At the first World Symposium Against Antizionism, left to right: Jacob Smith, Eyal Jacoby, Nick Matau and Anastasia Zorchinsky. (photo by Dave Gordon)
The first World Symposium Against Antizionism took place on May 17 in Toronto, with some 30 speakers, from educators and lawyers to influencers and politicians and other activists in the pro-Israel space.
Ben Shapiro, an American pundit and broadcaster, told the thousand people gathered that “antizionism is evil, it is wrong, it is predicated on lies, and it requires violence to achieve the ends it seeks.”
The first World Symposium Against Antizionism took place on May 17 in Toronto, with some 30 speakers, including Ben Shapiro. (photo by Dave Gordon)
He said, “Antizionism argues that the Jewish state of Israel, a thing that … exists in the world today and has 10 million citizens, some two million of them Muslim, another 200,000 Christians, should be destroyed; that Israel ought to be treated unlike any other country, because Israel is somehow uniquely evil.
“Now, in order to make that case, antizionists must lie…. The antizionists must claim that Israel is an apartheid state, despite the citizenship of two million Arab Israelis…. The antizionist must lie that Israel discriminates against Christians and Muslims, despite it being the only state in the Middle East that provides the highest level of rights to both.”
He added: “the people who argue that Israel ought to be eliminated are antisemitic, for whatever that’s worth. They believe that Israel ought to be destroyed and, to accomplish that purpose, they lie incessantly, and then they spread the biggest lie of all – that global Jewry has bamboozled the population, taken over the institutions and used its magic mind lasers to control the world.”
The symposium was produced by Tafsik Organization and Stop Antizionism.
Syrian-born Rawan Osman, who has a large following with her online advocacy, shared the stage with fellow Arabs United Arab Emirates-based Loay Alshareef and Damascus-born Abraham Hamra, who lives in New York.
Years ago, before befriending Jews in France, she said she was “one of Hezbollah’s biggest fans,” someone who “hated the Israelis, the Zionists and the Jews, and I repeat the three terms because, in the Arab world, we do not make a distinction between the three.”
Growing up in Lebanon, Osman saw the “bombardment” of indoctrination against Jews. That same hatred has been spread in the West, she told the Independent. Her “red line” for engagement is anyone who “justifies or denies Oct. 7.”
“Because they are so deeply indoctrinated that they cannot summon any sympathy for the Israelis, including children …I will not go that close, and I’ll let others fight them,” she explained. “I would rather focus on something else. The same way I think many Jews would not have a conversation with someone who denies the Holocaust, especially if they are descendants of Holocaust survivors.”
She drew a sharp contrast with Abraham Accord countries, like UAE, where their culture has “taught children to tolerate others, to be accepting. You, as a Jew, are safer wearing a kippah walking in Dubai and Abu Dhabi than you are in Paris and in London,” she said.
Left to right: Loay Alshareef, Abraham Hamra, Rawan Osman and Ali Siadatan. (photo by Dave Gordon)
Lebanon-born Gad Saad, a former professor at Concordia University and author of Parasitic Mind and Suicidal Empathy, argued that antisemitism “in a sinister way, is akin to the immune system, and that it so evolves into new variants of Jew-hatred.” In modernity, that means Jews are blamed for open borders that let in rapists, profiting from the COVID vaccine, and even poisoning the minds of sharks, he said.
Toronto lawyer Leora Shemesh shared the stage with American law experts Matthew Schweber, Rona Kaufman and Mark Goldfeder (via Zoom). Shemesh noted that certain small groups in the country have been attempting to mainstream antizionism. “We have an entire political party, the NDP, that ran on a platform of being antizionist,”said Shemesh. “A Jewish guy, Avi Lewis, ran on that platform, and he joined forces with Independent Jewish Voices of Canada, and they have attempted, and have been somewhat successful, to intervene in certain cases.”
Montreal-based Anastasia Zorchinsky, a Concordia Student Union councilor and co-founder of StartUp Nation Montreal, an Israeli organization at Concordia and McGill universities, moderated the panel called NXT GEN: Future Advocates.
“We really try to do lots of events that collaborate between different cultures, so I think the first step is really to take that step to reach out to those other communities,” she told the JI of her organization’s educational initiatives. “If we just approach people with the thought, with the optimism, that, yes, they will accept us or, maybe, they don’t have to agree, but we can still talk, then maybe that’s something that we should keep in mind.”
Dave Gordonis a Toronto-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in more than 100 publications around the world. His website is davegordonwrites.com.
Palestinian Football Association president Jibril Rajoub talks to reporters at the FIFA Congress, held in Vancouver on April 30. (Screenshot youtube.com/@thebreakernews)
While the World Cup doesn’t kick off until June 11 – at Mexico City’s Estadio Azteca when Selección de fútbol de México faces off against the South African squad, nicknamed Bafana Bafana (the Boys, in Zulu) – penalty cards have already been drawn. Palestinian Football Association (PFA) president Jibril Rajoub, general secretary Firas Abu Hilal and vice-president Susan Shalabi Molano were initially denied entry to Canada to attend the FIFA Congress on April 30, and the Asian Football Confederation confab two days earlier – both events were held at Vancouver Convention Centre.
Ultimately, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) allowed the three sports bureaucrats to attend, and Rajoub, 72, has made the Mondial into a political football. Since 2024, he has repeatedly raised the issue of Israeli football clubs allegedly playing illegal matches in what the PFA argues is occupied territory that Israel captured in the 1967 Six Day War.
In March, FIFA (which stands for Fédération Internationale de Football Association) issued a report on the issue, ruling it would “take no action” over the PFA’s claim. The report noted that resolving “the final legal status of the West Bank remains an unresolved and highly complex matter under public international law.”
At the FIFA annual meeting in Vancouver, Rajoub – who also serves as secretary general of Fatah’s Central Committee – snubbed FIFA president Gianni Infantino, who attempted to orchestrate a handshake between the heads of the Palestinian and Israeli delegations. Following individual addresses toward the end of the assembly, both Rajoub and the Israel Football Association’s vice-president, Basim Sheikh Suliman, were summoned to the stage by the FIFA president.
“We will work together … let’s work together to give hope to the children. These are complex matters,” he said. But Rajoub refused to stand alongside Sheikh Suliman. Instead, he pledged to take his complaints to the Court of Arbitration in Sport, based in Lausanne, Switzerland. No date has been set for the hearing.
“I refused to shake hands. Sport is sport … for me that should be respected,” he told Reuters. “But, if the other side is representing a criminal like Bibi [Netanyahu] … how can I shake hands or have a photo with such a man?”
The PFA’s three-member delegation wasn’t the only one held up by the IRCC. Iranian soccer federation president Mehdi Taj said Canadian officials cleared him to enter the country for the FIFA Congress, but Iran’s delegation chose to turn back after being held for three hours and questioned at Toronto’s Pearson International Airport, Iranian media reported on May 1.
Rajoub, also known by the nom de guerre Abu Rami, has long been connected to Palestinian terrorism. In September 1970, he was arrested for throwing a grenade at an Israel Defence Forces bus near Hebron. Tried and convicted of this attack and of membership in an armed group, he was sentenced to life in prison. Fifteen years later, he was one of 1,150 security prisoners Israel released in exchange for three hostages held by the Popular Front for the Liberation of Palestine – General Command.
