By: Zach Paikin

As a new school year begins in the Montreal and Ottawa regions, we have reasons to be both optimistic and pessimistic. Last year was a turbulent time for both of these regions.

At McGill, the student union was confronted by a bill threatening to have the university divest from the State of Israel. In both Montreal and Ottawa, Israeli Apartheid Week programming spread and intensified. At Carleton, a serious incident of antisemitic violence took place.

These events overshadow the year ahead, and this year we can only expect our opposition to increase their effort to delegitimize and demonize the Middle East’s only true democracy. Indeed, their work is already underway.

Anti-Israel advocates at McGill have already begun distributing literature en masse. Tadamon, a group that argues for removing Hezbollah from the list of terrorist organizations in Canada, has organized an “artistic event for Palestine” to take place next week (on Shabbat of course). And unfortunately, antisemitism already begins to take its toll as swastikas have been discovered drawn on the wall in a McGill bathroom.

This year has the potential to be a failure for the State of Israel and its supporters in North America. But it also has great potential to be a success. We are faced with one of the most important ideological battles of our time, and I urge students to speak up so that we can win. What is best is that we have the man-power to do it.

Great new teams have been put together at the Hillel groups in both Montreal and Ottawa. Incredible speakers are expected to make their rounds, including Gil Hoffman, Neil Lazarus, Ishmael Khaldi and others. Collaboration between Hasbara and other groups such as Hillel and AEPi appears to be on very solid footing this year.

But the most important asset that we have is you. You can make a difference. I urge you to apply to become a Hasbara fellow today. Join a group of professionally-trained advocates for the State of Israel. Have fun and save the world at the same time.

We are united in support of Israel not only because it is a Jewish cause, but because it is a just cause. We support democracy, we support freedom and we support human rights. These are the values that unite Canadians. Canada is worth fighting for. Israel is worth fighting for.

I hope you’ll join me.