By: Eitan Gilboord

Toronto students have a very tough time with anti-Israel propaganda on campus. Ryerson University students, who are located in the heart of downtown Toronto have been doing an amazing job at countering the negativity and promoting the wonderful aspects of Israel.

Since the start of the semester Ryerson University students have been working very hard to advocate for Israel on campus. Beginning the semester with tabling and recruitment for the Hillel based Israel Affairs group on campus, the group immediately saw a positive sign up response and a much more eager to advocate group of students. What was once a small group of a few dedicated Hasbara Fellows turned into a much larger group consisting of different representatives from student union groups, new and eager freshmen, Hillel executives, AEPI brothers, and Binyan students from across the campus.

The first main initiative taken on campus consisted of a tabling effort utilizing the Hasbara Fellowships materials “Friend Request Pending” and a Hillel initiative “The Missing Peace”. These campaigns worked hand-in-hand to educate the campus on the then upcoming Palestinian bid for unilateral statehood. A statement of support for negotiations as opposed to unilateral declaration was signed by over 50 students after some very progressive discussions.

Afterwards attention was drawn to the first speaker event of the year, Gil Hoffman an analyst from the Jerusalem Post. Leading up to the event there were days of tabling combining the “Size doesn’t matter” campaign and the Gil Hoffman posters. Hoffman came to give his lecture on “Peace, Politics, and Plutonium and kick started his North American speaking tour with Ryerson University. Discussing everything from the then recent release of Gilad Shalit and its effect on Israel, to the dangers presented by the current Iranian regime, Hoffman was able to express a much better understanding of Israeli current events. Hoffman tested out his new material and the crowd loved it, “Who does Israel want to see elected as the new Republican candidate? Steven Harper”, he said. The event was co-sponsored by Hillel, Hasbara Fellowships, Honest Reporting Canada, Ryerson Catholic Students Association, AEPI, and the Ryerson Campus Conservatives.

Afterwards two new positions were decided to be added to the Israel Affairs group. Elections for the group took place; many people ran and many enticing speeches were made, but at the end of the day the people had spoken. First year Binyan student Victoria Vali was elected as Vice President of the group, as well as photography student Margalit Slovin was elected as Lieutenant General. Special congratulations and thanks to everyone who participated.

With more tabling planned, more events forthcoming, and a large training seminar scheduled for the start of next semester, Ryerson University has proved that it can be a beacon of Israel advocacy in the sometimes very anti-Israel nature of Toronto campuses. Look out to hear more wonderful stories about progress in Ontario and at Ryerson University.