Re-arrested in 1987 for his activities during the First Intifada, Rajoub was deported to Lebanon in 1988. Relocating to Tunisia, he served as an advisor to Fatah deputy leader Khalil al-Wazir. After Wazir’s assassination by Israeli agents, he became a lieutenant of Yasser Arafat, then head of the Palestinian Authority (PA), and was allegedly behind a 1992 plot to assassinate Ariel Sharon.
Rajoub was allowed to return to the West Bank in 1994, following the signing of the Oslo Accords. He served as head of the PA’s Preventive Security Force until 2002. The following year, Arafat appointed him national security advisor.
The FIFA Congress was the 76th since FIFA was founded in 1904. It brought together more than 1,600 international delegates from 211 FIFA member associations.
This summer’s 48-team competition – the most widely watched sporting event in the world – takes place in multiple cities in Canada, the United States and Mexico from June 11 to July 19. Neither the Israeli nor the Palestinian team qualified for the tournament.
Gil Zohar is a journalist and tour guide who lives in Jerusalem.
BC students at the StandWithUs conference in Las Vegas March 15-18 included, left to right, Adar Latak, Alexis Moscovitz and Ethan Doctor. (photo by Pat Johnson)
What happens in Las Vegas doesn’t stay in Vegas. That was the defiant message from Roz Rothstein, the chief executive officer and co-founder of StandWithUs, as she welcomed about 1,000 Jewish and pro-Israel high school and college students, alumni, activists and assorted allies to the organization’s conference in the Nevada city, March 15 to 18. They assembled to become more informed and empowered, to return to their campuses and communities to advance the fight against antisemitism and antizionism.
Among the delegates were about 100 Canadians, including 15 BC students, as well as Vancouverite Zara Nybo, StandWithUs Canada’s campus and high school manager for Western Canada.
StandWithUs, a pro-Israel advocacy and education organization, provides leadership training and educational programs to students at hundreds of schools, as well as operating many other initiatives, including legal supports for Jewish and pro-Israel individuals and groups.
Among the BC students were four Leventhal high school interns and 10 Emerson fellows, who are part of the organization’s college and university track, Nybo said.
Students are selected based on demonstrated leadership in pro-Israel activism. They attend two immersive educational international conferences like the Vegas meeting during their year of service and are required to initiate several Israel-related programs in their communities or on campus.
Delegates heard from a roster of noted speakers in plenary sessions and more intimate, often hands-on breakout sessions.
The intensive morning to late-night schedule included speakers like New York Times columnist Bret Stephens; singer, dancer and online influencer Montana Tucker; sociologist David Hirsh, who is head of the London Centre for the Study of Contemporary Antisemitism; Loay Alshareef, a Saudi-born activist who advocates for normalization with Israel; Luai Ahmed, a Yemeni-Swedish journalist; Oct. 7 survivors, including Omer Shem Tov, who was held hostage for 505 days; and scores of others.
New York Times columnist Bret Stephens (photo by Pat Johnson)
Stephens, the New York Times columnist, spoke of the revolutionary impact the potential fall of the Iranian regime could have on regional and global affairs but also warned of unintended consequences.
“Regime change is not at all easy,” he said. “There are all kinds of imponderables.”
The state could spiral into chaos and even more bloody and brutal repression than the government has already brought down on anti-regime protesters, he said.
“I do think there is, in fact, quite a plausible scenario [of regime change] – not now, not during this war, but in six months or a year – if [it’s] a militarily crippled and humiliated regime that is still under sanctions, still cannot pay its bills, cannot pay its civil servants, cannot pay its soldiers,” said Stephens.
Iranian street activists, he said, need to “kick this regime when it’s down.”
“If anyone can do it, 90 million Iranians, 88% of whom, at least, despise the regime and had the courage to come out and cheer when the late ayatollah was killed … I think that that creates conditions in which I can see it happen,” he said.
Ahmed spoke of his ideological and physical journey from being an antisemitic young man in Yemen to a new life in Sweden advancing coexistence with Jews.
“It is our duty as reformist Arab Muslims to stand with our Israeli and Iranian brothers and sisters to reject radical Islam, to fight radical Islam,” he said. “It is our duty to fight the terrorists who occupied my country, who believe that firing ballistic missiles at Jews is more important than feeding the starving population of Yemen.
“Radical Islam occupied Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza,” he said. “Radical Islam married my mother off at the age of 8. Radical Islam is our problem and, today, I stand here as a Yemeni who was taught to hate Jews. And I’m telling you something that radical Islamists fear the most: Jews and Israel are not our enemies.”
Alshareef shared a similar transformation.
“I used to be hardcore antizionist,” he said. “I used to be deeply antisemitic. In my local mosque, I repeated after my imams, ‘Death to Israel, death to Jews, death to Zionists,’ without ever having met a Jew or a Zionist before. Today, thank God, I no longer believe in that cancerous ideology that not only impacts the Jewish community, but it also impacts my community as well.… A society that learns to hate Jews more than loving our own children is not a healthy society.”
Loay Alshareef, a Saudi-born activist who advocates for normalization with Israel. (photo by Pat Johnson)
After Oct. 7, 2023, Alshareef decided to visit Israel.
“I learned that the Jewish community and Israelis were desperate for peace, that the vast majority of Jews and Israelis do not want war with us,” he said. “They want peace, and they are very desperate for this peace. That is something that no one had ever told me until I went to Israel myself to see the truth. I then took it upon myself to try to hammer this newfound truth to my friends and family members. And, since then, I’ve been creating content, sharing the hidden truths about Israelis and Jews that my society either dismisses or is completely unaware of.”
Students shared their experiences with antisemitism and bias from teachers, administrators and fellow students. A high school student explained how he helped get an ahistoric and antisemitic handout removed from his school’s curriculum – it had gone unchallenged since 1998. In plenaries and breakouts, individuals shared personal experiences of harassment, discrimination and loss of friendships.
StandWithUs does not only educate but also uses the law to seek fair outcomes in cases of discrimination.
The conference heard from Yael Lerman, founding director of Saidoff Law, a legal arm of StandWithUs, which includes a team of attorneys backed by a network of hundreds of pro bono lawyers and law firms.
“Imagine being a Jewish student in a high school where there are very few other Jewish kids,” Lerman said. “Day after day, classmates taunt you. They call you ‘dirty Jew’ and ‘Zio,’ they send antisemitic messages. Sometimes, they shove you or punch you. You never know when the next message or the next attack is coming. The school knows about it. Nothing changes. Then you reach out to StandWithUs Saidoff Law. Our attorneys step in. We represent you, we fight for you, and we win. We secure a transfer to a new school, and the original school must pay for it for the rest of your time in high school.”
No student should ever face antisemitism alone, Lerman said.
“Since Oct. 7, we’ve seen a dramatic rise in legal complaints, not only on campuses, but across everyday community spaces,” she continued.
