Hillel launches new counter groups on campus

Jewish student group Hillel is planning to start a new pro-Israel group at Concordia this winter.
Organizers said the Israel Advocacy Council is being created in response to what they see as a hostile atmosphere towards Israel at Concordia.
“A lot of students are fed up with the groups out there demonizing Israel,” said Mitch Sohmer. “Especially when this sort of criticism is coming from those groups that are supposed to have broader social mandates.”
Sohmer said there was a high demand for the group. “A lot of students have approached us, wondering what we are doing to fight the spread of misinformation on campus.”
Although Mick Mendelsohn, program coordinator for Hillel Concordia, named Tadamon and Quebec Public Interest Research Group (QPIRG) as examples of anti-Israel groups on campus, he said the Council isn’t being created to silence these groups. “I don’t think we want to attack anyone,” he said. “They have a right to their voices, to the use of them.”
Nathalie Cohen, a staff member at QPIRG Concordia, said there needs to be more debate on campus. “I think that one of the exciting things about a campus and a university is that there’s all sorts of dialogue that goes on. That’s sort of important for the culture of a campus,” she said.
“The debate around Israel and Palestine and all of that should be a dialogue. Concordia as a university has put a lot of emphasis on trying to shut that down at times and I think it can be a dialogue that students can engage in.”
Concordia has had a history of conflict between pro-Palestinian and pro-Israel groups on campus, culminating in a 2003 riot that prompted the cancellation of a speech by former Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the banning of debate on the issue by Concordia administration.
Hillel was also banned on campus by the CSU in 2001after they were accused of recruiting for the Israeli army.
CSU VP communications Elie Chivi said he had not heard about the new group and could not comment on the specifics. But he said CSU’s approach would be very different now than in 2001.
“That was seven years ago,” he said. “The CSU seven years ago had a mandate to be directly involved in world politics and students decided that it’s not the direction they wanted their union to go in.”
But Mendelsohn said he’s not trying to create conflict. “If you ask me, I wouldn’t say we’re trying to re-ignite a conflict on campus. We’re not going to be igniting anything, because there are already loud voices spreading their opinions on campus. This group is designed to give a voice to students, and the alternative, of not saying anything out of fear, is unacceptable.”
“I think it makes senses that Hillel is doing that,” said Cohen, “and I hope it does produce dialogue and debate again at Concordia. I think it’s important for all sides of the debate to speak on it too.”
Administration officials said they had not heard of the new group and could not yet comment.