A student-based Israel advocacy club hosted prominent LGBTQ+ motivational speaker and former Israel Defence Force (IDF) officer Hen Mazzig at an event on March 27.
The event, called “Israel: Queer Jew of Colour and ex IDF commander,” took place at U of O’s campus, hosted by Israel on Campus (IoC), a group run by students from Carleton and the University of Ottawa (U of O).
Gershon Tsirulnikov, vice-president (campus events) for IoC, said the event was a year in the making.
“This event is one I have been working on organizing all year. I have had the opportunity to make it happen as a fellow for the Committee for Accuracy in Middle Eastern Reporting in America (CAMERA),” Tsirulnikov said. “There have been ups and downs while putting this together, but CAMERA has graciously provided resources and support to make it happen.”
At the event, Mazzig spoke about his experiences as a gay commander with the IDF, and answered questions from the audience about the Palestine-Israel conflict.
He said he first saw the conflict closely when he was 12 years old and on his way to get ice cream, when he witnessed a bomb kill a grandmother and granddaughter.
“I knew then that I wanted to do everything I could to stop this conflict,” Mazzig told the audience.
Mazzig shared anecdotes about his service and involvement in building hospitals, roads and infrastructure for the Palestinian peoples. He also shared lighthearted stories about the intersection of his love life and military service.
“I liked that he was very open about his experiences and was able to give both perspectives,” said Simone Bardonner, a third-year political science and international relations student at Carleton.
“I thought it was great that he brought in his LGBTQ+ lens,” Bardonner said. “I’m gay, so that’s really important to me.”
Sam Goodman, a fourth-year journalism and women and gender studies student at Carleton who assisted in arranging Mazzig’s talk, said she thinks the talk went well.
“He brought up some interesting points while delivering answers I hadn’t heard before,” Goodman said.
But, Goodman said she wished there were more diverse voices in the crowd.
“I would have loved if there were anti-Israel people here to spark a more challenging discussion, but not as a distraction,” Goodman said. “There are a lot of impressionable students here.”
Tsirulnikov said he considered the event a success since it aligns with IoC’s pro-dialogue and pro-peace messaging and values.
“After this event, I hope that people take away that there is much more to Israel and the Middle East than what is generally seen in popular media and other sources of information,” Tsirulnikov said.
Photo by Tim Austen