“Recently, one man went to pick up a clothing order at a store where he had been a loyal customer for several years. The clerk looked at his kippa and muttered, ‘You Jews think you can get everything you want.’
“Later that day, he received an email telling him he was banned from the store and the entire chain. So, he reported the incident to StandWithUs. Our lawyer filed a complaint with the appropriate government agency and negotiated a settlement. The store had to lift the ban and compensate him. That is what accountability looks like,” said Lerman.
The conference heard diverse emotional testimonies.
Shem Tov shared the harrowing story of dancing at the Nova festival and, minutes later, being thrown in the back of a pickup truck and transported across the border into Gaza, beginning a nightmarish ordeal of 505 days of being shuttled between locations and then confined in underground labyrinths. For 50 consecutive days, at one point, he was held in complete darkness in a cell where he could not stand up.
“They used to abuse me physically and mentally,” he said of his captors. “There wasn’t any human interaction, I would say.”
Shem Tov was held in near-starvation even as he saw piled boxes of United Nations-supplied rations.
His captors once took him to a house above a tunnel that had been rigged with explosives and told him he would be forced to trigger an explosive blast when Israeli soldiers entered the boobytrapped structure. When they threatened to kill him if he refused, Shem Tov told them they could shoot him, but he would not do it.
After Shem Tov’s presentation, hundreds of students rushed to the front of the hall, surrounding the former hostage and dancing ecstatically as music blared and massive screens declared: “We are dancing again.”
The executive director of StandWithUs Australia, Michael Gencher, led a memorial for the 15 victims murdered during a Hanukkah celebration at Bondi Beach last Dec. 14.
Sami Steigmann, a child survivor of the Holocaust, spoke of the series of flukes and strokes of luck that saved his life.
In addition to Canada and all regions of the United States, student delegations came from Europe, Latin America and Australia. Due to war-related airspace closures, only two delegates were able to travel from Israel for the event.
BC delegates spoke to the Independent about their experiences.
Adar Latak, a University of Victoria psychology student in his final year, said he gained confidence at the conference and made important connections.
“You’re meeting Jews from around the world, and that’s beautiful,” he said. “It’s easy to get brought down by everything, and coming here really lifts your spirits. You’re with other Jews, you’re all facing the same thing, and you’re all talking about it, and you’re giving each other advice and tips, and it is really just a beautiful thing.”
Alexis Moscovitz, a second-year physical and health education student, also at the University of Victoria, echoed Latak’s sense of community.
“Obviously, everybody has different experiences, but it’s all basically the same,” she said. “We’re all fighting antisemitism on our campuses and so, having a support system, amazing staff here, it’s just amazing to be able to be with people that you know are experiencing the same things.”
Vancouverite Ethan Doctor, a Langara College student, has faced threats on campus, including being followed and intimidated by a group of masked and keffiyeh-clad activists. His experience as an Emerson Fellow helped him navigate the college bureaucracy, seeking appropriate security and prevention steps.
“If it wasn’t for organizations like StandWithUs, I wouldn’t know how to properly deal with it and wouldn’t know the proper steps to take,” said Doctor. “I am just eternally grateful to organizations like this.”
Michael Dickson, executive director of StandWithUs Israel, left, speaks with Omer Shem Tov, who was held hostage in Gaza for 505 days. (photo by Pat Johnson)
Jesse Primerano, executive director of StandWithUs Canada, told the Independent his group’s role is to help young pro-Israel activists, but also people of all ages, find their voices.
“In many cases, they don’t feel comfortable with the facts, to engage with people who are coming at them very aggressively,” he said. “So, our job is to help them understand the facts and how to communicate them to people who disagree.”
Earlier, Primerano briefed the convention on the state of affairs in Canada.
“We look back on times [of] the Holocaust, and I think what we said for many generations was that, as long as our government didn’t turn on us, we would be safe in the countries that we live,” he said. “And, you know, since Oct. 7, antisemitism has become emboldened in a way in Canada that it feels like our politicians know the only way to stay in office is to take an anti-Israel position.
“So, we’ve seen our mayor of Toronto be unwilling to come to an Oct. 7 vigil, unwilling to come to an Israeli flag-raising,” Primerano continued. “Our prime minister in Canada said that he would arrest Bibi [Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu] should he come to Canada. He put an arms embargo on Israel and, most importantly, as I’m sure many of you are aware, he rewarded Hamas with support for the establishment of a Palestinian state.
“That type of rhetoric and action from our government has spilled into the streets because it has emboldened those who are willing to take shots at the Jewish community. And I mean that both literally and figuratively. Just [days earlier] in Toronto, we had three synagogues that were shot overnight in four days,” he said.
StandWithUs partners with many different groups, Primerano said, but because they work extensively with university students, some people might wonder how they fit with agencies like Hillel.
“Hillel is, in many ways, the voice on campus,” he said. “They are the coordinators of Jewish life. Their goal and their work and their ultimate obligation is to bring Jewish students and their allies together. Our job is, once those students are together, to help supplement the work that Hillel is doing with Israel education, with helping awareness towards antisemitism. Hillel has a wide array of responsibilities that go far beyond just advocacy. Our job is to supplement their work, to work with them as a partner and bring our resources into their space while they bring the students here to meet our resources.”
At the Vegas conference, StandWithUs unveiled SWUBOT, a free, downloadable artificial intelligence tool providing at-the-fingertips information on Israel, antisemitism and activism.
StandWithUs was marking 25 years since Rothstein founded the group with her husband, Jerry Rothstein, who is the organization’s chief operating officer, and Esther Renzer, who is the president.
The annual North American Jewish Choral Festival brings hundreds of singers together to enjoy a musical experience of Jewish identity and community. This year’s festival takes place Aug. 2-6 in Stamford, Conn. (photo by Jennifer Weisbord)
The annual North American Jewish Choral Festival (NAJCF) brings hundreds of singers together to enjoy a musical experience of Jewish identity and community. The five-day event, led by world-class conductors, takes place this year in Stamford, Conn., from Aug. 2 to 6. Registration to attend is now open, and all singers are welcome, from beginners to professionals.
“The festival is for anyone who wants to celebrate the joy of Jewish music,” said Maestro Matthew Lazar, festival founder and director. “This summer, we are highlighting American Jewish music, which beautifully intertwines US history, Jewish history and a range of genres. It is important to note that America is the first place where Jews had the freedom to be composers as Jews, opening up unlimited musical opportunities.”
NAJCF – which is a program of Zamir Choral Foundation – works to provide an environment of creativity and camaraderie, as well as a feeling of hope, unity and Jewish identity, to encourage singers to share a bonding experience and forge new friendships.
“The North American Jewish Choral Festival is my happy place,” said Cantor Mira Davis of New York City. “It’s a community of people who are like-minded, love each other, love Israel and love Jewish music – a place where you can be yourself.The friends I’ve made at NAJCF will last a lifetime.”
NAJCF participants include amateur singers, professionals, cantors, conductors and lovers of Jewish music of all ages. Attendees have the unique opportunity to interact with and learn from top experts in Jewish choral music in a supportive setting. There are a variety of uplifting musical
activities, including daily community sings; workshops and seminars on a wide range of topics; and evening concerts featuring guest choirs and notable performers.
