On behalf of the new Canadian Campus Coordinators, we’d like to welcome you to the Campus Pulse!  Before we tell you all about the awesome adventures of the Hasbara-Canada crew, allow us to introduce ourselves.

Your Canadian Staff consists of:

Ashley Faintuch, Central Canada Campus Coordinator

Zach Paikin, Montreal and Ottawa Campus Coordinator

And

Nathaly Schneider, Ontario Campus Coordinator

We are all super excited to join the team and can’t wait to help student across Canada with their Israel advocacy needs! Also apart of the very exclusive team Canada roaster is Ilan Mann, a fourth year Fine Arts student at York University who is our new web intern.  Speaking of which, how great does the new website look! Think of this site as your new portal into all things Israel advocacy.  The latest news about Israel and great programming ideas can be found right here on this site! I hope you all have had a chance to look through all the great stuff that new and improved Hasbarafellowships.org has to offer.

With school just beginning to get under way, students from across Canada have already started working on some great programming!  Two weeks ago, students from coast to coast (including many past and present Hasbara Fellows) came together for a fun filled retreat at Camp Gesher put on by the CFJS.  Participants had a chance to mix and mingle with student leaders from across Canada as we learned about everything from how to effectively use social media to promote your student groups to what type of programs students thought were most successful on their campuses when advocating for Israel.  Shout outs to Hasbara Fellows Adam Moscoe, Rebecca Cherniak, Maddie Axelrod, Noah Kadish, Noah Kochman, Samantha Banks and the entire CFJS board for putting on a great retreat!

Last week in Toronto, a group of York students organized the first ever “Jews at York BBQ”.  The event, spearheaded by AEPi master Jeremy Young was a huge success with over 120 students in attendance!  Not only was the BBQ a great way for old friends to reunite after the summer, but it was a chance for first year students to meet some Jewish leaders on their campus and learn how they can get involved in the upcoming year.  A warm congratulation goes out to everybody on AEPi, Delta Pi, Hillel and Hasbara@York for doing a great job and flipping delicious burgers!

In Central Canada, we are getting excited for some amazing speakers. Next week Edmonton will be hearing from Miri Eisen, an IDF Spokesperson and former foreign media advisor for Ehud Olmert. Eisen will be giving an insiders view on Israel’s international public image. Other speakers we are expecting in central Canada include Gil Hoffman of the Jerusalem Post and Amos Guiora, Professor of Law at the University of Utah.

With the school year fast approaching, students from across the country are saying a last goodbye to summer fun and packing up their books for the new school year.  While we’re sad to see summer go, many Canadian students are excited for the great programming ahead!  Look out for speaking tour from Neil Lazarus, Ishmael Khaldi, Benjamin Anthony and many more on a campus near you!

Looking forward to a great school year!