By: Ashley Faintuch

I spent last weekend  in Ottawa at the CJPAC (Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee) Campus Fellows Conference. The conference was an amazing opportunity to learn about the Canadian political system and meet with politicians from all major political parties including Senators, Ministers, MP’s, Staffers and even the Prime Minister! The conference was full of Hasbara Fellows and I got to hang out with the Montreal/Ottawa Campus Coordinator Zach Paikin.

Last week, the University of Alberta in Edmonton had Gil Hoffman visit, here are Fellow and Edmonton Hillel Co-President Staci Silverman’s thoughts of the event:

Edmonton Hillel/Jewish Students’ Association was honoured to host Gil Hoffman of the Jerusalem Post at the University of Alberta. Providing an insiders perspective on Israeli politics, Gil gave an overview on everything from Israeli Defense Force military drills to the structure of Israeli Government and the Knesset and the relationship between Israel, Canada and the United States. More specifically, Gil went into depth on the workings of the Netanyahu administration, providing details from an Israeli perspective of the structure of the government.  Students and the general campus community were eager to hear Gil’s comments on the current peace talks as well as the ideals of a Jewish state. His sense of humour and insiders view brought a great sense of relevance to the event, providing everyone with the truth to what is really going on in Israel.

The University of Alberta has also seen a lot of hostile anti-Israel activity on campus recently, with the spray painting of “Free Palestine” around campus and flyers of Layla Khaled handed out.

At the University of Regina, the results of the referendum are not yet announced.

This past Wednesday night, students from University of Manitoba and University of Winnipeg gathered at the Falafel Place to learn about Media Bias from Neil Lazarus. Neil is an internationally acclaimed expert on the Middle East, Israel advocacy and communication training. He travels the world updating communities on the current situation in Israel and the Middle East and engages audiences in dynamic discussion sessions.

Also, students in Edmonton and Winnipeg are both excited for Amos Guiora’s visit in two weeks!