“Being able to connect to this type of music and this type of text is something you can’t get anywhere else,” said NAJCF participant Dor Kaminka, an Israeli-American composer and conductor now residing in Los Angeles, Calif.
“Whether you’re a novice or a pro, you’ll leave with new skills, new music and new friends to cherish from this transformative choral festival,” concluded Lazar.
Applications are now open for another Zamir Choral Federation program: the Jewish Choral Conducting Institute (JCCI). The institute – a long-held vision of Lazar – is the first in the world to professionally train the next generation of conductors of Jewish choral music. Its creation was helped in large measure by a major gift donated by Cantor Robert Lieberman and Rabbi Vicki Lieberman, who will be honoured at this year’s HaZamir Gala Concert on March 15 at Lincoln Centre.
“Choral music lies at the intersection of text, music and community. It implants cultural identity, history, memory and catharsis,” said Lazar. “The conductor integrates music and text with mastery, precision and excellence, creating inspiring and transformative musical moments. The institute provides the specialized, intensive training needed to make all this possible.”
Each cohort is composed of 12 to 15 conducting students from around the world. Fellows gather at in-person retreats and workshops, and monthly online meetings, and receive one-on-one mentoring sessions with Lazar, as well as guest presenters. Upon completion of the program, fellows receive a certificate in Jewish choral conducting.
Lazar brings his knowledge of Jewish and Western music and an understanding of the text/music relationship that defines choral music. He has worked with maestros Leonard Bernstein, Zubin Mehta, Carlo Maria Giulini, Daniel Barenboim and others. Through his expertise, he models, encourages and nurtures the talents of future conductors of Jewish music.
“The Jewish Choral Conducting Institute provides a pipeline of talent to ensure strong Jewish choral leadership for the Jewish future,” he said.
The JCCI’s international Lazar Fellows deepen their development through ongoing mentoring and critique. These mentoring meetings foster ongoing growth within a supportive international community of Jewish choral conductors.
Sharren Haskel, Israel’s deputy foreign minister, spoke with Canadian media on March 9. (photo from Consulate General of Israel in Toronto and Western Canada)
A terror attack against Canadian Jews on par with the Bondi Beach attack in Australia last December is inevitable if leaders in this country do not address the growing antisemitism crisis, according to Israel’s deputy foreign minister.
In an interview with the Independent Monday, Sharren Haskel reacted to recent shootings at Toronto synagogues and a larger trend of antisemitic acts.
“This will end in blood if the government is not taking serious actions. This is going to end exactly like the Bondi massacre,” she said.
Haskel is attuned to the Canadian situation because she was born in this country – one of only three Canadian-born individuals in Israeli history to sit in the Knesset. Her father lives in Canada and she has other family members here, who she visits frequently.
“I was always so proud of Canada being such a safe haven for Jews,” she said, calling Canada a place where acceptance of minorities, tolerance and coexistence have been strong, defining values.
“And to know where Canada was and where it is today is absolutely devastating,” she said. “It’s heartbreaking for me, and I think that not enough people truly understand the danger the Jewish community is [facing].”
Shootings at Jewish institutions and other acts of vandalism and violence have made Canada, according to an Israeli government report last year, the “champion on antisemitism.”
“It’s insane,” said Haskel.
When a racialized or other minority community in Canada expresses discomfort with a situation, she said, significant steps are taken to alleviate the problem.
Jews do not enjoy a parallel level of empathy, she said. “[Jews] say I am violently being attacked. I’m not allowed to enter my classes. I’ve been beaten. My business was shot at,” she said. “And nothing. Nothing.”
Elected officials have allowed the situation to go too far, said Haskel.
“The government is not setting a very clear red line,” she said. “We are far beyond words. Words don’t matter anymore. This is about actions now.”
The deputy foreign minister added that Canadians, too often, demonstrate inappropriate responses to international events. Critics of Israeli military approaches to Hamas and to the Iranian regime are coming from a place of privilege.
“In Canada, you are very lucky,” she said. “This is one of the most peaceful countries, you enjoy its freedom, and many people in the younger generation have received that freedom on a silver platter. This is not the case in the Middle East. Israel has faced a six-fronted war for the last two years against six different armies – all of them sponsored, trained, armed by this vile, fanatical regime in Iran.”
The Iranian regime has also undermined Israel’s neighbours, she noted, destroying Lebanon’s politics, social fabric and culture. In Syria, Iran backed the regime of Bashar al-Assad, which was overthrown in 2024 after a civil war in which the government explicitly targeted and murdered its own citizens, particularly minorities, killing at least 300,000 people and possibly as many as 650,000.
“It’s very easy to speak from a very comfortable, liberated place,” said Haskel. “But our reality in the Middle East is a very difficult and harsh one, where we are still fighting for our survival, for our freedom, for our rights as minorities here in this region against very extreme, radical, fanatical terrorist organizations and terrorist regimes.”
Haskel hedged on whether Israel’s war aim in the current conflict with Iran is regime change.
“The goal is to take out the long-term existential threat over Israel,” she said. “This is how we define it, and this is the goal of the war.”
That involves taking out Iran’s nuclear program, she said, as well as its ballistic missile program, and neutralizing the experts who are developing, manufacturing and advancing tools for mass destruction. This war is aimed at conclusively ending that threat, she said.
Past Israeli military and covert actions against the Iranian nuclear program resulted in continued Iranian determination to rebuild, according to Haskel.
“They didn’t get the message of our capability, of how determined we are that they will not be able to reach that master plan of annihilation of the state of Israel,” she said. “They’ve been working tirelessly on renovating, on re-creating, on reconstructing, all of that over again. And we are at the point where we say, look, you know, we cannot go every year into an operation like that to eliminate an immediate threat like a nuclear weapon, mass destruction, disruptive weapons.”
Haskel stops short of declaring whether that requires regime change, echoing US President Donald Trump, who has urged Iranians themselves to overthrow their government.
She is hopeful that the US-Israel actions will open a path “for the Iranian people to liberate themselves and to change these fanatical tyrants who have been abusing and torturing them for so many years.”
Should the regime be replaced by a Western-oriented government, the impacts would be broader than the Middle East. For example, Hezbollah, which is supported by Iran, is engaged in drug trafficking and money laundering in Latin America to help fund their operations, she noted.
Haskel believes that the world should be grateful to the United States and Israel.
“President Trump and Prime Minister [Binyamin] Netanyahu are leading right now an effort to protect humanity,” she said. “Every leader and every sensible person around the world needs to ask themselves who they want as their friends and who would come to their help when they really needed it the most.
“During our time in history, when freedom, real freedom, is in danger,” she said, “we are very fortunate to have two leaders like Trump and Netanyahu that stood up and took actions to defend humanity, to defend Western democracies.”
Haskel said that representing Israel carries a profound responsibility not only to the country itself but also to Jewish communities around the world. For her, that responsibility is deeply personal, particularly when it comes to Canada, where she has such close ties. Hearing directly from relatives and friends about rising fear and insecurity has reinforced her sense of duty.
