National – Page 3

McGill calls for participants

Sun tans are actually a response to DNA damage. (photo from pexels.com)

Skin cancer is the most common cancer worldwide. To better understand sun safety behaviour and attitudes in the Jewish community, a research group from McGill is conducting a survey. And they are asking community members to take part.

More than 360 participants have responded so far, with the majority being from Quebec (60%) and

Ontario (35%). Most respondents identified as Jewish by both religion and ethnicity (80%), and many identified as Conservative (40%) or Orthodox (20%); 70% are of Ashkenazi background; and 55% are mothers.

Sun exposure and tanning

Ninety percent of participants reported experiencing a sunburn at some point in their lives, and nearly half have had a sunburn that blistered. Seventy percent of respondents travel to sunnier climates for more than one week each year, primarily to the United States (65%).

Seventy-five percent reported having a tan in the last 12 months, and 70% believe they look healthier or more attractive with a tan. Forty-five percent intentionally spend time in the sun on vacation or use tanning beds, while only 17% report never tanning.

A health concern

Six percent of respondents reported being previously diagnosed with skin cancer, while 30% reported having an immediate family member who has had skin cancer.

Only 6% of respondents always wear a sun protective hat, while nearly 50% rarely or never do. Despite moderate sun exposure, only a small percentage take consistent sun safety precautions. Additionally, 70% of participants report that skin cancer has never been discussed as a health concern within the Jewish community.

Why this matters

These findings highlight a critical gap in skin cancer awareness and prevention. Sunburns, especially those that blister, significantly increase the risk of melanoma, the deadliest form of skin cancer. Given that 80% of respondents describe their natural skin colour as light, it is essential for the Jewish community to prioritize sun protection.

Skin cancer prevention should be part of ongoing conversations in our community. Encouraging discussions in synagogues, schools and community groups can help raise awareness. Daily sun protection, including the use of sunscreen, hats, sunglasses and shade should become routine practice. It is also important to challenge the misconception that a tan is a sign of good health, as tanning is actually a response to DNA damage.

How dangerous is melanoma?

In 2024, it is estimated that 11,300 Canadians were diagnosed with melanoma, and melanoma incidence in Canada is continuing to increase in men and women at a fast pace. It is often the sunburns in our 20s that lead to melanoma in our 60s and 70s. As people live longer, take more vacations in sunny destinations and are affected by climate change, we expect to see more cases of melanoma in the future unless we take action now.

To take the survey, go to portal.rimuhc.ca/cim/redcap/surveys, and use the code HA8CC7C9Y. By responding, you could win a $200 gift-card.

Any questions about the survey or the study can be emailed to medical student Raquel Lazarowitz at raquel.lazarowitz@mail.mcgill.ca, dermatology resident Dr. Santina Conte at santina.conte@mail.mcgill.ca, or study director Dr. Ivan Litvinov, McGill University’s division of dermatology, at ivan.litvinov@mcgill.ca.

– Courtesy McGill University

Visiting the Nova Exhibition

The Nova Exhibition commemorates the massacre at the Nova music festival on Oct. 7, 2023. The exhibit is in Toronto until June 8. (photo by Lorraine Katzin)

My friend Karen Shalansky and I, from Congregation Har El, went on a Jewish National Fund tour to Israel in April 2024, traveling with some congregants from Congregation Beth Israel. We were based in Tel Aviv but drove to the south to see the Nova Festival Memorial and the car cemetery. (See jewishindependent.ca/reflections-on-april-mission.)

When I heard of the Nova Exhibition, which had been traveling to New York, Los Angeles and then Miami, I Googled to see if it was going to be in Toronto. While we live in Vancouver, my husband and I were going to be heading to Toronto for our granddaughter’s Grade 1 siddur celebration. I was able to purchase tickets to the exhibition for May 6, during the time we (and our daughter) were going to be in the city.

Normally, when we go to Toronto, we attend Saturday morning services at our son’s synagogue, the Village Shul. It just so happened that, on the Shabbat of our visit, the guest speaker was Ophir Amir, one of the founders of the Nova music festival and one of the producers of the Nova Exhibition. Amir was shot in both legs by Hamas terrorists on Oct. 7, 2023. He survived, but so many of his friends did not. He shared: “While I was hiding from the terrorists, I thought about my wife, who was pregnant, and that’s what saved me.”

photo - bulldozer footage from Nova Exhibition — *(photo by Lorraine Katzin)*

The Nova Exhibition tells the stories of the victims and helps this community begin to heal – we will dance again.

