AVI in the media this week in National Post and Jewish Independent – plus our Campus Media Alumnus is published in Jerusalem Post
Our nation-wide tour with Arab-Israeli advocate Yoseph Haddad received prominent coverage in Saturday's print edition of the National Post
We are proud to share that our United We Stand speaking tour with Arab-Israeli journalist and advocate Yoseph Haddad, which drew over 2,200 people across Canada, was mentioned in two news outlets this week!
Haddad's interview, headlined 'My Country': This Arab fights for Israel in The National Post, received prominent coverage on Page 1 and Page 3 in Saturday's print edition, and has also been published online.
In the interview, Haddad discusses his tour across the country with AVI and discusses his visit to Concordia University in particular:
There’s no freedom of speech — freedom of speech is all about the Western values. It’s all about what I expect from a country like Canada. Where is the freedom of speech when it comes to our side? But no, the second an Arab stands with Israel, then there is only two options. Either I am a collaborator and a traitor, or I am just a lunatic.
I honestly tell you that I think those people are very dangerous. No, I’m not saying that people are protesting and they’re all like this. No, I’m not. And, in fact, the majority are peaceful, but they’re irrelevant. Because their voices are not actually heard, and the extremists are the ones that their voices are heard because they are louder, they are more extreme.
Haddad's tour was also the subject of a recent piece written by journalist Dave Gordon in Vancouver-based outlet The Jewish Independent.
The article comprehensively details Yoseph's events in Toronto, Montreal, Vancouver, and Calgary, mentioning the student recipients of AVI Certificates of Appreciation as well as our AVI Allyship Award recipients such as Grand Chief Lynda Prince in Vancouver. It also cites our AVI/HRC Campus Media Alumna Zara Nybo, who spoke at our Vancouver event:
“Israel is fighting a seven-front war. We, as students, are fighting on the eighth front of that war – on college and university campuses,” she said. “I am going to war with my peers, my professors, the administration and even the UBC president. I don my hostage pin and head out the door every day into an unknown battlefield of anti-Israel rhetoric, terrorist supporters, and antisemitism.”
AVI/HRC Campus Media Alumnus Jon Jaedon Ziner-Cohen published in The Jerusalem Post this week
Another AVI/HRC Campus Media Alum was published this week, this time in The Jerusalem Post! We are proud of OCAD graduate Jon Jaedon Ziner-Cohen, whose piece, Finding a Sense of Belonging: A Student’s Journey to Israel, details his experiences at OCAD before deciding to pursue a master's in human-Computer Interaction (HCI) in Israel at Reichman University.
Please read an excerpt from his op-ed below:
My undergraduate experience at OCAD University, a renowned art and design institution in Toronto, was overshadowed by pervasive antisemitism. Despite the promises of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), I and other Jewish students often felt excluded from these values.
A simple Google search of “OCAD University antisemitism” reveals numerous examples of hostility toward Jews and Israel. My own thesis project was torn down, and I received personal threats, along with other Jewish peers. The campus environment was rife with senior administrators posting anti-Israel sentiments or romanticizing terror groups, which only deepened the alienation.
This hostility fuelled a sense of urgency within me to advocate for my community. Yet, I wanted a space where I could focus on design and research without constantly defending my identity or justifying the Jewish right to peace and security in Israel as well as within Canada.
Comments