small Spoke at the Pro-Hamas Encampment at the University of Toronto (UofT)
Rachel Small [Rachel Blume Small] spoke at the pro-Hamas encampment at UofT in May 2024. She has also justified anti-Semitism and expressed support for a terrorist.
On May 7, 2024, Rachel Small spoke [00:00:26] at an anti-Israel march, which ended at the encampment.
On May 7, 2024, anti-Israel groups, including PYM Toronto and Toronto4Palestine, held a protest march titled: “HANDS OFF RAFAH!” outside the Israeli consulate in Toronto. A PYM Instagram post promoting the protest said: “We demand an end to the genocide, an immediate and permanent ceasefire, and the full liberation of Palestine from the river to the sea!”
The protesters marched to the U of T encampment, where they continued protesting. During the march, protesters chanted [00:00:01]: “Long live the resistance! Long live the intifada!”, and [00:01:08]: “Resistance is justified when people are occupied.” They also chanted [00:00:11]: “Intifada, intifada! Long live the intifada!”, as well as [00:00:19]: “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!”
One speaker said [00:00:04]: “Remember that our resistance on the ground is strong and steadfast. They will not back down and they will continue to protect and defend our lands and our people. They will continue to fight against the evil murderous treacherous Zionist entity with their entire might, and here we salute the resistance in Gaza and beyond…”
UofT is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Pro-Hamas Encampment at the University of Toronto
On May 2, 2024, activists from the UofT Occupy for Palestine (Occupy UofT) group “stormed down” [00:00:24] the fencing around UofT’s Kings College Circle and set up a pro-Hamas encampment, which they called the “People’s Circle for Palestine.”That day, Occupy UofT called on “community members to…help us defend our encampment” at an emergency rally in the evening. Protesters chanted [00:02:59] for “intifada” and celebrated “resistance” [00:02:45]. Both terms are calls for terrorism. The activists also chanted [00:01:28; 00:02:21] for Israel’s destruction multiple times.
One speaker, Nabil Jalbout, said [00:09:02]: “...we are not fighting for peace, we are fighting for liberation, because ‘peace’ is a white man's word.” Another speaker, Ahmad Jarrar Hajahmad, claimed [00:05:52]: “All these Israeli and Zionist entities fill all these politicians with money in their pockets…we already know who runs this system…”
Signs displayed at the encampment said: “LONG LIVE THE INTIFADA” and “LIBERATION FOR ALL REQUIRES RESISTANCE FROM ALL.”
On May 4, 2024, anti-Israel protesters at the encampment assaulted a Jewish man, punching him in the stomach as they forcibly took his Israeli flag. The attackers told the man [00:01:02]: “God bless the armed resistance,” and: “Go back to Europe!” They also reportedly called him “a “dirty Jew.”
Protesters “occupied” [00:00:17] the area from May to July 2024, despite UofT’s warning they were trespassing. The group said they would not leave until UofT divested from companies that “sustain Israeli apartheid, occupation and illegal settlement of Palestine” and terminated partnerships with Israeli academic institutions.
Following the October 7, 2023 massacre of nearly 1,200 Israelis, the inverted red triangle -
- became a Hamas symbol. This symbol appeared on large signs at the encampment multiple times. Erin Mackey, one of the primary organizers, is openly pro-Hamas, having used the symbol in her activism. In addition, pro-Hamas marches that began in other parts of the city concluded at the encampment.
One speaker, Nabil Jalbout, said [00:09:02]: “...we are not fighting for peace, we are fighting for liberation, because ‘peace’ is a white man's word.” Another speaker, Ahmad Jarrar Hajahmad, claimed [00:05:52]: “All these Israeli and Zionist entities fill all these politicians with money in their pockets…we already know who runs this system…”
Signs displayed at the encampment said: “LONG LIVE THE INTIFADA” and “LIBERATION FOR ALL REQUIRES RESISTANCE FROM ALL.”
On May 4, 2024, anti-Israel protesters at the encampment assaulted a Jewish man, punching him in the stomach as they forcibly took his Israeli flag. The attackers told the man [00:01:02]: “God bless the armed resistance,” and: “Go back to Europe!” They also reportedly called him “a “dirty Jew.”
Protesters “occupied” [00:00:17] the area from May to July 2024, despite UofT’s warning they were trespassing. The group said they would not leave until UofT divested from companies that “sustain Israeli apartheid, occupation and illegal settlement of Palestine” and terminated partnerships with Israeli academic institutions.