The first part of the exhibit is a movie. It shows people having fun, enjoying life, singing and dancing, until 6:29 a.m. on Oct. 7, when the music stops and security starts shouting “Red alert! Tzeva adom!” as they could see the rockets flying over Israel. They tell everyone to go home. The movie ends.

We were then led to another room for a reenactment of what came next. There were different TV screens showing how the Hamas terrorists came through the fence, the continuous firing of their weapons, the continuous shouting of “Allah Akbar!”

The next area is filled with belongings from the festival, which include tents, sleeping bags, chairs, clothes, snacks, trees, the market, featuring various items, portable toilets, the bar, freezer chests, burnt-out cars, shelters, and more. By each display there is a TV screen with a survivor telling their story. One young girl lost 15 friends, another young man lost more than 40 friends, a mother lost two of her daughters. Many different stories of loss, as well as stories of heroism.

On one wall of the exhibit are photos of the Nova hostages still held in captivity by Hamas. On another wall are photos of all the people at the Nova festival who were murdered on Oct. 7 – as well as their hats, shoes, other clothing and knickknacks.

photo - knocked over Coca-Cola machines from Nova music festival — *(photo by Lorraine Katzin)*

As you walk through the exhibit, it shows how the larger community is helping with the psychological trauma, the grieving process, the bereavement, the difficulties of survivors to function day-to-day. All the proceeds from the exhibition are dedicated to helping heal and rehabilitate survivors, commemorate those who were lost, and support the bereaved families.

We spent two-and-a-half hours walking around and reading testimonies. We came out emotionally drained. Our Israeli brethren are resilient, they have ruach, spirit, and they are dancing again.

The Nova Exhibition runs until June 8 at 1381 Castlefield Ave., in Toronto. For more information, visit novaexhibition.com.

Images from the exhibition:

photo - knocked over and shot up portable toilets from Nova music festival — *(photo by Lorraine Katzin)*

photo - memorial wall at Nova Exhibition — *(photo by Lorraine Katzin)*

photo - shot and burnt cars from Nova musica festival — *(photo by Lorraine Katzin)*

photo - wall of those murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, 2023 — (photo by Lorraine Katzin)

Amid the rescuers, resisters

A nationwide Upstanders Canada keynote lecture to mark Yom Hashoah (Holocaust Remembrance Day) last month reminded the Zoom audience that the belief that Jews simply cowered, while the atrocities around them were being committed during the Second World War, is erroneous.

“The idea of Jewish passivity is part of the narrative, but it is not the truth. Jews, individually and collectively, engaged in acts of resistance and rescue,” said Pat Johnson, founder of Upstanders Canada, at the start of the event.

That people should know this fact “is crucial,” said Johnson, “because it corrects a flawed narrative. It is crucial additionally, not only for Jews but for every person and every people in the world, to see the potential for resistance and courage against authoritarianism hatred and inhumanity.”

The April 27 event, titled Jews Who Rescued Jews During the Holocaust, was presented by Rinat Dushansky-Werbner. She was introduced by Moshe Gromb, author of a 15-volume series with the same title, which Dushansky-Werbner and Pnina Jacobi-Yahid translated into English from Hebrew. In her talk, Dushansky-Werbner, a member of the Action Committee for Recognizing Jews Who Rescued Jews During the Holocaust, highlighted several Jewish heroes during the Shoah – their names not widely known.

“There were operations inside the death camps. There were people smuggling people across borders. They were hiding children in monasteries. They were falsifying documents,” Dushansky-Werbner said.

“The Jews were very, very creative, and tried to think of any possible way to save their brethren. Sadly, many of these Jewish rescuers were caught and murdered by the Nazis. Even though they could have escaped and saved themselves,” she said, “most of them decided not to do so. [They] decided to stand where they are, and try and rescue as many people as possible.”

The people discussed represented a range of backgrounds, ages, geographic locations and levels of religious observance, and were but examples from a much larger number of Jews who took on tremendous risks and used remarkable ingenuity to rescue other Jews during the Holocaust. Thus far, Dushansky-Werbner’s action committee has collected information on more than 2,500 Jewish rescuers and documented more than 50 rescue methods.