Haskel, who has served as deputy foreign minister since 2024, was first elected to the Knesset in 2015. She was born in Toronto to an Israeli father and a Moroccan mother who met in Paris. The family lived in Canada before moving to Israel when Sharren was a year old. She was raised in Kfar Saba and studied in the United States and Australia. First elected on the Likud slate, she joined Gideon Sa’ar’s New Hope party in 2021.
Cantor Eric Moses led a delegation from his synagogue to Havana, Cuba, this month. (photo from Beth Sholom)
Earlier this month, I traveled to Havana with a delegation from Beth Sholom, the Toronto synagogue where I serve as cantor. Together, we represented the first Canadian Jewish group to visit the island since 2019. Travel to Cuba has been complex and unpredictable for some, but our mission was simple – to support the Jewish community in Cuba and remind them that they are neither forgotten nor alone.
The island nation continues to face an unprecedented and protracted crisis. There is a shortage of nearly everything, most notably fuel. Gas stations, if open at all, have hours-long lineups. Illicit WhatsApp groups gouge desperate consumers for the little gasoline that remains. Electricity is out for 12 to 14 hours each day. Medical supplies are scarce to nonexistent. Surgeries have been canceled, public transportation suspended and schools closed. Along the highways, people stand with wads of Cuban pesos, hoping someone will stop and offer a ride. And yet, despite these hardships, the small but remarkably resilient Jewish community has not lost hope.
On Friday evening, we arrived at Beth Shalom Synagogue, locally known as the Patronato, before Shabbat for a briefing with the community’s vice-president. Moments into her remarks, the lights went out. There was no panic, no drama. She calmly pulled out a few flashlights and continued speaking, as though nothing unusual had happened. She then guided us through the synagogue’s modest pharmacy, where scarce medical supplies are distributed not only to Jewish families but to the broader community as well. We were proud to have brought generously donated supplies from pharmaceutical distributor Kohl & Frisch and members of our congregation – though we knew it would not be enough.
As I entered the sanctuary for services, my contact, William Miller, pulled me aside. “Eric, we have enough generator power for about 20 more minutes.” That meant the Shabbat dinner we had sponsored would likely be served in the dark and with cold food. Again, there was no panic, just another fact of life in today’s Havana. (Our group had helped purchase that very generator during a visit in 2008.)
Our time on the island was filled with meaningful encounters. We visited all three synagogues – Orthodox, Conservative and Sephardi – participated in hands-on volunteer activities and spent time connecting with community members. We toured the Jewish cemetery, the Holocaust memorial and museum, and visited shut-in seniors during a power outage. We visited the Canadian embassy and heard from the ambassador and her team about Cuba’s precarious future. We found brief moments to experience Havana’s incredible charm, including a ride in a classic car, the taste of a mojito and the sounds of Cuban music.
By the end of the trip, our group of 16 left Havana feeling enriched, united and deeply humbled. On Friday night, the entire service was led by the youth at the Patronato – a powerful testament to the community’s commitment. I was honoured to address the congregation and shared a simple reflection: in Canada, we have almost everything, while they have almost nothing; yet they possess something we can learn from, a profound sense of pride, spirit and the determination not merely to survive, but to thrive again. One taxi driver summed up the mood of the country when he told me, “We are in a dark tunnel without a way out.” But we were welcomed with open arms and open hearts.
We departed on Sunday evening on what felt like the last fumes of jet fuel, just hours before Air Canada and WestJet announced the suspension of flights. Those who remain behind do not have the option to leave. They continue to live with constant uncertainty, navigating daily hardships while carrying the weight of more than six decades of a revolution that has failed to deliver on its promises. And yet, the Jews of Havana remain determined, resilient and passionate about their heritage and their future.
Eric Moses is the cantor at Beth Sholom Synagogue in Toronto.
Michael Sachs moves to Tulsa, helps others make a similar shift.
When Michael Sachs and his family moved from Vancouver to Tulsa, Okla., he did not expect the response that followed.
“After I came down, I just got lots of people reaching out to me,” said Sachs, who relocated to become senior director of the Jewish Federation of Tulsa. The messages came from all over Canada – Toronto, Windsor, Montreal, Halifax, Winnipeg, Vancouver.
A significant number of Canadian Jews seem to have decided on – or are pondering – relocation, he told the Independent.
Tulsa’s Jewish community has been running an organized outreach effort called Tulsa Tomorrow, designed to give Jewish families a chance to visit, experience the city and its Jewish life, and consider relocating there. After hearing from so many Canadians, Sachs suggested Tulsa Tomorrow create a specifically Canadian-focused initiative. Together, they created Lech L’Tulsa (“Go to Tulsa”), an enhanced Tulsa Tomorrow program that addresses obstacles that face Canadians.
To date, the new initiative has drawn more than 350 applications from Canadian families, representing more than 1,000 people. Groups of prospective movers are invited to come for multi-day exploratory trips that include meeting community leaders, attending Shabbat services, touring neighbourhoods, and connecting with local resources to help them assess whether moving to Tulsa would make sense for their families.
Michael Sachs (photo from Michael Sachs)
Sachs’ enthusiasm for his new city is palpable, but he is careful to position the campaign in ways that do not threaten other Jewish communities.
“We’re not trying to steal people,” he said. “We’re not trying to recruit.”
Instead, he describes the effort as practical support for people already considering a move. “We’re just trying to find ways for those who have made this decision … to help lower the bar, to make it be a possibility.”
The exploratory visit planned for late February has already outgrown expectations. “The average cohort in the past would be 15 to 20 people,” Sachs said. This time, they have already reached that capacity and have expanded it to 55.
Cost of living is one of the most significant differences families notice.
“If you are sitting in a decent position on your house in Vancouver and you sell it, you can get a house here, possibly mortgage-free,” said Sachs.
Oklahoma, he added, is “a very friendly state.” Taxes are lower and “you bring home more of your paycheque,” though health care works differently than in Canada.
Health care is a cost, he acknowledged, but it is also more speedily accessible.
Tulsa’s Jewish community, he said, numbers about 7,500, with roughly 2,500 actively involved. There is a 16-acre Jewish community campus, a community centre, a retirement facility, a Jewish day school through Grade 5, a Holocaust centre and synagogues.
“It is a very warm community,” he said. “Southern hospitality is a big thing here.”
Sachs is intentional about how he frames the program.
“With every conversation we have, we start off with two things,” he said. “One, we are not lawyers, so we don’t give you legal advice.” Immigration is complex, and families are directed to law firms offering consultations. “We’re highly encouraging everyone … to use them because we don’t want people to try to do stuff themselves.”
Second, he said, “we’re not finding people jobs.” Each family must evaluate its own employment prospects. Immigration is not simple.
Sachs emphasized that Lech L’Tulsa is a nonpolitical program and he hedged on whether the United States is a better place than Canada for Jews to live.
“A decision of this magnitude cannot be made on a single issue,” he said. For his family, the calculation included “cost of living, future for our children, the fentanyl crisis … antisemitism was one of those factors.”
He cautioned against moving solely because of antisemitism.
“Nowhere is immune,” he said.
At the same time, he said, based on data from Statistics Canada, “a Jew in Canada is nine times more likely to suffer a hate crime than a Jew in the United States.”
