Jay Solomon

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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...

May 27, 2021, 11:08 AM

The continuum of antisemitism

What many in the Jewish community have known for some time, but have been reluctant to say out loud, has become entirely self-evident in the past several weeks. We have long since recognized that antisemitism exists on a broad...

Mar 18, 2021, 7:30 PM

Real talk on U of T

Let’s be honest: Jewish students studying at the University of Toronto have experienced many challenges over the past several years. And, while we’re at it, let’s also speak frankly about the source of most of those challenges: the University of...

Feb 18, 2021, 12:06 AM

Still loud and proud… now more strategic

When I started advocating for Israel in the early 2000s, waving the Israeli flag and loudly singing Hatikvah through the halls of the ivory tower was, in many ways, enough. I recall countless examples of anti-Israel agitators and Israel’s...

Jan 6, 2021, 12:20 AM

2021: A homecoming

2020 was a year for the history books all around. It goes without saying that the global COVID-19 pandemic transformed the world in countless ways. Some known already; some that will not be fully understood for years to come. In addition...

Nov 22, 2019, 5:14 PM

How far we’ve come, and how much more we have left to do

So much has already been said about this week’s challenging situations at three of Canada’s largest universities – the University of Toronto, McGill University and York University – that I find myself struggling to say something insightful that hasn’t...

Feb 28, 2019, 3:11 AM

When nobody of consequence is listening

Image via h pixnio

Every year about this time, fringe activists make their way to various university and college campuses around the globe to celebrate the annual hate-on against Israel, dubbed “Israeli Apartheid Week” (IAW). Each year, organizers proudly proclaim the growth of...

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About Me

Jay Solomon is the Chief Advancement Officer for Hillel Ontario.