Many of the Jewish rescuers, Dushansky-Werbner said, did not see themselves as great heroes, but rather as people who did what they were compelled to do, and saddened they could not do more.

“There is something very humble about these people,” she said.

Jews rescued other Jews wherever the Germans operated – throughout Europe, North Africa and even the Philippines – and their operations began once the Nazis rose to power and continued throughout and after the war. Often, their operations involved collaborations with non-Jews.

In Belarus, four brothers named Bielski – Tuvia, Zus (Alexander Zeisal), Asael and Aron – founded a partisan unit, a wandering communal rescue army, that established a family camp in the Naliboki Forest. The camp operated for more than two years during the war, moving occasionally from place to place in the forest, and included a synagogue, a school, a courthouse, a clinic, an armoury and more. It is estimated that the Bielski brothers rescued 1,236 Jews in what became known as the “Jerusalem of the Forests.” Their story is among the more celebrated of Jewish rescuers and was turned into a 2008 film, Defiance, starring Daniel Craig.

In France, the Loinger family, led by George, who passed away in 2018 at the age of 108, smuggled hundreds of Jewish children across the border to Switzerland, while his wife, Flora, managed the houses in which they hid Jewish children.

George would play soccer with the children. When the ball flew over to the other side of the border, one or two children would be sent to safety to the other side without the local guard noticing, Dushansky-Werbner explained.

George’s sisters also helped. Fanny hid children in monasteries; Emme prepared abandoned monasteries for Jewish orphans and ran one of the children’s houses; the youngest, Ivette, 13, rode with Jewish children on trains, hiding their money and keeping them calm during the journey.

French pantomime Marcel Marceau and his brother Alain – who were George’s cousins – forged papers for Jews on the run and helped George smuggle Jewish children out of France.

“Marcel would help keep them calm and would just basically be the clown. He would be like a mother, a father, a brother, and he would make them laugh. And this is how many of them stayed calm and agreed to go from one place to another,” said Dushansky-Werbner, who went on to share another story of heroism.

In Volos, Greece, Rabbi Moshe Shimon Pesach was ordered by a German commander to draw up a list of all the Jews in the city. He turned to his friend, Metropolitan Joachim Alexopoulos, who recommended the Jews leave the city immediately.

At the age of 74, the rabbi gathered the members of the community and led them to the hills surrounding Volos with the help of the metropolitan and the city’s mayor, and hid them in homes and other buildings. This effort would save 746 of the 882 Jews in Volos.

Dushansky-Werbner ended her talk with the words of Marion Pritchard, a non-Jew who rescued Jews in the Netherlands: “If we do not acknowledge the bravery of those Jewish rescuers who, if caught, were in graver danger than the Righteous Among Nations, that would be a distortion of Holocaust history. It also adds to the false notion that the Jews were led like lambs to the slaughter as cowards. This is far from the truth,” said Pritchard.

Upstanders Canada is a national organization that seeks to mobilize primarily non-Jewish Canadians to stand with the Jewish people and against antisemitism. For more information, visit upstanderscanada.com.

Sam Margolis has written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.

Jewish MPs headed to Parliament

Tamara Kronis was elected in the Vancouver Island riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmith. (photo from rossmcbride.com)

Conservative candidate Tamara Kronis was elected in the Vancouver Island riding of Nanaimo-Ladysmith, making her one of a small number of Jewish members of the new Parliament following the April 28 federal election.

With just over 35% of the vote on her second try for the riding, Kronis defeated second-place Liberal Michelle Corfield by about 5,500 votes. Incumbent New Democrat Lisa Marie Barron came third, ahead of Green party candidate and former MP Paul Manly, who Barron defeated in 2021. It was a rare – possibly unique – four-way rematch.

The Kronis campaign did not make the candidate available to the Independent during the campaign, saying she was focused on local voters and, by press time for this issue, had not responded to a request for an interview.

In Richmond East-Steveston, community member and Conservative candidate Zach Segal lost narrowly to Liberal incumbent Parm Bains.

In Vancouver Centre, the high profile of New Democrat Avi Lewis did not translate into victory as he took less than 13% of the votes while Liberal Hedy Fry won her 11th consecutive victory in the downtown riding.

