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, and some 50 professional staff. Our student engagement rates surged over 40% this past year – allowing us to log nearly 25,000 student touch-points – highlighting the critical need for Jewish connection, safe Jewish spaces and a strong response to anti-Jewish hate and intolerance. 

As 14,000 Jewish students return to campuses across Ontario this fall, we are committing ourselves to the posture of Hineinu – we are here. We are not cowering, hiding or silent. And, we are here to stay. 

This school year, we will show up in record numbers, stand up more boldly and more proudly, and speak up more clearly and more forceful than ever before.

Let’s be honest, being Jewish in 2024 isn’t easy or convenient. 

In order to foster a renewed sense of belonging and safety where Jewish students can thrive on their campus, we first need to build vibrant, proud and strong Jewish campus communities.

Core to our efforts will be to engage more Jewish students across our campuses than ever before. While we will continue to reach new students, we will also take steps to ensure we are retaining the thousands of students who came to Hillel last year for the very first time – ensuring that they find compelling reasons to keep coming back.

This year, we will enhance our student engagement efforts by providing engaging Jewish and Israel education through cohort and fellowship learning opportunities; expanding our province-wide Student Leadership Summit which will bring together students for an immersive experience that builds skills, confidence and fosters essential connections; launching a new Jewish student scholarship; embedding mental health and wellness professional and social work students within our campus teams; and generating innovative and compelling social programming that welcomes every student who wants to participate in Jewish life and community and instills feelings of Jewish pride, connection, and relationship.

While fortifying our base is the first step, that’s just the beginning. From there, we will empower and mobilize students – and provide the resources and support they need to stand up.

We know that members of a connected and confident community will stand up for what they believe.

For nearly a decade, we have played a leading role in confronting antisemitism on campus to ensure the safety and security of Jewish students. This essential pillar of our work will continue in earnest, but things will be different. 

This year, we will increase our advocacy efforts by mobilizing more advocates than ever. Standing shoulder-to-shoulder with Jewish students, we will push back against a wave of intolerance and hatred that intensified on October 7th, ensuring that antisemitism is rightly situated at the margins of campus discourse.

To accomplish this, we will be: launching a Hillel Ontario Advocacy Task Force, made up of advocacy professionals and student leaders, to leverage expertise and share best practices; embedding specially-trained Jewish and Israel advocacy professionals at each of our universities for the first time ever; doubling our Israel Fellow program, bringing Israeli culture to campus, and connecting students with the full spectrum of Israeli life; elevating and marketing an incident tracking system that enables students to report antisemitism and receive a rapid and personalized response; and providing opportunities for Jewish and non-Jewish students to learn about Israel and build lifelong relationships with Israelis.

We also know that there are thousands of Jewish students on campuses currently unserved or underserved across the province. From vocational community colleges, to art-based universities, students studying on these campuses have been reaching out to Hillel for support in record numbers, and we must answer their call. To meet this growing demand, we will hire a campus professional dedicated to servicing the needs of students at universities and colleges beyond our current nine.

Finally, we know that we must speak up and have our voices heard.

To accomplish our objectives, we need to speak up clearly, consistently and confidently; to elevate student voices, promote Jewish life and culture, and to underscore the Jewish peoples’ connections to Israel. We will not hesitate to share our beliefs, experiences and expectations with campus leaders and the campus community.

This year, our programs will be bolder, our voice will be louder and our impact will be greater. 

For Jewish students across Ontario,  everything has changed.