SSI Canada Tour 2024
Pro-Hamas rallies, one of them takes place on Kristallnacht. Jewish schools receive bomb threats, and bullet holes found on the building side. A molotov cocktail thrown at a synagogue. Jewish and Zionist college students punched in the face, spat on, cursed at, shoved to the ground in the name of supporting Hamas.
This is Canada in 2024.
American college campuses have been all over the news for the 700% increase in antisemitism since October 7th, but the Canadian students do not have the same opportunities to share their stories from their universities.
Students Supporting Israel’s first chapter in Canada was established in 2014 at Ryerson University, now known as Toronto Metropolitan University. Being an international, student-led movement committed to grassroots advocacy, over the years we expanded to other locations across Canada, including McGill University, York University, University of Manitoba, and the University of Calgary.
This March, the SSI National team took our first tour throughout Canada to visit every single SSI Canadian chapter to empower the students, hear their first-hand stories about the atmosphere on campus, and importantly share time with them to capture the experience in Canada. To say it is challenging to be a pro-Israel college student in Canada is a huge understatement. The antisemitism that Canadian college students are experiencing is intense and prevalent every day, but the students are incredibly strong.
We started our visit in Montreal, at McGill University, where SSI’s sharing the message about Israel on this campus is historic. The founder of the SSI McGill chapter mentioned this is the first time in campus history there is an Israeli flag and voice on campus. Given one of SSI’s main goals is to be VISIBLE, SSI’s crucial role at McGill is to be the voice for those who are too scared and intimidated to show support for Israel.
After speaking to several Jewish students on campus, the sentiment is that many of them keep quiet, look down, and do not show open support for Israel. This campus visit was SSI McGill’s first time tabling, and the students’ chose to table on International Women’s Day. Several students and a professor came up to share how grateful they were that SSI is out in the open, with Israeli flags, fighting for Israel on campus. SSI McGill later hosted “Jewnity Week” to combat apartheid week.
The next stop was “Hamas University.” The actual name of the University is York University, but the Hamas support on campus is so intense, that some refer to the former name. For the last month, the school has been on a strike, and according to the president of SSI at York, the war in Gaza was the straw that broke the camel’s back. Some of the pro-Hamas protestors are teachers assistants, faculty members, and student union workers. The pro-Hamas sentiment is extremely loud. On the day we were leaving this campus, flyers were put up that stated: “We need an intifada from Canada to Gaza.” This sums up the campus climate at York University.
We then headed to Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU), formerly known as Ryerson University. SSI at TMU hosted a silent event on International Women’s Day to honor the women who are still hostages in Gaza. Soon after it started, the event was quickly protested by SJP. At a different occasion, one of the SSI board members was speaking with a Palestinian student who has family in Gaza. The Palestinian student told the SSI student that he was raised to hate Israel and to hate Jews.
On the day of our visit, one of the SSI board members was wearing a sweatshirt that said “Bring them home” with a Magen David on the front. As she was walking through campus, she was spit on for wearing this sweatshirt. She shared with us that in the past she has also experienced people shoving her to the ground, and that she was being cursed for her Jewish and Zionist identity.
This chapter has also experienced extreme opposition from the administration and faculty, and lack of support from security, as TMU has canceled SSI events at the very last minute. One example from the past is when SSI sent an IDF commander, the founder of Project Good Neighbor to speak at TMU, the university canceled the event at a short notice. Another event to fix the antisemitic graffiti on campus was canceled, as well as tabling events.
On the TMU campus, grassroots activism is the primary way to continue to fight against antisemitism and for Israel. These SSI students we met are loud and proud, and will not stop, or let any hateful actions stop them from being a clear and confident pro-Israel voice. According to the SSI board members, the Zionist students are fired up and ready to continue standing strong for Israel on campus.
After traveling through Toronto, we arrived in Winnipeg, at the University of Manitoba where on February 28th, 2024 the SSI chapter had been suspended by the student union after an event with a Palestinian Muslim Peace Activist, Bassem Eid. The University of Manitoba Student Union (UMSU) has broken its own rules by suspending SSI without notice and did not give SSI any opportunity to express themselves after the event. This was clear discrimination by attempting to silence Zionist voices and cancel SSI.
During the campus visit, the chapter at Manitoba tabled for the Israeli hostages and handed out beautiful roses with their photos. The SSI students were met with harassment and disrespect by many anti-Israel students. The members of SJP mocked the SSI students, threw a flower on the ground, and demanded for the SSI students to pick it up.
Since the chapter’s suspension, the pro-Israel students have received degrading and dehumanizing messages. After a campaign that lasted several weeks and after SSI’s national organization issued a call to the community to connect the university, more than 3,000 people emailed the administration. The chapter’s registration was finally reinstated, but this experience of rejection by one’s own campus will be hard to forget.
The last stop on the trip was at the University of Calgary. The SSI board at this chapter is a beautiful representation of the SSI Movement, that welcomes both Jewish and non-Jewish students to join the fight against antisemitism and provides the platform for all to express support for Israel. There are five Jewish and five non-Jewish board members, a strong and united team that is always ready for the challenges that come their way. This chapter has organized events with over 600 people in attendance.
Nevertheless, one of the non-Jewish students has received death threats online and in person because he supports Israel.
During the campus visit, the SSI chapter tabled with a sign “Antizionism is Antisemitism,” and had a trifold with examples of antisemitic incidents and phrases such as “globalize the intifada.” Many SJP members came by the table, some to harass and intimidate, and others to engage in discussion. Students said things such as “October 7th was irrelevant” or “I am not going to share what I think of ‘globalize the intifada’” insinuating that he was in support of the statement. Many were angry seeing a group that supports Israel’s right to exist as a Jewish state. In these conversations, students delegitimized, demonized, and held Israel to a double standard; presenting many ways to be antisemitic. The SSI Chapter at the University of Calgary has also been suspended, but will continue to fight to get it fully back and running for years to come.
Going into this trip, despite reading the news from Canada, we did not want to assume what to expect and wanted to experience the atmosphere on campuses ourselves. What we found was that across Canada, it is commonly believed by misinformed students that Zionism is a colonial project, Israel does not have a right to exist, the IDF is committing genocide, Israel simply wants to kill Palestinian children and controls the world. Universities across Canada have yet to condemn the massacre committed by Hamas on October 7th.
Each pro-Israel Canadian student could feel alone on campus trying to figure out what to do. But no, such despair is not an option. Canadian pro-Israel students should know they have international backing, consistent support, and communication from students across North America and SSI will be there for them internationally. We are united under one voice, one mission, to be a clear and confident pro-Israel voice on college campuses and to support students in grassroots, pro-Israel advocacy.
The SSI students across Canada are not letting the lack of support from the university, the student union, or other student groups stop them from being strong, organized, and bold on their campuses. The IDF is fighting Hamas in Gaza, and the SSI students are standing against Hamas supporters on campus. They do not stop speaking up for the hostages. They do not stop. We are under one name, one family, Students Supporting Israel.