In Vancouver Quadra, a district with a comparatively sizeable Jewish community, Liberal Wade Grant swept into office with 63% of the vote over second-place Conservative Ken Charko.

Across the country, several Jewish incumbents were returned to office. In Manitoba, Liberal Ben Carr, in Winnipeg South Centre, took more than 63% of votes cast there.

New Democrat Leah Gazan, in Winnipeg Centre, won with about 40% of the vote, holding her party’s only remaining seat in the province – and one of only seven ridings for the NDP in the country. The Canadian Jewish News reports that Gazan is the daughter of a Dutch Holocaust survivor and a Chinese and Indigenous mother.

Also in Manitoba, Conservative incumbent Marty Morantz, who spoke out about antisemitism on the campaign, lost his bid for reelection in Winnipeg West.

In Ontario, the Conservative party’s deputy leader Melissa Lantsman swept the riding of Thornhill with 66% of the votes.

Anthony Housefather, the incumbent Liberal MP for the Quebec riding of Mount Royal, who had publicly considered abandoning the party over the government’s position toward Israel, won just over half the votes in the traditional Liberal stronghold after a concerted effort by the Conservatives to topple him.

Key Passover imports exempt

Tal Kinstlich and Stephanie Schneider, the owners of Vancouver’s Kosher Food Warehouse. (photo from Kosher Food Warehouse)

Canada is exempting key imported Passover foods from the current diplomatic trade war with the United States. The ministry of finance sent The CJN a list of kosher-for-Passover products imported from the United States, which are going to be allowed into Canada without being hit by the extra 25% retaliatory import tariffs that Ottawa began imposing on March 4.

The list includes matzah and related matzah products, cake mixes, chocolate, margarine, most juices (but not apple), gefilte fish, and canned fruit and vegetables. However, US exports of nuts, spices, dairy, wine, coffee, chicken and meat products are not exempt.

The development comes after Canada’s biggest kosher food importer recently predicted that the on-again-off-again tariff dispute would rocket prices for imported kosher-for-Passover food by up to 60%. Canadian Jewish leaders have been lobbying Ottawa to give relief to the country’s Jewish community as it heads into the holiday season.

While the news will likely bring a sigh of relief to consumers, it is only a temporary reprieve: it covers only Passover foods and runs only until the end of Passover.

For more on how these food tariffs are impacting Canadian kosher food stores and suppliers across Canada, and what advice they have for you, listen to the episode of The CJN Daily that features the owners of Vancouver’s Kosher Food Warehouse, Tal Kinstlich and Stephanie Schneider. Jack Hartstein also joins: he’s the vice-president of Montreal-based Altra Foods, the largest importer of kosher foods in Canada. The link is thecjn.ca/podcasts/key-passover-imports-will-be-exempt-from-tariff-war-with-u-s-ottawa-confirms.

– For more national Jewish news, visit thecjn.ca

Na’amat – 100 years of service

From 1925 to today, Na’amat volunteers across Canada and the United States continue to empower women and children in Israel and abroad. (photo from Na’amat Canada)

At a time when charities are fighting to survive, an organization that’s been helping women and children in Israel and North America is celebrating its 100th anniversary.

Na’amat Canada and Na’amat USA, which began as a North American chapter in 1925, will mark the centenary at a gala conference in Toronto in May with delegates from across Canada and the United States.

“It’s a huge deal. It’s a milestone,” said Vivian Reisler, executive vice-president of Na’amat Canada. “We’ve come a long way from Golda Meir sending a message that we need $100 to build X, Y, Z.”

The forerunner of Na’amat was founded in 1921, in what would later become the modern state of Israel, to empower women, including providing vocational training and advocating for improved working conditions and equal pay.

Four years later, a North American branch was born and Na’amat chapters were formed across Canada and the United States over the ensuing decades. Today, thousands of volunteers are continuing to empower women and children in Israel and abroad.

“The success of the organization is due to the dedication of the members, volunteers and donors – because, without them, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” said Reisler.

Na’amat Canada president Susan Inhaber, a member of the organization for 25 years, agrees.

“We just want to keep building, get our name out there, build the membership and thank all the donors, supporters and members who are making everything possible,” she said. “This is an exciting time for us to be together. It’s nice that we have an organization that’s lasted so long.”

