{"id":48735,"date":"2026-04-10T01:59:49","date_gmt":"2026-04-10T08:59:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/?p=48735"},"modified":"2026-04-10T18:36:18","modified_gmt":"2026-04-11T01:36:18","slug":"zionism-wins-big-in-vegas","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/2026\/04\/10\/zionism-wins-big-in-vegas\/","title":{"rendered":"Zionism wins big in Vegas"},"content":{"rendered":"

BC students at the StandWithUs conference in Las Vegas March 15-18 included, left to right, Adar Latak, Alexis Moscovitz and Ethan Doctor. <\/i>(photo by Pat Johnson)<\/i><\/p>\n

What happens in Las Vegas doesn\u2019t 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\u2019s 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.<\/p>\n

Among the delegates were about 100 Canadians, including 15 BC students, as well as Vancouverite Zara Nybo, StandWithUs Canada\u2019s campus and high school manager for Western Canada.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Among the BC students were four Leventhal high school interns and 10 Emerson fellows, who are part of the organization\u2019s college and university track, Nybo said.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Delegates heard from a roster of noted speakers in plenary sessions and more intimate, often hands-on breakout sessions.<\/p>\n

The intensive morning to late-night schedule included speakers like New York Times<\/i> 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.<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
New York Times columnist Bret Stephens (photo by Pat Johnson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Stephens, the New York Times<\/i> 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cRegime change is not at all easy,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are all kinds of imponderables.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cI do think there is, in fact, quite a plausible scenario [of regime change] \u2013 not now, not during this war, but in six months or a year \u2013 if [it\u2019s] 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,\u201d said Stephens.<\/p>\n

Iranian street activists, he said, need to \u201ckick this regime when it\u2019s down.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cIf 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 \u2026 I think that that creates conditions in which I can see it happen,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIt 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,\u201d he said. \u201cIt 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cRadical Islam occupied Iran, Yemen, Lebanon, Gaza,\u201d he said. \u201cRadical 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\u2019m telling you something that radical Islamists fear the most: Jews and Israel are not our enemies.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alshareef shared a similar transformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cI used to be hardcore antizionist,\u201d he said. \u201cI used to be deeply antisemitic. In my local mosque, I repeated after my imams, \u2018Death to Israel, death to Jews, death to Zionists,\u2019 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.\u2026 A society that learns to hate Jews more than loving our own children is not a healthy society.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
Loay Alshareef, a Saudi-born activist who advocates for normalization with Israel. (photo by Pat Johnson)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

After Oct. 7, 2023, Alshareef decided to visit Israel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI 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,\u201d he said. \u201cThey 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\u2019ve been creating content, sharing the hidden truths about Israelis and Jews that my society either dismisses or is completely unaware of.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\u2019s curriculum \u2013 it had gone unchallenged since 1998. In plenaries and breakouts, individuals shared personal experiences of harassment, discrimination and loss of friendships.<\/p>\n

StandWithUs does not only educate but also uses the law to seek fair outcomes in cases of discrimination.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

\u201cImagine being a Jewish student in a high school where there are very few other Jewish kids,\u201d Lerman said. \u201cDay after day, classmates taunt you. They call you \u2018dirty Jew\u2019 and \u2018Zio,\u2019 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

No student should ever face antisemitism alone, Lerman said.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSince Oct. 7, we\u2019ve seen a dramatic rise in legal complaints, not only on campuses, but across everyday community spaces,\u201d she continued.<\/p>\n

\u201cRecently, 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, \u2018You Jews think you can get everything you want.\u2019<\/p>\n

\u201cLater 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,\u201d said Lerman.<\/p>\n

The conference heard diverse emotional testimonies.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cThey used to abuse me physically and mentally,\u201d he said of his captors. \u201cThere wasn\u2019t any human interaction, I would say.\u201d<\/p>\n

Shem Tov was held in near-starvation even as he saw piled boxes of United Nations-supplied rations.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

After Shem Tov\u2019s 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: \u201cWe are dancing again.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

Sami Steigmann, a child survivor of the Holocaust, spoke of the series of flukes and strokes of luck that saved his life.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

BC delegates spoke to the Independent<\/i> about their experiences.<\/p>\n

Adar Latak, a University of Victoria psychology student in his final year, said he gained confidence at the conference and made important connections.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou\u2019re meeting Jews from around the world, and that\u2019s beautiful,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s easy to get brought down by everything, and coming here really lifts your spirits. You\u2019re with other Jews, you\u2019re all facing the same thing, and you\u2019re all talking about it, and you\u2019re giving each other advice and tips, and it is really just a beautiful thing.\u201d<\/p>\n

Alexis Moscovitz, a second-year physical and health education student, also at the University of Victoria, echoed Latak\u2019s sense of community.<\/p>\n

\u201cObviously, everybody has different experiences, but it\u2019s all basically the same,\u201d she said. \u201cWe\u2019re all fighting antisemitism on our campuses and so, having a support system, amazing staff here, it\u2019s just amazing to be able to be with people that you know are experiencing the same things.\u201d<\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cIf it wasn\u2019t for organizations like StandWithUs, I wouldn\u2019t know how to properly deal with it and wouldn\u2019t know the proper steps to take,\u201d said Doctor. \u201cI am just eternally grateful to organizations like this.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"photo<\/a>
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)<\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Jesse Primerano, executive director of StandWithUs Canada, told the Independent<\/i> his group\u2019s role is to help young pro-Israel activists, but also people of all ages, find their voices.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn many cases, they don\u2019t feel comfortable with the facts, to engage with people who are coming at them very aggressively,\u201d he said. \u201cSo, our job is to help them understand the facts and how to communicate them to people who disagree.\u201d<\/p>\n

Earlier, Primerano briefed the convention on the state of affairs in Canada.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe look back on times [of] the Holocaust, and I think what we said for many generations was that, as long as our government didn\u2019t turn on us, we would be safe in the countries that we live,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd, 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.<\/p>\n

\u201cSo, we\u2019ve seen our mayor of Toronto be unwilling to come to an Oct. 7 vigil, unwilling to come to an Israeli flag-raising,\u201d Primerano continued. \u201cOur prime minister in Canada said that he would arrest Bibi [Israel\u2019s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu] should he come to Canada. He put an arms embargo on Israel and, most importantly, as I\u2019m sure many of you are aware, he rewarded Hamas with support for the establishment of a Palestinian state.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat 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,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

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. \u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cHillel is, in many ways, the voice on campus,\u201d he said. \u201cThey 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the Vegas conference, StandWithUs unveiled SWUBOT, a free, downloadable artificial intelligence tool providing at-the-fingertips information on Israel, antisemitism and activism.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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\u2019t stay in Vegas. That was the defiant message from Roz Rothstein, the chief executive officer and co-founder of StandWithUs, as she welcomed about […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":48736,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4,7],"tags":[24771,24814,801,24645,24776,22315,24773,53,22700,24736,4330,24774,24775,24779,2721,24778,4869,24777,3753,23431,1581],"class_list":["post-48735","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-local","category-world","tag-adar-latak","tag-alexis-moscovitz","tag-antisemitism","tag-antizionism","tag-brent-stephens","tag-conferences","tag-ethan-doctor","tag-holocaust","tag-hostages","tag-iran-war","tag-israel","tag-jesse-primerano","tag-loay-alshareef","tag-omer-shem-tov","tag-peace","tag-saidoff-law","tag-standwithus","tag-yael-lerman","tag-youth","tag-zara-nybo","tag-zionism"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48735","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=48735"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/48735\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/48736"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=48735"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=48735"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=48735"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}