An (Alternative) Jewish Response to the Morning After Canada Saw Red

The morning after Election Day I opened my Facebook feed to a comment from a friend and fellow parent that their son was being bullied at their Jewish Day school for their parents not voting Conservative. “They’re telling me Trudeau hates Jews and will send us away.” My nearly 11-year old daughter received similar sentiments from friends saying “Your mom is wrong. She’s going to ruin Israel”.

Political debate is a big topic in our house. Whether it’s who rules the radio in the car, or why occasionally I’m the dictator to get us out to school in the morning.  We also talk about governance from driving by Queen’s Park to discussing Parliament Hill. From who is in charge of what, to equality and respecting others here in Canada and elsewhere. We share thoughts and gut feelings about Israel. From human rights and who we live with in Israel that aren’t Jewish but also citizens, to who Palestinians are and what’s right with what they want and what’s wrong with how they go about it.

I returned to Canadian winters from Jerusalem nearly a decade ago to the initial surprise of a Conservative government that was outspoken in its support of Israel. The Jewish community cozied up to this idea like a warm fuzzy blue sweater they could wear proudly.  Over time for many of us in the community the initial warmth wore off and the sweater started to itch, for some it never fit.

But the leadership of the community wrapped itself up in blue. It abandoned almost all pretenses of multi-partisan relationships in the thrill of having a close ear at the power centre. The Conservatives tested the waters of wedge issues and divisive politics in our backyard and started a rift in the community that is now being played out not only at political debates, but on our children’s playgrounds.

The Harper government saddled up and opened its blue sweater for the Jewish community to cuddle into without question. For nearly a decade this government took its cues from the right-wing leadership in Israel to stand still, demand peace and stability while doing nothing to change the status quo on the ground for Israeli citizens both Jewish and Arab. It did little to engage Palestinian leadership or Palestinian society to consider another way or that there would be support from Canada if they did. Arguably the Canadian government gave a nod to the Netanyahu government’s attempt to create second-class citizens through the Nation State Law that triggered an election and followed suit here with such bills as C-24 and C-51. It took a page from Netanyahu’s playbook of the fear of Israeli Arab support for the Left on election day in early 2015 and translated it into wedge politics and fear mongering over the niqab, creating a maelstrom of debate over an article of religious clothing worn by some 300 Canadian women out of a population of 35 million.

Our leadership chose to get comfortable with a government driven by secrecy and division, managing power bases in different corners rather than seeing itself in service of its citizens. We were one of many communities pegged as being a single-issue constituency from a strategy perspective. The Jewish community chose optics of Israel support with grand speeches and deflection of issues on international stages whose sum was mostly diplomatic rhetoric and sabre rattling. Canada’s foreign policy legacy as a peace builder for rapprochement and trust building was kicked to the curb for cheerleading events in the Knesset. Canada is not Israel’s only ally. It does not provide it with weapons or aid packages, it does not go to bat at the table with Israel’s foes to attempt to create a better neighbourhood for the only democracy in the Middle East to live in. In great part because this government chose not to. It chose to disengage on the world stage, and so did we in making our presence heard in all Canadian political forums.

For many in the Jewish community the Conservative sweater became unwearable in the face of discomfort with Netanyahu’s policies. And yet the Jewish community leadership here sat back did little to hear or promote multi-partisan support even when it was spoken loud and clear by the NDP or Liberal Parties. It didn’t encourage us to listen when Trudeau resolutely stated #EnoughisEnough regarding BDS on Canadian campuses or that support for Israel is a moral imperative not a partisan one. When Mulcair spoke openly against BDS and made clear the party position on Palestine, the Jewish community leadership gave it a skeptical nod and no comment.

Leadership and a passion for values starts at home. As a member of the Jewish community here in Canada and as an Israeli citizen teaching my kids Jewish and democratic values it starts with what I can offer them as examples of leadership from my community and our government representatives.

I have spent the better part of three months working on the campaign of a Liberal candidate in a key Jewish riding. During that time there was little engagement or debate with others in my community on the values of the Liberal platform or what the constituents of the riding Jewish and non-Jewish needed from their representative. Instead on many occasions myself and other hard working volunteers were called Anti-Semites, my candidate was declared a traitor and the leader of the party a terrorist who consorts with Iran.

It would be easy to say that the Conservative party under Stephen Harper used his principled brand of Zionism to support Israel as much as it was about domestic advantage in a small but wealthy key constituency. It’s simple to say that Harper “hijacked” Jewish Zionist identity in Canada. However it goes much deeper into the roots of leadership of our community. We got lazy under the cozy sweater we were offered and stopped making Israel a priority at every table. Instead we curled up on the couch, drunk on support that became intertwined with whiffs of overt vitriol amongst community members and at times laden with comments that bordered on intolerance at best and racism at its worst. Many a day I felt almost bullied into silence for having the values that I hold dear both living in Canada and Israel.

We can and must do better. As a Jewish community we have benefitted and thrived in an open, multicultural and democratic society. As a community we have a responsibility to put Israel’s interests at the forefront of our political involvement with the government of the day like any interest group in Canada. But just as we need to station our interests firmly in the political playground that is Canadian politics we need to do it with the understanding that the more groups we engage with the stronger our voice can be heard. We have to talk but we also have to listen. We are a community embedded in strong values of equality, diversity, empathy, compassion and respectable debate. We are a people whose values include rising to the call to action and pursuing ways of peace. These are Canadian values too.

The fuzzy blue sweater didn’t fit me or many others in our community.  It’s up to us not to bemoan the change of government but rise to the opportunity to be “rodfei shalom”  רודפי שלום (pursuers of peace) for the land that holds our hearts in the East from here in the true North. It’s up to us set an example of integrity for our community and for our children of what leadership and advocacy is and what we can do when empowered for the greater good.