Teen activist Hannah Alper is tackling a new challenge: campus antisemitism

Hannah Alper, teenage activist, recently turned 18 and is ready for a new challenge. (Hannah Alper/Twitter)
Hannah Alper, teenage activist, recently turned 18 and is ready for a new challenge. (Hannah Alper/Twitter)

Since she was nine years old, Hannah Alper has been blogging and speaking all over the world about climate change, clean drinking water, education, homelessness and discrimination against Black and Indigenous communities. She’s interviewed Malala Yousafzai, travelled to Africa three times, written a book and been the subject of a documentary in 2020, CitizenKid: Earth Comes First.

Now 18, Alper will soon be facing a new challenge: university.

This month, she starts school at the University of Western Ontario, where she’s expecting to face antisemitism on campus, including calls to boycott Israel, and pro-BDS resolutions by some student groups.

But she’s coming to campus prepared. On today’s episode, Alper explains how she spent the summer developing skills to bring her Jewish pride and positivity to the tense world of Middle Eastern campus politics.

What we talked about:

The CJN Daily is written and hosted by Ellin Bessner (@ebessner on Twitter). Victoria Redden is the producer. Michael Fraiman is the executive producer. Our theme music is by Dov Beck-Levine. Our title sponsor is Metropia. We’re a member of The CJN Podcast Network; find more great Jewish podcasts at thecjn.ca.