AVI Student Ambassadors complete social media internship

PLUS: AVI's Director of Campus Affairs meets Hamilton's Chief of Police, AVI's Founder takes part in podcast on campus antisemitism, and more!

(Left to right) AVI Social Media Internship graduates Kyla, Noa, and Emily

We created our social media internship in hopes of inspiring college and university students across Canada to use their voice and creativity to make a difference, fight hatred in all its forms, and learn valuable social media marketing skills along the way.

This week, our first official cohort of Allied Voices for Israel (AVI) Social Media Interns graduated, and we could not be more proud. Throughout the internship, Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) student Kyla, University of Toronto student Noa, and York University student Emily – who is currently completing a summer internship at AVI – created engaging, fresh, and educational content that has been a pleasure to share across our social platforms.

Upon reflecting on the internship at our recent grad lunch, Kyla mentioned how the internship gave her the confidence to put videos of her face online and boldly advocate for what she believed in, while Noa pointed out how fun and rewarding it was to develop her digital marketing portfolio and creativity.

Mazal Tov to our inspiring social media interns on their graduation. We are confident they will do incredible things with the skills and unique brand voices they have found through this internship. 

To watch an adorable recap of our graduation lunch, featuring our first graduating class of Social Media Interns, please click here.

(Left to right): Bnai Brith's Government & Stakeholder Relations Specialist Syd Waxman, Hamilton Chief of Police Frank Bergen, and AVI's Director of Campus Affairs Idaliah Snajdman

This week, AVI's Director of Campus Affairs Idaliah Snajdman connected with Hamilton's Chief of Police Frank Bergen and B'nai Brith's Government & Stakeholder Relations Specialist Syd Waxman at the Hamilton Negev Dinner, hosted by Friends of JNF Canada. 

The evening was in support of building a synagogue and cultural centre on the southern border of Israel, honouring the heroes who fell in that community on October 7th, 2023. 

(Left to right): AVI's Founder & Executive Director Daniel Koren and former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman

AVI's Founder and Executive Director Daniel Koren discussed the importance of diplomacy and building understanding in the face of hatred with former US Ambassador to Israel David Friedman, at the Friends of JNF Canada breakfast in Toronto.

Friedman was the keynote speaker at the breakfast. Thank you to Friends of JNF Canada for these initiatives that help our brothers and sisters affected by the horrors of October 7th in the south of Israel.⁠

Click the above still to watch

Most conversations about Israel and anti-Jewish hatred miss the core truth: understanding the historical and indigenous connection of Jews to their homeland is key to creating meaningful change.

AVI Executive Director Daniel Koren recently appeared on The Fox Den podcast, where he and host Nathan Fox discussed how grassroots education and bridge-building initiatives are transforming campus culture — and why this matters more than ever. 

They broke down the current climate of campus activism and radicalism, where hostile environments suppress conversations and foster conflicts—sometimes escalating into protests and violence. Daniel pinpointed the role radical professors and social media narratives play in stoking fear and division, and offered a proactive blueprint: education, face-to-face dialogue, and cultural diplomacy.

Together, they discussed that symbolism and respectful engagement can open hearts, even in the most charged spaces.

This episode underscores why ignoring history fuels misunderstanding and hostility—and why awareness and empathy create pathways to peace.

To watch the full episode on YouTube, please click here.

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Click the above graphic to sign the petition!

AVI put its name on a petition created by our friends at the Canadian Women Against Antisemitism (CWAA) this week expressing their profound concern over renewed efforts to remove Dr. Jonathan Mayer as President-Elect of the Ontario Dental Association.

The petition calls on the Members of Council of the Ontario Dental Association (ODA) to: 

• Uphold the findings of the independent legal review, which concluded that Dr. Mayer should remain in office;

• Reject efforts to override due process through repeated external pressure;

• Allow Dr. Jonathan Mayer to serve in the position to which he was elected; and

• Demonstrate that the Ontario Dental Association remains committed to fairness, institutional independence, and equal standards for all.

To sign the petition, please click here. 

Happy Indigenous Heritage Month from AVI! 

Across oceans, borders, and generations. 

​In anticipation of Indigenous Peoples Day, which happened this past Sunday, we highlighted what identity and resilience look like around the world. Listen to these introductions—from North America to New Zealand, all the way to the Jewish people’s historic, continuous tie to the Land of Israel.

​The languages and lands change, but the pride is exactly the same. Happy National Indigenous History Month!

To watch a compilation of proud, Indigenous voices, please click here.

Click the above graphic to read the article

AVI friends Dr. Sheree Trotter and the Hon. Harry S. LaForme of Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem recently hosted an event at the University of Ottawa, where they said what many have been thinking: Canada’s Indigenous story is being twisted, manipulated, and weaponized to spread anti-Jewish hatred in Canada.

This event came on the heels of our Building Indigenous-Jewish Friendship Symposium, where AVI, CAEF, the Indigenous Embassy Jerusalem, and Kanada House brought together Indigenous and Jewish leaders, academics, and advocates to explore shared values, ancestral connections to land, and global paradigms of education and identity.⁠

Dan Donovan wrote an important piece about the event in Ottawa Life Magazine on how hateful, anti-semitic groups have co-opted “Indigenous struggle, borrowing the symbols, vocabulary, and moral authority of Indigenous peoples to advance a political agenda that has little to do with Indigenous rights and even less to do with historical truth.” 

To read How Canada’s Indigenous Story Is Being Twisted to Spread Antisemitism, please click here.

AVI Student Ambassadors show off their gelatos in Rome

While exploring Rome’s Jewish Quarter on Common Ground Italy, our AVI Student Ambassadors had the chance to learn more about Jewish history in the region, including how Jewish people arrived in Italy directly from Judea and the Land of Israel.

To watch our students describe one of their experiences in Rome, please click here.