While the North American branch of Na’amat (a Hebrew acronym for “Movement of Working Women and Volunteers”) began in 1925, Na’amat Canada and Na’amat USA became two autonomous divisions in 1965.

“We were together, we split, and now we’re back together (informally, at the Toronto conference) celebrating 100 years,” said Reisler.

Na’amat is the largest women’s organization in Israel. It provides a wide variety of services, including a daycare network for thousands of children, legal aid centres, technological high schools for students who have trouble succeeding in other classroom settings, boarding schools for underprivileged students, and the Na’amat Canada Glickman Centre for Family Violence Prevention.

photo - Na’amat Canada members at the Glickman Centre for Family Violence Prevention — Na’amat Canada members at the Glickman Centre for Family Violence Prevention. *(photo from Na’amat Canada)*

Established in 1993 in Tel Aviv, the Glickman Centre was the first women’s shelter in Israel. It has three distinct sections: the shelter, a counseling and treatment area, and the Rhodie Blanshay Benaroch Children’s Centre wing, a haven for children living in the shelter.

The Rhodie Blanshay Benaroch Children’s Centre houses a computer room, baby nursery, kindergarten, audiovisual education corner, library, learning centre and outdoor playground, named in honour of Rhodie’s granddaughter, Rho Schneiderman. A musical playground was built in honour of Rhodie’s two granddaughters. Blanshay Benaroch was a dynamic third-generation Na’amat member who was committed to building a safe, loving environment for children who needed it most.

Recently, Na’amat Canada was instrumental in building a new middle school at Kanot Youth Village. More than 300 students will now have a state-of-the-art school to enhance their education.

In the aftermath of the Israel-Hamas war, Israel needs Na’amat’s help as much – or even more – than it did a century ago, said Doris Wexler-Charow, past national president of Na’amat Canada.

“I think that Oct. 7 changed everything,” she said of the deadliest attack against Jews since the Holocaust.

Everyone in Israel is suffering from PTSD, said Wexler-Charow, a retired social worker. “Everybody’s been traumatized,” she said, explaining that Na’amat is providing more counseling services than ever. “Israel needs us. It’s important for us to keep going. The cause is a good one and I think we need our young people to continue where we leave off.”

– Courtesy Na’amat Canada

Flights to Israel resume

With Air Canada’s announcement of the resumption of flights from Toronto and Montreal to Tel Aviv, it will be much faster for Canadians to fly to Israel. But will it be cheaper?

The Canadian national carrier is set to resume its routes to Tel Aviv on June 8 with four weekly flights between Pearson International Airport and Ben-Gurion Airport. From August, it will fly from YUL Montréal-Trudeau International Airport once weekly.

Since 2022, when El Al Israel Airlines halted its flights to Canada, there have been no direct flights between Toronto or Montreal and Tel Aviv. Air Canada suspended its Israel operations following Hamas’s Oct. 7, 2023, terror attack on Israel. It resumed services just before the Iranian missile attack on Israel on April 13, 2024, then again suspended flights, repeatedly extending the suspension, until announcing that flights would not be resumed until further notice.

“We are looking forward to booking direct non-stop flights from Toronto and Montreal again,” said Toby Soil of Toronto’s Peerless Travel. “During these very difficult times, we were booking flights from New York with El Al, which did an excellent job, or booking flights with Air Canada, El Al and other European airlines through Europe with a stop-over.”

Air Canada has undertaken an extensive safety analysis, which will continue leading up to and after June 8, said Soil. The airline will continue to monitor the situation in the region and adjust its schedule accordingly, including future service increases as warranted. Prices will depend on availability, class of service and season, she explained.

Other North American carriers that have announced they are resuming flying on the Tel Aviv-New York route include United Airlines, which scheduled flights beginning on March 15, and Delta Airlines, on April 1. Delta had ceased flying to Israel at the end of July 2024.

Air India resumed its long-haul flight services from Delhi and Mumbai to Tel Aviv on March 2. Similarly, China’s Hainan Airlines will resume twice weekly direct flights between Tel Aviv and Beijing starting April 10.

European airlines that have recently announced the resumption of flights to and from Israel include Air France, which resumed flying to Ben-Gurion Airport on Jan. 25; Iberia, which will start on April 1; Air Baltic, on April 2; and KLM and EasyJet both beginning on June 1.

