AVI students choose dialogue during Israel Apartheid Week

While anti-Israel students promoted terrorism this week, AVI students did the opposite – encouraging Canadian values of interfaith dialogue and tolerance!

AVI students host Peace & Prosperity tabling at McMaster University

This week, anti-Israel students hosted discriminatory programs and campaigns on campuses across Canada in support of the hateful Israel Apartheid Week (IAW) campaign. In a proactive bid to offer an alternative on campus, our Allied Voices for Israel (AVI) staff and students decided to spread hummus, not hate.

At McMaster University, our students were joined by Director of Campus Affairs Idaliah Snajdman to lead a Peace & Prosperity tabling on campus.

Students stopped at the table not only to enjoy hummus, but to learn about the importance of conversation and advocating for peace and coexistence for all peoples. Recent data shows that a growing demographic of young Canadians want to engage in respectful dialogue on campus. In that vein, AVI Student Ambassadors sought to bridge divides on campus in a bid to combat hatred.

Over the last few months, many Canadian students have shared with us that they were told by anti-Israel groups that they are “forbidden” to have conversations, while Zionist and Jewish student clubs encourage respectful dialogue. It is safe to say that AVI made its impact in promoting understanding between students of all backgrounds this week.

Click the above graphic to learn more!

Twenty-one years ago, Israel Apartheid week (IAW) was born on a Canadian campus, changing the face of university activism forever. ⁠

What started at the University of Toronto in 2005 wasn't just a series of lectures – it was the launch of a global campaign designed to delegitimize the Middle East’s only democracy.⁠

Since then, we’ve seen⁠ the weaponization of language to distort historical truths, the rise of boycott campaigns as a tool for economic and academic exclusion, and a dramatic shift in campus safety, culminating in the post-October 7th encampments and harassment of Jewish students⁠.⁠

As we look at the landscape in 2026, the question remains: are our universities still places for open dialogue, or have they become hubs for a singular, divisive political agenda?⁠ 

To see the timeline of how IAW and BDS evolved in Canada and why standing for facts matters more than ever, please click here. 

Dialogue, allyship, and coexistence at our recent unity social in Vancouver!

In Vancouver, continuing our bid to choose dialogue over division, AVI hosted a unity social in partnership with the Coalition of Hindus in North America (COHNA) and Israel on Campus (IOC) at the University of British Columbia this week!

Students and community members of all backgrounds came together to converse and learn from one another. The program embodied our principles of tolerance and unity here at AVI.

We were proud to see several of our AVI Student Ambassadors contributing to these important conversations.

(Left to right): AVI Student Ambassadors Lary, Arielle, and Emerson

Along the theme of unity, AVI Student Amabassadors Lary, Arielle, and Emerson engaged in productive and open dialogue at an interfaith Shabbat dinner hosted by Calgary Hillel and the Faith and Spirituality Centre (FSC) at the University of Calgary. 

While anti-Israel students are promoting fascist ideologies and arguing against dialogue, AVI students promoted interfaith dialogue and tolerance, beacons of Canadian values!

For more photos, please click here.

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Interfaith event at Queen's University

Our Kingston-based AVI Student Ambassadors at Queen's University made special connections and engaged in meaningful conversations about campus advocacy, allyship, and coalition-building this week.

The conversations took place at an interfaith dinner at Queen's, led by AVI Student Ambassador Jonathan! Students quickly learned about the power of conversation – rather than encouraging campaigns that support demonization and hatred of the other.

AVI hosted a successful Calgary Jewish Student-Faculty Mixer, in partnership with some incredible organizations

AVI, Calgary Jewish Federation's Community Relations Committee, Calgary Hillel, StandWithUs Canada, and Students Supporting Israel (SSI) Calgary hosted a successful Jewish Student-Faculty Mixer this week, generating lasting connections and a feeling of solidarity amongst Calgary's Jewish faculty and student body. 

For more photos, please click here. 

Hebrews & Hip Hop at Toronto Metropolitan University

AVI alumna Liat educated Toronto Metropolitan University students about the Jewish artists who've influenced music through our Hebrews and Hip Hop tabling this week, in partnership with Students Supporting Israel (SSI) at TMU!

During the tabling, students were given the opportunity to engage in conversations about Judaism, Israel, music, and other subjects in a manner that was both organic and raw.

Click the above flyer to register!

We are ending off our week of interfaith dialogue with our Unity Shabbat in partnership with Hillel Ottawa!

This Friday, March 27th, join us for an evening that brings people of all backgrounds around one table to share a meal, exchange ideas, and experience the warmth of Jewish life.

This gathering reflects AVI’s core mission: fostering meaningful conversation, building genuine partnerships, and creating spaces where education and understanding can thrive.

Through the simple yet powerful act of sharing food and observing Shabbat, we create opportunities for connection, curiosity, and mutual respect. Whether you come to learn, to engage, or simply to be part of something welcoming and uplifting, there is a place for you at the table. Everyone is welcome, so bring a friend and join us for an evening of community, learning, and unity.

🗓️March 27 | 6:30pm

🕯️ Candle lighting: 7:07pm

📍 FSS 4007, uOttawa campus 

To register, please click here.