By: Jacques Chitayat
Ladies and gentlemen, good evening. My name is Jacques Chitayat, and I have been part of the CIJR for around 5 months. You may recognize my name from some of the articles we’ve been publishing.
I began working at the institute as a student intern this summer, as a part of the Baruch Cohen Youth Internship Program. The goal of this initiative was to find young students who supported the great cause of this institute, for them to create original content and for our readers to hear more about life on campus, especially the situation of BDS and antisemitic activity. I had just completed a Bachelor’s degree in Political Science at the University of Montreal, and I was eager to put what I had learned to good use, as well as to participate in what the CIJR has always done: combatting negative biases and lies about Israel, as well as contributing an academic analysis of Middle-Eastern, Israeli and Jewish related affairs.
This internship was an excellent introduction to the world of research and journalism. Thanks to Professor Krantz’s and Machla’s help in writing, research and editing skills, my writing style consistently improved: as time went by, I was writing better articles, delivering my arguments with more impact and efficiency. I spent the past summer in a very friendly atmosphere, where each colleague was helping out the other. What made the experience especially interesting was that I had a great deal of freedom to write about what interested me, as I was often encouraged to pitch ideas for articles. During this very enjoyable experience, the weeks went by quickly.
I returned to the institute this fall to not only to continue writing articles, but this time I was also put in charge of our student magazine, Dateline Middle East, as its editor in chief. I felt honoured by this position and I was very glad to help Jewish students in Canada express what have to say to a broad audience. If you’re on our mailing list, you must have received a copy, and if you wish to get one, we’ve got some here tonight you can pick up. Those days spent at the office stuffing envelopes were definitely worth it so that the students could be heard and read. The theme of this issue was anti-Israel activism and antisemitism at university campuses. If you’ve read some of its articles, you will have noticed that discrimination and biases against Jewish students and Israel on campus are still commonplace, unfortunately. That issue came out a month or two ago, but just these last few weeks, as you might be aware, 2 more horrible incidents already took place: in Toronto’s York University, BDS activists violently harassed Jews while shouting hateful slogans. And right now, the Students’ Society of McGill University are trying to force one of their members, to resign because of her decision to go on an organized visit to Israel. These incidents, I’m sure you’ll agree, make Dateline and the CIJR’s work as important as ever, if not even more.
This crucial work of ours is made possible thanks to you, our donors. Just as schools are crucial in forming the youth for our future, the CIJR and its students, for 31 years now, have been serving the crucial goal of defending Israel and Jewish students to ensure their future and, with your help, will continue to do so.
Thank you, and enjoy your evening.