By the summer peak season, three North American airlines will be operating flights to Israel after months in which only El Al scheduled direct flights between Tel Aviv and New York. That near-monopoly allowed El Al to raise its fares. Last November, the airline posted record quarterly profit and revenue. The Israeli airline drew criticism from customers in Israel and abroad for alleged price-gouging.

David J. Rotfleisch is a Toronto lawyer who made aliyah two-and-a-half years ago and now lives in Jerusalem, but commutes regularly to Canada.

“In October 2022, the month after I made aliyah, El Al stopped flying directly to Tel Aviv from Canada,” he said. “That left Air Canada as the only option for a direct flight. Post-October 2023, Air Canada canceled its flights, meaning there was no way to fly directly to Israel from Canada, which I need to do, both because my law office is in Toronto and to visit friends and family.

“Now, with the resumption of the Air Canada flights, a direct 12-hour return flight for the holidays, leaving in September and returning in October, is around $2,300 Cdn in basic economy. Flying Polish LOT Airlines via Warsaw will cost about $1,600 Cdn return in basic economy and will take 19 hours or longer depending on the connections.”

Last September, Rotfleisch was forced to fly Ethiopian Airlines to Addis Ababa to reach Israel for Rosh Hashanah.

With high demand and limited capacity, travel experts don’t forecast a fall in prices during the Passover holiday or summer season.

“Services by foreign airlines are going to gradually grow and we are going to gradually see prices come down, but they are not going to be down dramatically for Passover or the August period, when most Israelis are looking to book vacations with their families,” Yaneev Lanis, co-founder of online booking site Secret Flights, told the Times of Israel. “Passover period is always an expensive period to travel, and especially this year, when there is still going to be less supply than usual.”

He said, “Passover ticket prices are going to be higher, and I wouldn’t expect prices to drop, as demand will be very high and foreign airlines are planning to come back in a low capacity, which means that they will easily be able to fill up their planes and there is no reason for them to reduce prices.”

Overall, ticket prices to and from Israel have more than doubled at times since the Gaza War broke out on Oct. 7, 2023.

Gil Zohar is a writer and tour guide in Jerusalem.

Surveying Canadian Jews

“Canada’s Jewish community is divided over Israeli and domestic Canadian politics, even though rising antisemitism and war seem to have increased the emotional attachment of Canada’s Jews to Israel,” writes sociologist Robert Brym in the executive summary of Arguments for the Sake of Heaven: A Jewish Community Divided. The report imparts the results of a poll sponsored by the New Israel Fund of Canada, JSpaceCanada, and Canadian Friends of Peace Now.

From Aug. 28 to Sept. 16, 2024, the polling firm Leger surveyed 588 Canadian Jews. The sample “was drawn from a large online panel of Canadian adults. It was weighted by characteristics of the Canadian Jewish population based on the 2021 Census of Canada and the 2018 Survey of Jews in Canada,” which was prepared by Brym, Keith Neuman and Rhonda Lenton for the Environics Institute, University of Toronto, and York University. The composition of the sample “is believed to be broadly representative of Canadian Jewry.”

“We undertook this survey in response to conservative establishment Jewish institutions and anti-Zionist Jewish groups co-creating a polarized, black-and-white public debate that didn’t reflect the diverse, nuanced Jewish community we know and love,” write Maytal Kowalski, JSpaceCanada executive director, Gabriella Goliger, national chair of Canadian Friends of Peace Now, and Ben Murane, executive director of NIF Canada, in the introduction to the report, which was released last month.

“Our research confirms that there is no such thing as ‘the Jewish community’s opinion’ as a monolith, nor can any segment of the community (or any institution) claim to speak for all others. In many cases, we see no majority opinion as well as high levels of uncertainty. Therefore, not only are claims of monolithic support misrepresentations of Canadian Jewish diversity, they also erase the spirited nature of Jewish life in Canada.”

Explaining the report’s title, they note: “One of the noblest ideals in Judaism is ‘arguments for the sake of heaven’ – that disagreement and debate are in fact coveted and celebrated as long as the disagreement is ‘for the sake of heaven,’ meaning an argument that seeks to uncover truth.”

They call upon “Jewish communal leaders to uphold and support the variety of opinions and ideas held by Canadian Jews – and to foster arguments for the sake of heaven,” and warn that “Canadian political leaders must engage all of Canada’s Jewish communities and not stereotype us based on a false monolith.”

