AVI and Sharaka reach thousands in Toronto & Montreal
Luai Ahmed, Tamer Masudin, and Fatema Al Harbi engage and empower students at high schools, university campuses, and community events
(L-R) Our Sharaka delegation of Alyssa Annis, Tamer Masudin, Luai Ahmed, and Fatema Al Harbi address Congregation Shaar Hashomayim in Montreal on the first leg of our cross-Canada tour (Oct. 15)
On behalf of all of us at Allied Voices for Israel (AVI), we are elated to share the incredible success of United We Stand: Voices for Peace in the Middle East, our cross-Canada tour in partnership with Sharaka, featuring three Arab advocates for Israel: Tamer Masudin, Luai Ahmed, and Fatema Al Harbi.
With the Montreal and Toronto legs now complete, our delegation of Arab advocates for Israel has already engaged thousands of students, educators, community members, and allies. Here’s a look at what we’ve accomplished so far.
Our panelists at Herzliah High School in Montreal
Our tour began in Montreal with an intimate program for professors and faculty from Concordia University and McGill University, opening a frank conversation with educators who shape campus life every day.
From there, two of our panelists visited Herzliah High School, where they spoke with students about their experiences as Arab advocates for Israel and met with teachers.
Tamer Masudin and Luai Ahmed engage in conversations with students outside McGill University
Our delegation then went straight to a collaborative lunch with Hillel Montreal, followed by a tabling outside McGill University. Students of all backgrounds stopped to talk and ask our delegates a question they rarely get to ask: why are you, as Arabs from the Middle East, standing for Israel?
One of our panelists also took part in an interview that will make a tremendous impact on university students in Montreal. Her message of peace will be heard in classrooms long after our tour ends.
AVI Student Ambassador Sarvesh addresses the crowd at our event at The Shaar in Montreal
That evening, close to 200 people filled Congregation Shaar Hashomayim for our Montreal panel discussion. It capped an extraordinary first day.
AVI and Sharaka staff in Toronto. Click on the photo above to view our photo gallery from our Toronto event!
In Toronto, our delegates went to campus, tabling and speaking with students at the University of Toronto’s St. George and Scarborough campuses.
On Friday night, more than 100 students joined us for a Shabbat dinner in partnership with Hillel Ontario and CJPAC. It was an evening of warmth, honest conversation, and new friendships.
AVI Student Ambassadors and staff meet our Sharaka delegation before the start of our Shabbat dinner with Hillel Ontario and CJPAC
On Shabbat, our delegates engaged some 500 shul-goers at three different synagogues, including a powerful allyship-themed service at Song Shul that also included allies such as Warren Kinsella, Donna Holbrook, and Pastor John Ward.
On Sunday, our delegation spoke to 100 attendees at a Toronto church. That evening, roughly 200 community members and allies came to our main Toronto event.
Our delegates Luai, Fatema, and Tamer engage in conversations with students at U of T St. George campus
On Monday, our delegates engaged hundreds of high school students at TanenbaumCHAT in Toronto before taking part in campus tabling events at both York University and Toronto Metropolitan University, where students engaged in conversation and learned about Sharaka's work bringing together Jews and Arabs across the Middle East.
Counting every school, campus, synagogue, church, and community event, plus the students our recorded class will reach in the years ahead, we’ve engaged thousands of students, community members, and allies in Toronto and Montreal alone.
Tamer Masudin speaks to a congregation at a Toronto church on Sunday
The tour is now wrapping up its Alberta leg and heading to British Columbia. There, our delegates will visit Simon Fraser University and the University of British Columbia, table on campus, and record a podcast that will be viewed by thousands.
The BC leg ends with two community-wide events, one in Vancouver and one in Langley. Both will bring together allies from across the region, including many Iranian allies in Vancouver.
Our delegates Luai, Fatema, and Tamer engage in conversations with high school students at CHAT
To everyone who attended, hosted, volunteered, or simply stopped by our table to ask a question: thank you. You are proof that peace begins with dialogue, and that allies stand together.
Finally, AVI is joining UJA Federation of Greater Toronto and fellow Jewish community organizations to host a cross-organizational, non-partisan webinar tonight ahead of the upcoming municipal elections, built around one clear message: voting matters.
Municipal government shapes so much of daily life in our neighbourhoods, from public safety to community services, yet turnout in local elections is historically low. This webinar will help community members understand why local government matters, how to vote, and why every voice counts.
This event is strictly non-partisan. We will not endorse or oppose any candidate or party, or advocate for any electoral outcome. Our goal is simply to encourage as many people as possible to participate in the democratic process, and to show that our community’s organizations stand together in encouraging civic engagement.
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