Members and supporters of social justice group Independent Jewish Voices Vancouver (IJV) gathered in front of Hillel House and in the Nest to protest the inclusion of an Israeli Defense Force (IDF) soldier at a Hillel BC event on Monday.
The January 15 event, titled “Voices from the Frontlines: An Exclusive Israel Update and Insights from the Ground,” featured Adin Mauer, a UBC student who re-enrolled in the IDF after Hamas’ October 7 attack, as speaker.
Amy, a UBC alum and one of the organizers of the protest, said IJV organized to advocate for Palestine and call attention to Hillel’s decision to host an event on campus with an IDF soldier as a guest.
“We want to show that there are Jewish students, Palestinian students, all other students who are in opposition to space on campus platforming, an IDF soldier, especially at this particular moment.”
Since October 7, there have been several protests on campus calling for a ceasefire in Gaza, demanding more action from Canada and criticizing the civilian death toll of the IDF's ground invasion.
Amy said some Jewish students and faculty were turned away from the entrance of Hillel House due to not having attended previous Hillel events. IJV shared a video on Instagram showing a Hillel staff member asking for the names of individuals trying to enter Hillel House for the event.
Rob Philipp, executive director at Hillel BC, wrote the event was “an educational event at the UBC Hillel House today, intended for its students” in a statement to The Ubyssey on Monday.
“In collaboration with Campus Security and the RCMP, we made the difficult decision to limit access for safety reasons. Despite our efforts, a few protestors managed to enter and disrupt the session, necessitating their removal by security,” wrote Philipp.
The Ubyssey spoke to a Jewish graduate student affiliated with IJV who was allowed into Hillel House due to previously attending religious events held by Hillel.
As Mauer began speaking, she said she stood up and held a banner with an anti-IDF message.
“I had a banner that said Jews against the IDF and I introduced myself. I said that I was Jewish, that I have family in Israel and I worried about their safety every day, but I condemned the actions of the army killing over nearly 30,000 Palestinian civilians.”
Amy and the graduate student's full names have not been published at their request for their safety.
She said she was disappointed with Hillel for refusing to acknowledge the diversity in the Jewish community at UBC.
“[There] hasn't been any other recognition that there are so many Jews and people on campus who don't agree with the IDF actions in Gaza, and they want there to be a ceasefire, and we just don't have any space for our voices to be represented.”
Amy echoed this sentiment, saying “[Hillel] don't have a monopoly on the Jewish voice, and they can't leverage our past history of genocide attempted against Jews to justify genocide against Palestinians.”
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