Brym lists the poll’s highlights, which include that “Canadian Jews express stronger emotional attachment to Israel than in four previous surveys dating back to 2018. Specifically, 84% of Canada’s Jews say they are ‘very’ or ‘somewhat’ emotionally attached to Israel [compared to 79% in 2018]. Ninety-four percent support the existence of Israel as a Jewish state.”

Brym notes, “Just 3% say Israel lacks that right, while another 3% say they don’t know or don’t answer the question. Belief in Israel’s right to exist does not vary significantly by gender, educational attainment, income or denomination. It does vary significantly by age and political party support. Ninety-eight percent of those over the age of 34 say Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state, compared to 81% of those under the age of 35. Ninety-seven percent of Conservative and Liberal party supporters say that Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state. Some 79% of NDP supporters concur, although the number of NDP supporters in the sample is too small to provide a highly reliable estimate.”

When asked “Do you consider yourself a Zionist?” however, 51% of respondents said yes, 15% claimed ambivalence, 27% said no and 7% said they didn’t know, or didn’t answer the question.

“Given their strong emotional attachment to Israel and their nearly universal belief that Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state, one might be tempted to speculate that more Canadian Jews do not consider themselves Zionists because they confuse Zionism with certain policies of the Netanyahu government that they find objectionable,” writes Brym. “Future research needs to probe this issue.”

When asked whether continued building of Jewish settlements in the West Bank helped, harmed or didn’t make a difference to the security of Israel, 34% of respondents said it hurts Israel’s security while 27% said it helps, 22% thought it made no difference and 18% didn’t know or didn’t answer.

Half of respondents favoured a two-state solution, while 25% wanted an Israeli state (the annexation of West Bank and Gaza), while 8% believe that “the best resolution to the conflict is a single, secular, binational state that favours equal rights for Jews and Palestinians.”

“When asked whether Canadian politicians should increase pressure on Israel and the Palestinians to engage in a meaningful peace process, 55% of Canadian Jews agree and 23% disagree,” summarizes Brym. “When asked whether politicians should sanction Jewish West Bank settlers who engage in acts of vigilante violence against Palestinian civilians, 35% of Canadian Jews agree and 41% disagree. When asked whether politicians should recognize a Palestinian state in the near future, 21% of Canadian Jews agree and 53% disagree. When asked whether Canadian politicians should impose an embargo on the arms trade with Israel, 69% of Canadian Jews say no and 10% say yes.”

The survey also asked respondents to rank, in view of an upcoming federal election, their priorities among 11 different issues. From most to least important were cost of living, antisemitism, health care, housing, Israel-Palestine conflict, climate change and environment, crime and public safety, immigration, threats posed by China and Russia, discrimination against Indigenous people, and Islamophobia.

The question was asked, “Which political party did you vote for in the last (2021) federal election?” and also “If a Canadian federal election were held tomorrow, which party, if any, would you vote for?”

“Among decided voters, support for the New Democratic Party remained steady at about 9% between 2021 and 2024,” writes Brym. “Support for the Liberal party fell from 39% to 26%. And support for the Conservative party increased from 36% to 55%. These trends are similar to those in the general population, but the decline in Liberal support and increase in Conservative support is more pronounced among Jews.”

The whole report can be found at jspacecanada.ca/arguments_sake_of_heaven. It includes much more data – including more analysis of responses according to age, gender, level of education, household income, denominational identification and political party support – as well as commentary and recommendations from the survey’s three sponsoring organizations.

Fighting antisemitism

In Toronto, Yoseph Haddad, left, with Daniel Koren, founder and executive director of Allied Voices for Israel, which sponsored Haddad’s Canadian tour. (photo by Dave Gordon)

In recent years, Arab-Israeli activist Yoseph Haddad has become known for his efforts to fight antisemitism and present Israel’s perspective to international audiences, and he has taken up this mantle with much greater emphasis since Oct. 7, 2023. This month, Haddad’s Canadian tour, organized by Allied Voices for Israel, took him to Montreal, Calgary, Toronto and Vancouver.

At Toronto’s Shaarei Shomayim Synagogue, Haddad, who leads the Israeli nonprofit Together Vouch For Each Other, which works to bridge the gaps between Arabs and Jews in Israel, covered a few topics. He spoke about how his army service changed his life, how he protested anti-Israel agitators with pro-Israel Concordia students, and what he believes is Canada’s complacency towards antisemitism.

