Oct. 7 anniversary is ‘an opportunity’ for education and togetherness, say Jewish students across Canada

via @hillelontario Instagram

As the one-year mark of Hamas’s Oct. 7 attacks on Israel approaches, Jewish student organizations are preparing to commemorate victims and hostages while sparking conversations on university campuses.

Concerns about security and counter-protests are also in the mix. At least one school is not publicizing the location of the memorial event.

Ben Bazak, the vice president of Alpha Epsilon Pi (AEPi) Waterloo, a chapter of the international Jewish fraternity, says students are doing whatever they can to congregate during the difficult anniversary date. 

A dual major in math and business at University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University, he says the entire Jewish community in the Kitchener-Waterloo region is planning a memorial for those impacted by Hamas’s terrorist attacks.

“I have friends who haven’t been to a Jewish-related event in a long time, or rarely associate with (Judaism on campus), but they’re going to be there,” Bazak told The Canadian Jewish News.

When it comes to the memorial, Bazak is personally prepared to help however he can. “I (recently) offered my car (to organizers) so they can (drive over) to print out posters,” he said. 

Rabbi Moishy Goldman, the director of Chabad Waterloo and the Jewish chaplain at Wilfrid Laurier University and University of Waterloo (UW), is helping organize the Waterloo memorial, along with Hillel and AEPi. “

A lot of students who just care about the whole situation have stepped up and are involved,” he told The Canadian Jewish News, adding that the event will include music, prayer and speeches. 

In order to mitigate any future issues, Goldman chose to omit details about the event’s location, such as whether it will be taking place on Laurier or UW campus.

He mentioned that Hillel and Chabad will foot the cost of security, which will include the presence of special constables, Waterloo Regional Police, and private security personnel. 

“When we hit this anniversary, the fear, the horror and the pain of what happened a year ago is going to resurface a little bit for everyone,” Goldman said. “God forbid we should spend that day all alone without an opportunity to gather.”

Students at McMaster University are establishing similar plans. 

Hayley Kupinsky, a fourth year health sciences major at McMaster University, and the co-president of Hillel McMaster, says Oct. 7 programming on her campus will extend throughout the whole week.

“We have a lot planned for the upcoming week to commemorate and mourne the lives lost,” she said, referring to a memorial planned on Oct. 6 and a community walk between local synagogues, which is in collaboration with the Hamilton Federation. 

Kupinsky also mentioned that Hillel McMaster arranged to have Shye Klein Weinstein, a survivor of the Nova music festival massacre, tell his story on campus on Oct. 10.

She said there has been no pushback from university administration. 

“We have a very good relationship with the McMaster administration and we work in close partnership with (campus) security as well, to make sure all the students are safe at our events,” she explained, noting a “heightened awareness” of what’s happening on other campuses in Canada. 

In Montreal, for instance, Students for Palestine’s Honour and Resistance (SPHR) is planning a “walkout and rally” on Oct. 7, according to an instagram post by SPHR McGill.  

“After a year we commemorate the historic breach of the colonial border wall and a year of Palestine’s heroic resistance,” says the caption, which garnered a supportive reaction including over 900 likes.  

Last month, the Students’ Society of McGill University (SSMU) Board of Directors removed the club status of SPHR McGill, after receiving a notice from the university’s president office that informed them of unlawful behaviour.

“The SSMU is a legally independent entity and its relationship with McGill University is governed by a Memorandum of Agreement,” read a September statement from the office of president Deep Saini in September.

Many universities have not yet released public statements about what will be permitted—or prohibited—on the day of Oct. 7. The administration of York University, which has seen a dramatic uptick of antisemitism and anti-Israel rhetoric over the years, sent an email to students and faculty last week.

“As we look ahead to the coming anniversary of Oct. 7, we are taking steps to honour community members grief, demonstrate compassion for one another, and find ways we can co-exist,” reads the letter, which was signed by York’s vice-president Laina Bay-Cheng, vice-provost Yvette Munro, and the dean of graduate studies Alice MacLachlan. 

The letter specifically says that vigils, demonstrations, and all types of advocacy must “respect” and “support” all community members affected by the war. 

One student at York, who chose to remain anonymous, told The Canadian Jewish News that he feels apprehensive about the anniversary day of the terrorist attacks, as he feels that the administration has not done enough to protect him.

“I wouldn’t say I feel particularly safe to voice my opinions or to wear things that might make me visibly Jewish,” he said. “I’d be met with a hostile reaction from other students.” 

Jesse Primerano, the executive director of StandWithUs Canada, an Israel advocacy organization, says that, despite campus hostility, many students are refusing to let fear hold them back. 

“People talk about a lot of fear with students, but I’ve really seen the opposite,” Primerano said. “I’ve seen a lot of bravery, courage and desire to stand up over the last year.” 

Daniel Spinner, a third-year wildlife biology and conservation major at Guelph University, believes speaking up and standing together next week is essential. 

The president of Guelph’s Student Supporting Israel (SSI), Spinner is originally from the country himself, and notes that his mother and sister and grandparents still live there. He personally knew young Israelis who have died in the past year.

But he also sees the anniversary as a time to consider its relevance to any Jewish person living in Canada.

“We’re going to talk about what we can do to promote better understanding of that horrific day.”