RCMP are investigating after a severed pig's head was found impaled on the gate of a private residence at the University of British Columbia on Tuesday morning (Sept. 3).
A pro-Palestine student group claimed responsibility for the action in a post to Instagram, sharing photos of the head, as well as a banner that was draped across the gate that read "Pigs Off Campus."
"Pigs" is a term that has long been used as derogatory slang to describe police.
The student group, called People’s University for Gaza at UBC, made the post on Tuesday saying "We're back." It also posted a statement in which it promised to continue to hold the university to account for its alleged complicity in the ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas — what the group calls an "ongoing genocide."
Group members were among dozens who set up an encampment at UBC last April to demand, among other things, that the university divest from any stocks that are supporting Israel. UBC President Benoit-Antoine Bacon said in response that the school's endowment fund doesn’t directly own any stocks the protesters were concerned about.
Members of the encampment voluntarily dismantled the camp on July 7. Elsewhere in Canada and the world, universities brought police in to force demonstrators out. Police have also arrested protesters and shut down pro-Palestine demonstrations in Vancouver, among other cities.
Neither RCMP nor UBC would disclose where the pig's head was found Tuesday morning, but photos of the scene show it was mounted on a gate labelled "private residence." In its post, People’s University for Gaza at UBC said the action was intended as a reminder to Bacon that his promise to increase support for campus security this year would not intimidate the group.
B'nai Brith Canada's Director of Research and Advocacy Richard Robertson said in a statement that they understand the incident to be intended to "intimidate and harass the Jewish community and members of law enforcement.”
“This morbid act should outrage all Canadians," he said.
Robertson added that there is a history of Jewish people being compared to pigs. He said the Nazis would utilize imagery known as Judensau, an anti-Semitic depiction that translates to "Jew's sow," in their propaganda.
Robertson said B'nai Brith will be monitoring things at UBC.
“We will not stand idly by and tolerate such hateful acts. We hope that whoever is responsible for this latest incident is identified and held accountable for their abhorrent behaviour. Our campuses must remain safe spaces for all students.”