Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights

Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights (SPHR) is a non-profit, student-based organization based in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is involved in organizing protests against the Israeli occupation of Palestine.

History

SPHR was established in 1999 as a result of a merger between two student organizations based at Concordia University and McGill University in Montreal; the Concordia Centre for Palestinian Human Rights (CCPHR) and the McGill Palestinian Solidarity Committee (PSC).^{[citation needed]} The SPHR gained a wider profile after organizing a protest in Concordia University, that forced the Israeli ex-Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to cancel a speech that was to take place on 9 September 2002.^[1] Rama Al-Malah serves as its spokesperson.^[2][3] In 2009, the organization publicly threatened civil disobedience and unrest in response to the Canada Border Services agency barring then British MP George Galloway from entry into Canada.^[4]

The groups have sponsored anti-Israel rallies on many campuses, especially since the Hamas attack on Israel on October 7, 2023. McGill University criticized its branch of the SPHR for encouraging celebration of the attack.^[5] It responded by saying that its social media posts were "looking at the prospect of liberation" rather than celebrating violence.^[6]

In June 2024, the group announced on Instagram that it will be hosting a "revolutionary youth summer program" at McGill University's lower field that includes "physical activity, Arabic language instruction, cultural crafts, political discussions, historical and revolutionary lessons".^[7][8] The post, featuring gunmen wearing keffiyeh, drew criticism from Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and B'nai Brith Canada, and was called "extremely alarming" by the university president Deep Saini.^[9]

See also

• Israel-Palestine conflict
• Students for Justice in Palestine