"Taking Action Against Rising Antisemitism"

Shabbat Message from CEO Ezra S. Shanken
 

We have all felt the rising of antisemitism for a while now, but this week it has a hit a new high—or low. But we aren’t silent and we aren’t cowed. We are taking action, and so can you.

Israel at the Hague.

While Israel is at the International Court of Justice at the Hague, defending itself from libelous accusations of genocide brought by South Africa, anti-Israel protestors have gathered outside to call for a violent uprising that many interpret as a call to murder the Jewish people. All of this when the world knows that Hamas has enshrined the annihilation of Israel and Jews in their founding charter.

The irony is as astonishing as it is dangerous. Leader of the Official Opposition, Pierre Poilievre noted the hypocrisy in his statement. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Trudeau stated that Canada does not support the "premise of the case brought forward by South Africa." Read on to see how you can ask the Canadian government to take a stronger stance. 

There is a lot to unpack with this court case, and a lot yet to unfold. For a good summary of the situation, click here. And remember the words of Rosalie Abella, former Justice of the Supreme Court of Canada: “It is legal absurdity to suggest that a country that is defending itself from genocide is thereby guilty of genocide.” 

I also urge you to read and share Irwin Cotler’s piece in the National Post, in which he wrote the following:

Since Oct. 7, Hamas leaders have continued to proudly declare their genocidal intentions, with senior Hamas official Ghazi Hamad pledging to commit the Oct. 7 atrocities “again and again.”

South Africa’s ICJ application inverts this reality, placing Israel — for its response to the Oct. 7 invasion, which genocide scholars have found to have likely constituted genocide — in the docket of the accused.

This is not to suggest, or to have it inferred, that what is happening in Gaza is not a human and humanitarian tragedy. Innocent Gazans have been killed, displaced and deprived, and have experienced terrible suffering.

Thank you for taking action.

Many of you joined thousands of Jews and allies across the country in sending a letter to Minister Joly as part of CIJA’s action alert. Your voice matters. Thank you for making your views known.

Now, let’s talk about The Runner.

That’s the play that was canceled by the Belfry Theatre in Victoria, rebooked by the PuSh Festival in Vancouver, and that we encouraged you to support. As you may already know, the PuSh Festival has now refused to let the play run.

Our community is extremely concerned about this. Many of you have taken action, and so have we. At no time have we asked for the play by Palestinian artist, Basel Zaraa, to be canceled—despite his vitriolic claims of “Israel’s genocide in Gaza”, and “Israel’s occupation, apartheid and ethnic cleansing of the Palestinian people.” We simply wanted equal treatment for a play featuring an Israeli character. Yet that request fell on deaf ears.

Read the letter that our board chair, Lana Marks Pulver, and I sent to the PuSh Festival. I hope you will reach out to them and voice your concerns, too. Click here to send them an email.

Nico Slobinsky, VP, pacific region, at our advocacy agent, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, has been working on this (and numerous other urgent advocacy issues) and I want to thank him for his leadership. You can read CIJA’s full media release on this here.

This week, we also talked with leaders from our partnership region.

This mifgash was a chance to talk together on Zoom and these kinds of people-to-people connections are at the heart of our partnership. It was a chance to feel like family, despite how far away we are from each other.

The Upper Galilee has been evacuated for weeks, with thousands upon thousands of people displaced and scattered across the country. Imagine living with your entire family in one hotel room for weeks on end. Mental health issues are starting to become a very serious issue. At the same time, there are concerns about community resilience, border security, and how the region will prepare so they are ready to welcome people back when the time comes.

In typical Israeli fashion, they said, “But we take it one day at a time... and it could be worse.” In typical Canadian fashion, we reminded them that we will always be here for them, whatever the future looks like.

We want to close this week’s message with a reminder from our community’s rabbis

They shared these very wise words a few weeks ago:

As we confront the reality of this “oldest hatred”, we must, as a community, rise above the violence and vitriol. We must not be brought down to the level of haters.... We must strive to be better than the very thing that we are standing against.  

Shabbat shalom.

Ezra S. Shanken

CEO, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver