Edmonton Hillel and JFED combat anti-Israel campaign on campus

Submitted by Edmonton Hillel

(Feb 25, 2016) – The BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) anti-Israel movement is soon hosting its annual event across campuses in Canada: The Israeli Apartheid Week from March 22 – 26. This event lasts throughout the week on various campuses where they try to raise awareness for the Palestinian cause and, in most cases, slander Israel as a sovereign nation in the process.

This movement has gained so much momentum over the last few years that this year, even the Canadian government took a stand against its hateful agenda and condemned the movement in Parliament earlier this week. Unfortunately at the same time, a pro-BDS motion passed at McGill University. Whereas in other campuses with higher density student populations and greater diversity of students, hostilities may rise when it comes to combatting the movement; fortunately, at the University of Alberta the climate for this event is and always has been comparatively mild. The BDS movement and its supporters will be bringing a few guest speakers and hosting some presentations throughout the week.

Showing support for our homeland and educating other students about the beauty and benefits that Israel as a country provides is of the upmost importance to Hillel. We will educate the students about our side of Israel they aren’t hearing about! To this end, we will be hosting a pro-Israel table in Sub all week.

I encourage all those interested in helping our cause for Israel by visiting the Size Doesn’t Matter Info Booth, which will be located on the University of Alberta Campus. It will be filled with a lot of positive information about Israel as well as some free swag. In addition, we will be helping to combat BDS by attending their guest speakers’ talks and voicing our opinion to prevent social injustice, slander, and, most importantly helping keep our campus safe for our Jewish population! Contact Jason Uritsky at the JFED offices for further information and inquiries about the BDS movement and events on campus: jasonu@edjfed.org.