Sarah Hassanein
Sarah Hassanein showed support for the pro-Hamas encampment at UofT in May 2024. She has also expressed support for terrorism and called for Israel’s destruction on social media.
On May 8, 2024, Hassanein posted on Instagram photos from the UofT encampment and wrote: “Beautiful moments from the unbreakable spirit of the Peoples Circle for Palestine @occupyuoft…”
The People’s Circle for Palestine is another name for the UofT encampment.
On the same day, Hassanein posted on Instagram more photos from the encampment and wrote: “Some more images from the ongoing student encampment in support of Palestine at UofT…”
One photo [slide 7] featured a drawing of an inverted triangle in the pattern of a keffiyeh, a variation of the inverted red triangle symbolizing support for Hamas in the wake of the October 7, 2023, terror attacks against Israel.
Also on May 8, 2024, Hassanein posted on Instagram additional photos from the encampment and wrote: “Images from last night, where hundreds marching for the emergency rally for Rafah intersected with the Peoples Circle for Palestine at @occupyuoft encampment. The chanting went on for hours and could be heard across campus core…”
UofT is located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Sarah Hassanein’s Support for the Pro-Hamas Encampment at the University of Toronto (UofT)

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.
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.”
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.
On June 11, 2024, Hassanein posted on Instagram photos of anti-Israel activists and wrote: “Resistance in all its forms, until victory in all its forms. 🇵🇸🕊️…#Resist #Gaza #FreePalestine.”
Among Palestinians and anti-Israel activists, the term “resistance” is a euphemism for nationalistic terror and is used to glorify and encourage anti-Israel and anti-Semitic violence.
On December 4, 2023, Hassanein posted on Instagram: “The Palestinian people make me proud to be Muslim. Forms of resistance…#FromTurtleIslandToPalestine #FromTheRiverToTheSea.”
“From the River to the Sea, Palestine will be Free,” is a chant used [00:02:52] to call for the elimination of the State of Israel.
The phrase “Turtle Island” or “occupied Turtle Island” is a name that some indigenous peoples use for North America. The call to “decolonize” Turtle Island, shouted at anti-Israel rallies and backed by major anti-Israel activist groups, is a call for the destruction of the United States of America and Canada. Similarly, the call to “decolonize” Palestine is a call for Israel’s destruction.
Sarah Hassanein is a supporter of the Boycott, Divestment, Sanctions (BDS) movement.
As of August 2024, Hassanein’s LinkedIn profile said she had been a “Settlement Equity Collective Project Coordinator” at The Neighbourhood Organization (TNO) since September 2023. However, as of the same date, Hassanein’s LinkedIn Activity section indicated she was looking for work.
Also as of August 2024, Hassanein’s LinkedIn said she had been the founder and photographer at Sarah2hassans Photography since January 2010.
As of the same date, Hassanein’s LinkedIn said she received a diploma in social work from George Brown College (George Brown) in 2018 and graduated from York University (York) with a bachelor’s degree in human rights and equity studies in 2015.
As of August 2024, Hassanein’s LinkedIn said she was located in Toronto.