AVI Student Ambassadors celebrate Purim on campus

PLUS: Leading educational workshops at Toronto Catholic schools, "Shalom Salaam Privet" tabling at TanenbaumCHAT, and more!

AVI Student Ambassadors lead an interactive Purim tabling at OCAD University (top image); Spreading the joy of Purim to fraternities at UBC (bottom images)

This week, our Allied Voices for Israel (AVI) Student Ambassadors spread the joy of the holiday of Purim from coast to coast!

At OCAD University, students lead a Purim tabling with the OCAD Jewish Club, highlighting the importance of the holiday.⁠ Students shared traditional Purim foods such as hamentashen (cookies shaped like the ears of Haman – the antagonist of the Purim story), colour-in masks, and the significance of the Purim story! 

At the University of British Columbia (UBC), AVI Students Sara, Malcom, and Brandon put together mishloach manot (gift baskets traditionally given to family and friends) to distribute to UBC fraternities and sororities, as per AVI tradition.

In doing so, they educated students of all backgrounds about this ancient holiday's significance to Jewish and Persian history, as well as its relevance to current events.

We hope all those who celebrated had a wonderful, joyful, and meaningful Purim!

To learn more about our Purim tabling at OCAD, please click here.

To learn more about sharing Mishloach Manot with fraternitiess at UBC, please click here.

Discussed ways of combating anti-Jewish hatred on campus with the Hon. Nolan Quinn (centre)

AVI's Founder and Executive Director Daniel Koren joined a meeting with several Jewish campus organizations with the Hon. Nolan Quinn – Minister of Colleges, Universities, Research Excellence and Security – to better address the scourge of anti-Jewish hatred on Canadian college and university campuses.⁠

Our educational institutions should be places where Jewish students feel safe, supported, and proud of their heritage - never threatened or marginalized. We will continue working with government and university leadership to ensure Jewish students can learn, lead, and live Jewishly with confidence and dignity.⁠

AVI's Director of Education Gabriela Rosenblum doing what she does best!

Over the last two weeks, AVI's Director of Education Gabriela Rosenblum led our educational workshops at a dozen Grade 5-7 classrooms at Catholic schools across the Greater Toronto Area!⁠

Students enjoyed learning all about Jewish indigeneity, identity, and history through our Who are the Jews? History, Migration, and Identity workshop, and a crucial session on Learning from the Holocaust: Then and Now.

Our amazing CHAT students educating their peers

Our brilliant CHAT students and Common Roots Ambassadors Eliav and Gavriel led our Shalom, Salaam, Pryvit tabling with AVI's High-School Advisor Michelle this week, teaching their peers about the diverse cultural practices and languages within the Jewish Diaspora.

Gavriel, who is an aspiring graphic designer, even designed some custom boards for the tabling display, showcasing fun facts about Israel's diversity!

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Tabling with Save A Child's Heart at the University of Calgary (left) and the University of Guelph (right)

Our Canadian Save A Child's Heart (SACH) tabling tour made its way to the University of Calgary (left) and the University of Guelph (right) this week.

AVI Student Ambassadors enthusiastically educated their peers about this important Israeli organization, which provides life-saving cardiac care to children in need all over the world, regardless of their religion, gender, or nationality – a cause we can definitely stand by!

Click the above cover to watch an excerpt from our latest Common Voices episode with Iranian-Canadian Journalist Negar Mojtahedi

On our latest episode of Common Voices, our host Daniel Koren sat down with Canadian-Iranian journalist and award-winning documentary filmmaker Negar Mojtahedi for an important and eye-opening discussion on the unfolding protests, demonstrations, and violence in Iran.

In this clip, Negar reveals that doctors in touch with physicians inside Iran predict “tens of thousands more” will die from preventable ailments like untreated wounds and infections because doctors are being abducted and arrested for treating protesters.

Daniel and Negar also discussed the catastrophic and tragic scale of violence in the region; the difficulty of getting non-Iranians to understand the extent of the brutality at the hands of the Ayatollah; the misinformation and propaganda consistently spouted by the regime; international responses; how the Jewish community and other allies can display solidarity and take action outside of Iran; what the future holds for a potentially free Iran; and so much more crucial information you don’t want to miss.

To listen to Episode 12: ‘People can smell death inside Iran’ – a Canadian-Iranian Journalist’s Perspective, with Canadian-Iranian journalist Negar Mojtahedi, please click here.

Click the above flyer or press and hold the QR code for tickets (spots are limited)!

We are two days away from Cocoa & Couture – a contemporary runway showcase featuring the latest Spring 2026 collections, paired with an indulgent brunch. 

On Sunday, March 8th at 11am ET, in honour of International Women's Day, we will bring together women of diverse ages and backgrounds to model the latest Spring fashions. 

Guests will enjoy brunch selections, wine, a curated chocolate charcuterie experience, and a silent auction – all in support of AVI's educational initiatives across Canada.

Between runway sets, guests are invited to browse and shop curated pieces directly from our featured vendors. Cocoa & Couture will be hosted by our amazing AVI Stakeholder Kim Smiley, founder of The Empathy Effect.

Bring your daughter, sister, girlfriend, or any other important woman in your life. You won't want to miss this!

Spots are limited – please click here for tickets!