That said, most families are driven primarily by practical concerns. “People decide because of economic reasons, cost of living, opportunities,” said Sachs.
He described Tulsa as having a similar hip vibe to Austin, Tex., a decade ago.
Sachs admitted he remains emotionally tied to Vancouver.
“The community of Vancouver is in my heart always,” he said. “My mom is there. My friends are there.”
Ultimately, he views his family’s move and the Lech L’Tulsa project as part of a broader obligation. “This is part of the commitment that I made ultimately … many years ago,” he said, “to speak up, to advocate … and to help.”
Hannah Presman Chikiar spoke and moderated at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, on Oct. 10, as part of Girls Speak Out 2025, held in celebration of the International Day of the Girl. (photo from Hannah Presman Chikiar)
At the start of this year, I was doing what any average 15-year-old would be doing: studying, playing sports, hanging out with friends, counting down the days until summer and, yes, waiting to turn 16 to get my driver’s licence! I never imagined I would be speaking and moderating at the United Nations headquarters in New York City, in front of hundreds of global leaders, delegates and young people. On Oct. 10, 2025, I had the honour of doing exactly that at Girls Speak Out 2025, held in celebration of the International Day of the Girl.
I happened to be seated beside Annalena Baerbock, the president of the UN General Assembly. The room filled with hundreds of people, while many others joined online. Girls Speak Out 2025 was not only a celebration; it was a policy platform where commitments were made, with the expectation that they will be fulfilled. The event highlighted real stories and actionable solutions, emphasizing that girls’ rights must be recognized, supported and acted upon without delay. The energy in the room, the stories shared and the voices of girls from around the world showed everyone the power of youth advocacy and the importance of taking action rather than waiting for permission.
My connection to Judaism has always guided me, particularly the principle of tikkun olam (repairing the world), which inspires me to act for justice and equality wherever I can. It was this commitment to advocacy and making a positive impact that aligned with the mission of the Vancouver section of the National Council of Jewish Women of Canada (NCJWC), which nominated me for this amazing opportunity with the UN.
From June through October, I worked with nine other girls: they were from Liberia, Bolivia, Ghana, the United Kingdom and the United States. I woke up every Saturday at 4:30 a.m. Vancouver time to meet with them and plan, with the support of the Working Group on Girls, a fully girl-led UN event shaped around our theme: “We Are Here: Bold, Diverse and Unstoppable – Demanding Action for Girls’ Rights.” Together, we co-designed two panels: “Girls on the Frontline of Crisis: Protection, Peace & Power” and “From Margins to Power: Girls Defying Discrimination and Reclaiming Identity.” Collaborating with this diverse team of girls was inspiring and gave me the chance to learn from experiences vastly different from my own.
On the day of the event, I had the privilege of being one of the four moderators leading the discussions and sharing information about what girls around the world are facing. As I proudly wore my Magen David necklace, I spoke about how, in many crisis settings, child marriage rates are nearly double the global average and millions of girls face heightened risks of sexual violence with little or no support. Globally, 12 million girls are married every year, more girls than boys remain out of school in parts of sub-Saharan Africa, and anemia rates continue to worsen in several countries. Nearly one in four girls – about 150 million girls – live in countries where they do not have equal inheritance rights, and girls in fragile or conflict-affected regions are 90% more likely to be out of secondary school than those in stable environments.
These realities underscored the urgency of the issues, and we opened the floor for a recommitment discussion, inviting member-states and UN agencies to share their reaffirmations on advancing the rights of girls.
Over the past few years, I’ve been deeply involved in leadership and advocacy programs that shaped my understanding of social responsibility and community engagement. Last year, I completed the StandWithUs Teen Leadership Council and the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee (CJPAC) Generation program. This year, I am a part of the StandWithUs Kenneth Leventhal Internship, and I am continuing my involvement with CJPAC. I also serve on the Multi-Faith Summit Council of British Columbia committee. These experiences have taught me, and continue to teach me, how to work with people from different backgrounds, speak up for causes I care about, and translate values into action.
I have been invited to participate in the 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) Girls’ Statement Writing Group, which will take place at UN headquarters in New York in March 2026. In this program, girl delegates from around the world collaborate to write and refine the annual Girls’ Statement, share perspectives on justice andempowerment, and learn more about advocacy and policy writing.
Reflecting on my recent journey, I am deeply thankful for the support that made it possible, notably the help and encouragement of NCJWC Vancouver and its chair, Jordana Corenblum, the International Council of Jewish Women, and my family. Their encouragement gave me the strength and confidence to fully engage in this work and to represent the Jewish community while advocating for girls’ rights.
Girls Speak Out 2025 reminded me that change is possible when young people speak boldly, collaborate widely and demand accountability. I hope to carry these lessons forward, continuing to act for justice, equity and opportunity for all girls, wherever I can.
Hannah Presman Chikiar is a Grade 11 student at King David High School. She is part of the StandWithUs Kenneth Leventhal Internship, is involved with the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee, serves on the Multi-Faith Summit Council of British Columbia committee and is working on the Commission of the Status of Women..
Zohran Mamdani, the new mayor of New York City, was a controversial candidate who won, in part, because of a campaign focused on local concerns, and not global politics. (photo by Kara McCurdy / commons.wikimedia.org)
New York City just elected as mayor Zohran Mamadani, an anti-Zionist who has been dogged by accusations of antisemitism. Recent civic elections in Canada, on the other hand, had brighter news for Jewish and pro-Israel observers, according to Emile Scheffel, managing director of CJPAC, the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee.
Scheffel presented an online briefing Nov. 14 on how Mamdani won, what it means and how Canadian voters in several cities sent somewhat different messages.
During his campaign, Mamdani responded emotionally to accusations that he is antisemitic. In the end, according to exit polls, he received votes from about one in three Jewish New Yorkers and was endorsed by numerous prominent Jewish individuals, as well as organizations like Jewish Voice for Peace Action, the political arm of the anti-Zionist group Jewish Voice for Peace.
“When you have this kind of a movement running cover for Mr. Mamdani, it became relatively easy for him to skate past those or to push through those allegations of antisemitism,” Scheffel said. “I don’t know what’s in Mr. Mamdani’s heart. I don’t genuinely know exactly what he believes. But I’m a firm believer that you can tell a lot about a person’s character from the people with whom they choose to associate.”
Scheffel noted a controversy in which Mamdani was photographed with Imam Siraj Wahhaj, who the US justice system calls an unindicted co-conspirator in the 1993 Al-Qaeda bombing attack on the World Trade Centre in New York City. Mamdani later chose not to distance himself from the imam.
Another controversy that dogged Mamdani was his hesitation to condemn the slogan “Globalize the intifada.”
“He repeatedly refused to condemn that language,” said Scheffel. “I want to again be fair by acknowledging that there are different interpretations of what ‘Globalize the intifada’ means, depending on the context. But I am a believer … that there is a great deal of evidence that ‘Globalize the intifada’ is first and foremost a call for violence against Jews and against Jewish institutions and individuals.
“But here’s the catch,” said Scheffel.
