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August 27, 2004
Refuge for Jews at SFU
Build it and they will come, says director of Hillel.
PAT JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
As Simon Fraser University has emerged to become one of Canada's
hotbeds of anti-Israel activism, Jewish students on campus have
struggled to provide balance and dispel an atmosphere that some
say has bordered on anti-Semitic.
But students have done so at a disadvantage, because SFU is one
of the few major campuses in Canada that does not have a permanent
Hillel space. Jewish students at SFU have been served by the staff
and resources of Vancouver Hillel, which is located at the University
of British Columbia campus.
"There's no doubt that the situation at SFU is dire in the
sense of both anti-Israel and anti-Semitic perceptions," said
Eyal Lichtmann, director of Hillel Vancouver. "The situation
that occurred with Ya'acov Brosh, the Israeli consul-general, was
a perfect example of that, where anti-Israel groups were capable
of shutting him down."
The Israeli diplomat was prevented from speaking on the campus earlier
this year by a group of anti-Israel activists who chanted over his
attempted speech, in a confrontation that raised questions about
free expression.
Now, in a major effort to provide a refuge for Jewish students on
the Burnaby Mountain campus, Hillel is undertaking a rapid fund-raising
effort to secure a permanent space for the Jewish student group.
An opportunity arose in a new building on campus and Hillel's board
voted recently to attempt to raise the funds necessary to secure
a permanent space.
"Between now and the beginning of September, our objective
is to raise enough to support a full-time site at SFU," said
Lichtmann, who believes that a permanent space will have a monumental
effect.
"The current situation at SFU is that we've being reactive
rather than proactive because we haven't had resources," he
said. "We haven't had a place where students can obtain resources
with which to counteract propaganda, anti-Israel programming on
campus."
Lichtmann contrasts that situation with what he views as far greater
success at UBC over the same couple of years since the Middle East
conflict erupted and North American campuses became a frontline
in pro- and anti-Israel activism. "The situation at UBC is,
because we have a Hillel house, we've been able to take control
of the agenda," he said. At the beginning of the current conflict,
Hillel was caught off guard, he acknowledged, but quickly got its
bearings and took control of the agenda on campus.
"We're setting the pace of the programming on campus as it
relates to Israel and the [anti-Israel] groups are reacting to us,
at UBC, as opposed to us reacting to them."
An important part of that, he said, is having a place to meet, plan,
organize and just rejuvenate among friends for the work ahead. At
present, Hillel members at SFU share a multifaith space with student
religious groups and has only a couple of hours of exclusive use
each week.
"By having a full-time site, we're able to provide full-time
assistance, a meeting place, an organizing place," Lichtmann
said. "It's a haven for students."
If a similar facility were on campus at SFU, he contends, the impact
would be enormous.
"We believe that we can double or triple the involvement of
Jewish students on campus at SFU if we have a site," he said,
noting that there are about 75 to 100 students involved in Hillel
at SFU now. "In other words, build it and they will come."
Despite his optimism and the vote by the board to go ahead, Lichtmann
stressed that obtaining a permanent site for Hillel at SFU is not
a fait accompli.
"We are in the process of reaching out to the community for
support financially," Lichtmann said. "It's a large undertaking,
but it's an important part of Jewish continuity."
Hillel provides a Jewish environment for students, usually, as in
the case of UBC, providing holiday observances, Shabbat programs,
social events, lunch programs, formal and informal education, leadership
development and many other social and educational services. Hillel
is also a place for Jewish students and their friends to hang out
and socialize in a Jewish environment. Since the advent of the latest
surge in anti-Israel activism, Hillels across Canada, the United
States and Europe have increasingly found themselves pushed into
the role of presenting Israel's case on campus.
Pat Johnson is a Vancouver journalist and commentator.
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