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Jay Solomon

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May 7, 2026, 4:21 AM

We’re Not Backing Down. We’re Doubling Down.

There is a feeling settling over many Jewish communities in Canada right now – difficult to describe, but impossible to ignore. It is the feeling that something foundational has shifted. You see it in the headlines: violent attacks targeting synagogues and...

Mar 26, 2026, 9:53 PM

When Jewish Students Are Told to Be Quiet

Campus screen at McMaster University, sponsored by Hillel.

Photo via Hillel Ontario Instagram.

There is a moment that repeats itself on campuses across Canada every spring. A Jewish student walks past a table. A sign reads: “Zionists not welcome.” Someone shouts, “Baby killer.” And just like that, a political label becomes something...

Mar 11, 2026, 8:12 PM

The antidote to Jewish unhappiness is connection

Photo via Hillel Ontario Instagram

Over the past few days, several people have shared with me a fascinating dataset from a recent US General Social Survey, which tracks the percentage of Americans who say they are “very happy.” The results are striking. Across the board,...

Feb 20, 2026, 5:44 PM

Gam Ve Gam: The Best and Worst Time to Be a Jewish Student

There is a Hebrew phrase that captures this moment: gam ve gam — both this and this. It is both the best time and the worst time to be a Jewish student on campus today. Let’s start with the worst. In...

Feb 12, 2026, 11:36 PM

When Zionism is treated as a slur, Jewish identity becomes collateral damage

Over the next few weeks, campuses around the world will mark “Israel Apartheid Week” (IAW). There will be aggressive rallies, discriminatory installations, hateful slogans, and biased social media campaigns. Students will walk past mock checkpoints on their way to class...

Oct 9, 2025, 6:19 PM

Free speech for all… except Jewish students

Two years after the worst slaughter of Jews since the Holocaust, the University of Toronto Mississauga Students’ Union (UTMSU) chose October 7 to promote a campus gathering titled “Honouring Our Martyrs.” Let’s be clear about what that language means on...

Aug 9, 2024, 12:57 AM

How Hillel will show up, stand up and speak up this fall

Let’s be clear: October 7 changed us. Hillel Ontario cannot and will not be the same organization it was on October 6. We are the largest Hillel in the world, operating at nine universities, with nearly 250 elected student leaders,...

Mar 25, 2024, 7:26 PM

Jewish students will not be silenced

Hillel Ontario student leaders call attention to the Israeli hostages still being held by Hamas.

The past few weeks have marked the annual hatefest dubiously known as Israel Apartheid Week (IAW). On campuses across Ontario and beyond, students have been subjected to biased, discriminatory, and overtly antisemitic rhetoric that will single out Jewish students...

Dec 8, 2023, 8:18 AM

We need to say clearly that Hillel is the central address for Jewish campus life

This week, 1200 Hillel professionals from around the world gathered for Hillel International’s Global Assembly. Given the shared generational trauma of the past eight weeks — to say nothing of the three years since COVID began — being amongst friends...

Nov 26, 2021, 10:38 PM

Mounting challenges at the University of Toronto

This week, the Scarborough Campus Students' Union (SCSU) passed a motion to reaffirm their commitment to the Boycott, Divestment & Sanctions campaign. The language of the resolution mirrors that of a similar one passed a year ago by the same...

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About Me

Jay Solomon is the Chief Advancement Officer for Hillel Ontario.