Prior to the mayoral election, Scheffel “did a pretty deep dive” on Mamdani’s website, looking for keywords like “Israel,” “Palestine” and “Gaza.”
He found nothing, because the Mamdani website and the campaign’s broader messaging was laser-focused on the core theme of affordability and lowering the cost of living for working-class New Yorkers.
Scheffel shared statistics about housing costs and other expenses in New York City.
“You can start,” he said, “to understand how he built a coalition of people who are primarily motivated not by Mamdani’s views on the Middle East, not by his relationship or lack thereof with members of the Jewish community, but by what he promised to do for the future of New York City and the people living there.”
In contrast, Scheffel, who has extensive background in political communications and issues management, skewered the website and messaging of Mamdani’s prime opponent, former New York governor Andrew Cuomo. He said Cuomo’s campaign website was filled with mixed messages and meaningless jargon.
“If I can’t figure out what the candidate is trying to tell me, how would I trust them to have a clear vision or a reasonable plan to tackle the issues that are facing me and that are facing the city?” he asked. “Mamdani, whatever you think about him, ran an extremely effective campaign that’s in line with all the best practices we would recommend to a candidate running for any office anywhere.”
While many Jews have been tuned in to politics in the largest American city, they may have overlooked other elections closer to home.
Municipalities in Quebec voted on Nov. 2. In Montreal, which Scheffel noted has been home to some of this country’s most worrying incidents of antisemitism, and in some other communities, activists tried to make the Israeli-Palestinian conflict an election issue by asking candidates to sign a so-called “anti-apartheid pledge” and commit to cutting ties with the state of Israel.
The eventual winner of the election, Soraya Martinez Ferrada, Montreal’s new mayor, refused to sign the pledge and was accused by opponents of complicity in genocide. In addition to her victory, her party won a majority of seats on city council, after a campaign in which they pledged to take seriously law enforcement and public safety, including a crackdown on protesters that Scheffel said include extremist elements that make Montrealers unsafe.
“That was a vision that ultimately proved to be compelling and appealing to the largest number of Montrealers,” he said.
A few days earlier, on Oct. 20, Calgary also elected a new civic government.
The incumbent had declined to attend the annual menorah lighting ceremony at Calgary City Hall, claiming it was too pro-Israel and too political, said Scheffel, who lives in the city.
“She was rejected by 80% of voters,” he said. “She became the first mayor in 45 years in Calgary not to win a second term. That happened not because she didn’t show up to a menorah lighting or because she made every effort, frankly, to isolate the Jewish community at a time when the Jewish community needed support from elected leaders. She lost – and she lost in such a crushing fashion – because voters believed that she had failed to tackle the everyday quality-of-life, cost-of-living issues that are facing people here in Calgary.”
Jeromy Farkas, the new mayor, won narrowly, with the incumbent mayor placing third.
Scheffel made the case that none of these campaigns pivoted on issues of foreign affairs but were determined mostly by voters who wanted potholes filled and cities to run efficiently. He then made a case for engagement in the political process, noting that many of the elections turned on very small vote counts. Farkas, for example, won the Calgary mayor’s race by fewer than 400 votes after a recount.
CJPAC engages Jewish Canadians in the political process and encourages them to build strong relationships between the Jewish community and elected officials across parties, said Scheffel. Close races like some recent municipal elections, he said, underscore the impact an individual can have in the process by volunteering as little as two hours of their time to a campaign.
In the Gaza Youth Committee campaign We Live Together, We Die Together, young Gazans hold, in a show of solidarity with Israelis, photographs of Israeli children who were killed on Oct. 7, 2023. (photo from Rami Aman)
“People must understand that the people of Gaza are not victims and they are not superheroes. We are human beings, a group of people like any other society. We love life and hate death, we love singing and we hate violence. We are not terrorists. Parents pay to educate their sons and daughters in medicine, engineering, pharmacy, art, business, English and other languages. Gaza is not Hamas, and Hamas is not Gaza – Hamas is part of the Muslim Brotherhood,” Palestinian journalist Rami Aman, founder of the Gaza Youth Committee, told the Independent in a recent interview.
JI readers may have seen on social media one of the latest Gaza Youth Committee (GYC) campaigns, called We Live Together, We Die Together. Its images feature young Gazans holding, in a show of solidarity with Israelis, photographs of Israeli children who were killed on Oct. 7, 2023. The Gazans stand amid buildings and neighbourhoods destroyed in the Israel-Hamas war. The Independent was connected with Aman by Vancouver Friends of Standing Together.
“As the months of war passed, many voices increased within Israeli society opposing the killing of Gaza’s children, expressing solidarity with their families, and calling for an end to the war,” he explained about the social media campaign. “In Gaza, we saw tens of thousands of Israeli demonstrators carrying pictures of child victims in the Gaza war. Therefore, despite the killing, hunger, siege and shortages in Gaza, it was important for us to prove that, in Gaza, there are Palestinians who object to the killing of any child, and to show their solidarity with all the child victims who have fallen in the war, Israeli or Palestinian.
“We have lost a large number of Muslim, Christian and Jewish children because of this war between Hamas and the Israeli army,” he said. “This campaign emerged from Gaza to emphasize the people’s rejection of the war and the killing of children, and the need to release the Israeli hostages, end the war and provide medical treatment for the children of Gaza.”
Palestinian journalist Rami Aman, founder of the Gaza Youth Committee, speaking at an event. One of his goals is to hold meetings between Palestinians and Israelis to help them respect one another and determine their own fate. (photo from Rami Aman)
Aman started the GYC after the first Israel-Hamas war, which he described as “a turning point” in his life.
“I began thinking about trying to do something two months after the end of the war in 2009. I decided to look for a place to establish an FM radio station in Gaza that would emphasize the voice of the peaceful people of Gaza,” said Aman, who has a bachelor’s degree in electronics and communication engineering. “At the beginning of August 2009, I received my first request from Hamas security. They interrogated me for long hours, and I was subjected to repeated assaults by Hamas members in the following days. They warned me against broadcasting any radio station or publishing any media content about Gaza without their permission.”
Realizing that Hamas wanted no other voice from Gaza than their own, Aman said, “At the beginning of 2010, I decided to form an independent youth group whose goal was to spread awareness internally and to strengthen our relations externally. Our first meeting included 30 young men and women from Gaza, and we agreed on the need to form an independent youth body that would advocate for Palestinian reconciliation and spread the voice of peace from Gaza to the entire world.”
The Gaza Youth Committee currently has more than 300 members inside and outside Gaza, said Aman, “and we are still trying to reach our goals.”
“We are all working to convey the true image of the people of Gaza and to build genuine partnerships with Israelis to help Palestinians and Israelis understand and respect each other,” he said.
Over the past 15 years of activities and meetings, Aman said he has learned a lot, “including how to influence public opinion within Gaza and how to build pressure and advocacy campaigns.
“Over these years,” he said, “I’ve realized the importance of inviting enemies to dialogue, instead of fighting, and trying to shape a different image of the other. These years have helped me differentiate between the Palestinian who wants to build their society for the better and the Palestinian who seeks to achieve their own interests from the Israelis or Palestinians at the expense of others.