Following the October 7, 2023 massacre of nearly 1,200 Israelis, the inverted red triangle -
- became a Hamas symbol. This symbol appeared on large signs at the encampment multiple times. Erin Mackey, one of the primary organizers, is openly pro-Hamas, having used the symbol in her activism. In addition, pro-Hamas marches that began in other parts of the city concluded at the encampment.On July 3, 2024, the Ontario Superior Court of Justice issued an injunction at the request of UofT’s Governing Council, requiring students to clear the encampment. Occupy UofT dismantled the encampment and wrote [slides 5-6]: “We are just getting started…come fall, every incoming student will hear our message loud and clear…Whatever institution you have access to and influence over - you need to take this campaign there!” The statement concluded: “Long live the intifada.”
Background on Pro-Hamas Encampments
The encampment was one of over 140 pro-Hamas and anti-Israel college encampments set up in North America, and over 20 more globally, in the spring of 2024. The first began on April 17, 2024, at Columbia University. The encampments were unofficially known as the “student intifada,” borrowing a term associated with terrorist violence.Protesters harassed Jewish students, blocked Jews from campus facilities and shouted anti-Semitic slogans. They occupied campus grounds, in many cases illegally, caused property damage, violently took over buildings, celebrated terrorism and promoted the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
Activists set up encampments to oppose Israel’s right to wage war against the Hamas terror group following October 7, 2023, when Hamas murdered approximately 1,200 people, including 32 American and 8 Canadian citizens. Hamas also kidnapped 252 people, including 11 Americans and the bodies of 2 murdered Canadians. As of May 26, 2024, 125 hostages remained in Hamas captivity.
For more information on the October 7, 2023 terror attacks, see the Canary Mission page on Hamas.
Rachel Small’s Justifying of Anti-Semitism
On December 8, 2023, Small advocated [00:14:28] in support of 11 anti-Israel activists who vandalized a Toronto bookstore. The vandals splashed the outside of the store with red paint and pasted posters on the front of the building, accusing the chain’s founder and CEO, pro-Israel philanthropist Heather Reisman, of “funding genocide.”Police charged 11 suspects with “hate-motivated mischief” and “criminal harassment.” They said the suspects “engaged in threatening conduct that caused a person to reasonable fear [sic] for their personal safety.”
On November 30, 2023, Small was featured [00:00:16] in a YouTube video from an anti-Israel protest calling for the release of the activists. She claimed, referring to the vandalizing and defacement of the bookstore: “...it is not anti-Semitic to call out the Israeli military’s violence, it is not a hate crime to denounce Heather Reisman’s support of what the Israeli military is doing…”
A November 24, 2024 article from The Breach media outlet quoted Small as saying that characterizing the vandalism as antisemitic or a hate crime is “ridiculous,” and that “media coverage has amplified a misleading story and laid the groundwork for the Toronto police to inappropriately investigate this as a hate crime.”
Rachel Small’s Support for a Terrorist
On July 13, 2021, Small posted on Facebook: “...Write a letter to the Canadian government demanding the unconditional release of Khalida Jarrar…” Her post included a graphic that said: “FREEDOM FOR KHALIDA JARRAR / Palestinian leftist, feminist and parliamentarian arrested by the Israeli occupation.”Khalida Jarrar is a senior member of the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) terror organization. She has reportedly been the head of the PFLP in the West Bank since 2016. In 2015, an Israeli military court sentenced Jarrar to 15 months in prison for calling to kidnap Israeli soldiers. Israel arrested Jarrar again in 2017 “on suspicion of involvement with terrorist activities and violent public disturbances.” In 2019, she was arrested by Israel with 50 other PFLP operatives following a deadly 2018 bombing attack.
Rachel Small’s Anti-Israel Activism, Work and Education
Rachel Small is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.In November 2023, Small was listed as an organizer with Jews Say No to Genocide. In January 2018, Small posted on X that she was “Prouder than ever to support” the anti-Israel campus group Jewish Voice for Peace (JVP).
As of August 2024, Small’s LinkedIn profile said she had been the Canada organizer at World BEYOND War since August 2020. As of the same date, Small’s LinkedIn also said she had been an organizer with the Mining Injustice Solidarity Network since September 2012.
As of August 2024, Small’s LinkedIn said she graduated from York University (York) with a master’s degree in environmental justice in 2014. York is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Also as of August 2024, Small’s LinkedIn said she was located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Social Media and Weblinks
Facebook:https://www.facebook.com/rachelblumesmall/X:https://x.com/rach_small
Instagram:https://www.instagram.com/rachelblumesmall/ [Private]
Threads:https://www.threads.net/@rachelblumesmall
LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/in/rachelblumesmall/
TikTok:https://www.tiktok.com/@rachelblumesmall
