Hillel Ottawa fonds

Hillel Ottawa is a Jewish student association with a presence on the University of Ottawa, Carleton University, and Algonquin College campuses. The group is led by a student committee as well as a director who assists students in planning events and providing services to Jewish college and university students in Ottawa. Their mission statement is “enriching the lives of Jewish students so that they may enrich the Jewish people and the world.” Hillel Ottawa was established in 1957 when smaller groups at Carleton University and Ottawa University merged in order to better support the social, political, cultural and religious life of Jewish university students, with Rabbi Samuel M. Burnstein as its first director. In 1974, Hillel Ottawa merged with the Jewish Students Union (JSU) and changed their name to JSU-Hillel, while also incorporating different Zionist and Jewish groups in existance at both Carleton and the University of Ottawa. The organization eventually expanded to establish a presence at Algonquin College as well, and its name was changed to JSA-Hillel. As of 2008, its name was changed back to Hillel Ottawa. As of November 2022, Sasha Kathron is the director of Hillel Ottawa, Ben Stone is the Student Life Coordinator, and Austin Pelizzer is the Israel Advocacy Coordinator. Events organized by Hillel Ottawa have been varied, and included holiday celebrations, Shabbat dinners, barbeques, fashion shows, dances, lectures and conferences which have hosted guest speakers and professors, Israel advocacy events, Holocaust education, and participation in protests. In the 1970s and 1980s Hillel Ottawa joined many other organizations in showing support for Jews facing persecution in the Soviet Union by arranging lectures, organizing protests and raising money. In 2007, Hillel House opened at 284 Laurier Ave East to house Jewish students and serve as the central location for Hillel Ottawa. Hillel House functions as a gathering space for events, and is open to students for socialization and internet access.