“After many different activities between the Gaza Youth Committee and several Israeli movements and organizations, we have built many bridges and created a lot of connections and relations.”
GYC initiatives have included the release of 200 doves from Gaza with messages of peace, Skype calls between Gazans and Americans, and Gazans and Israelis, and a cycling marathon along the border in which both Israelis and Gazans participated.
This work has not been without risk. Aman has been arrested and tortured by Hamas more than once for his peace initiatives with Israelis, as have people with whom he has worked. After a GYC Zoom call in April 2020, he was arrested, Hamas apparently being alerted by the social media post of journalist Hind Khoudary, who was consulting for Amnesty International at the time.
According to a 2020 Jerusalem Post article, “she did not tag Hamas officials in her Facebook posts against Rami Aman to get him arrested but as a protest against normalization activities.
“‘I want all the normalization activities he is doing with Israel from Gaza to stop immediately because any joint activities, cooperation or dialogue with Israelis is unacceptable, even engaging with Israeli ‘peace activists,’” she said in an interview with the Post.
To secure his release, Aman was told he’d have to divorce his then-wife, the daughter of a Hamas official, who was also among those arrested. He eventually signed the papers in August of that year. His wife had already been released at that point, but Aman remained in prison, despite what he’d been told. He was prosecuted in September 2020 for “weakening revolutionary spirit,” and ultimately convicted. After international pressure, he was released in late October, with a suspended sentence, according to a 2021 article in the Times of Israel.
His former wife traveled with a Hamas escort to Cairo while Hamas released Aman from prison one day later. The couple kept in touch after Aman’s release from prison and subsequent move to Cairo in 2021, but have drifted apart for various reasons. Intending to return to Gaza in late 2023, the war caused Aman to change his plans.
“When I first started working for Gaza from abroad, I felt strong and free, and I regained my energy,” he said. “With the outbreak of the war, I began to feel stuck. I couldn’t call on people to demonstrate to end the war while I was on Facebook. People in Gaza trusted me because I was always the first to demonstrate against Hamas, from 2011 until before I left Gaza. If I were in Gaza, I would certainly demonstrate, even for an hour every day, to end the war. Then I would call on people to demonstrate while I was on the street.”
While he would prefer to be in Gaza, Aman said technology has helped GYC’s activism greatly, even before he had to leave his homeland.
“From 2007 until now, Israel has consistently imposed blockades on the residents of the Gaza Strip,” he explained, “while Hamas remained unaffected by any crises and received hundreds of millions of dollars with the help of the Qataris and [Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin] Netanyahu, in addition to Hamas’s control over travel through the Rafah crossing.
“The real blockade was imposed on us in the Gaza Youth Committee and the majority of Palestinians, so we used Skype and Zoom to communicate with our friends and partners outside Gaza, the most famous of which was the Skype with Your Enemy initiative in 2014.
“We also organized hundreds of meetings that helped introduce me to the world and led several organizations to extend invitations to visit them abroad. I traveled to India because of these meetings, which led to me meeting with the Dalai Lama. A few months ago, I was in Europe to speak about Gaza in several European cities.
“Most of the news coming from media outlets and news agencies will not present the truth to anyone, and it is better to communicate directly with the people in Gaza,” said Aman. “Israel has not provided us with permits to enter the West Bank and Jerusalem. Since 2010, the Israeli authorities have only granted me a 12-hour permit to attend a workshop in 2014 and permits to transit to Jordan when traveling from Gaza. For me and others, these applications have resulted in the building of a large number of personal friendships that continue to this day because they have been created between people, both Palestinians and Israelis.”
Aman has strong criticisms of the media in general, and Al Jazeera in particular, as well as UNRWA (the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East).
“No Palestinian in Gaza watches Al Jazeera. No Palestinian in Gaza trusts in UNRWA. No Palestinian in Gaza trusts in all of these media,” Aman told UN Watch in an interview earlier this month.
In this atmosphere, the GYC continues its efforts.
“We at the Gaza Youth Committee work to strengthen the capacities of Palestinian youth, develop their skills and create a Palestinian movement from Gaza, the West Bank and the diaspora that expresses the aspirations of the independent Palestinian people,” said Aman. “At the Gaza Youth Committee, we always strive to hold meetings between Palestinians in Gaza and Israelis, helping them respect each other and determine their own fate by implementing joint initiatives and conveying their voices to the Americans and Europeans.
“Before the war,” he said, “we always tried to organize demonstrations to demand that Hamas hold elections, resolve the unemployment and electricity crises, and step back from governing Gaza. Even now, during the war, we are working to direct the people of Gaza to demand an end to the war.”
Aman contends that most Gazans want peace, despite polls that indicate the opposite.
“I don’t believe that much in polls,” he said, “but I understand Palestinian and Israeli public opinion. The two societies have been at war for years and have seen nothing but bloodshed and destruction, and wars only create enemies. Trust was lost before Oct. 7 and the distrust increased after the war.
“I have always believed in the importance of talking to enemies and engaging in dialogue instead of fighting. This is what I do through Zoom and Skype meetings. If there is one Palestinian and one Israeli who believe in a peaceful solution, then there is hope. We need courageous decision-makers who can lead their societies toward peace, not lead them toward fighting, hostage-taking and spreading hatred.”
Given his years of organizing video conferences, Aman said, “I have considerable experience, gained from speaking with thousands of Palestinians and thousands of Israelis. Their beliefs and opinions differ, but the common humanity that unites them always remains. They don’t know each other because of the media, and I believe in what I do and in every person’s right to life and safety, regardless of their religious or political beliefs.”
Working with “the enemy” has become Aman’s life mission. This, despite having been imprisoned and tortured by Hamas, having had loved ones killed or taken away from him by both Israeli forces and Hamas, and his neighbourhood in Gaza being destroyed by Israeli bombs.
“It’s true that, as a person, I suffer every day from this news and all the memories,” he admitted. “In addition to what Hamas did to me, it was horrific and psychologically and physically painful. However, there are people around me from whom I get this energy, and I always feel that I must be their partner in promoting dialogue and respect between Palestinians and Israelis.
“With every loss of a person, I always feel that they are advising me to continue my path and take care of their children,” he said. “Therefore, in my activities, I always aim to help families and individuals I know well, and I don’t want them to feel that I am far away from them. That is why I do my best to make their voices heard and that is from where my sense of responsibility for this matter comes.”
Aman is certain there are partners for peace on both sides.
“I consider myself a partner to any Israeli who seeks peace and an end to the war,” he said. “I know that there are Israelis who consider themselves peace partners with the Palestinians. I know Palestinians and Israelis who have lost their children and parents and still believe in peace, so that no more victims fall.”
He stressed the need to stand together.
“Our voices must unite to stop the war, free the Israeli hostages, protect the Palestinians in Gaza and help them rebuild their society,” he said. “We must find 50 Palestinian and Israeli leaders who will work to bring Palestinians and Israelis together.”
As Aman responded to the Independent’s questions, he said Israel Defence Forces tanks were “stationed hundreds of metres away from where my family and friends are. But I always know,” he said, “that life exists and so does death. Anyone can be the next hope and anyone can be the next victim.”