Though he was not obligated to serve in the Israel Defence Forces, Haddad voluntarily enlisted in the army in November 2003, more emboldened to do so after the terrorist bombing of Maxim restaurant in Haifa that left 21 dead and 60 injured. According to Haddad, Maxim was an establishment where the co-owners, employees and patrons were Arabs and Jews. It was an emblem of coexistence in Israel.

Haddad said it was the name of Israel’s army, the Israel Defence Forces, that helped him further understand that the force was defending all people in the country, not just Jews. During his service, he was a commander over Jewish soldiers, and he offered this as one of many examples that punctures the lie that Israel practises apartheid.

He related a story about when he was accused at a public speech of being an “idiot,” of being used by the Jews, and that he would be eventually “thrown to the garbage.” He had an easy rejoinder, he said.

While fighting in the 2006 Lebanon War, he suffered a life-threatening injury four days before the ceasefire, when a Hezbollah antitank missile exploded nearby and severed his leg. At risk to their own lives, his battalion carried him to safety. After treatment and extensive rehabilitation, he can even play soccer. He told the audience, if his unit wanted to throw him away, that would have been the time to do it.

Haddad warned of refugees and immigrants from the Middle East, some of whom, he said, bring extremism to Canada.

“Instead of adopting Western values, instead of adopting Canada’s laws, they’re actually trying to change it to Sharia,” he said. “And that’s the biggest problem.”

Canadian authorities, he said, are “ostriches” who have their heads in the sand.

“When it comes to dealing with extremism and terrorism and terror supporters, zero tolerance [should be the response], and that’s what Canada should do,” said Haddad.

It’s also a lesson for Israel, he added. In June 2023, he said, Hezbollah “infiltrated” Israel and set up in Israeli territory, a situation that Israel dealt with diplomatically. But this gave the terror group the sense that Israel didn’t care much for the land, didn’t care that an enemy had squatted on it, and that Israelis were “scared,” Haddad said. It contributed to Hezbollah’s perception on Oct. 8, 2023, when firing rockets, that “they thought that we are weak, because we presented ourselves as weak.” He said that, if he had been in charge, he would have flown F16s over the tents and bombed them.

The United Nations and the International Criminal Court are “really obvious for bias,” in ignoring the crimes of North Korea, Venezuela, Iran, Cuba, Syria “and other countries who have zero human rights,” said Haddad. The UN “is adopting the narrative of a terrorist organization” when citing casualty numbers from the Hamas-run Gaza Ministry of Health, he added.

Haddad encouraged Israel advocates to speak out on social media: “If you see content which is anti-Israeli, report it. Leave a comment. Leave an Israeli flag. And if you see a pro-Israel comment, support it, share it, show it to other friends, take part in that, because we’re out there.”

Haddad is active on multiple platforms, including YouTube, and he posts content in Hebrew, English and Arabic, with nearly two million followers.

Haddad said he remains optimistic. What uplifted him especially was having seen IDF soldiers in Gaza last summer who included “all the identities of the Israeli society.” They were, he said, united in two missions: find and free the hostages, and eliminate the terrorists. “And the only way that we can be supported,” he said, “is by being united, left and right, Jews and Arabs, secular and religious. And, I promise you, if society is united, there isn’t one single terrorist organization that can beat us.”

At the Toronto talk, journalist and activist Raheel Raza, a Pakistani-Canadian, was honoured for her decades-long allyship to the Jewish community.

At the Vancouver event, which took place at Temple Sholom, speakers included Daniel Koren, founder and executive director of Allied Voices for Israel, and students Zara Nybo and Ben Morrison. Jaime Stein, whose uncle, Dr. Steve Stein, was title sponsor for the cross-Canada tour, also addressed the audience. Grand Chief Lynda Prince, AVI Allyship Award recipient, spoke of Jewish indigeneity and connections between Indigenous Canadians and Israel. David Bogdonov spoke on behalf of the Ronald S. Roadburg Foundation.

Nybo, a University of British Columbia student, is the president of the Israel Club on her campus, though she herself is not Jewish.

“Israel is fighting a seven-front war. We, as students, are fighting on the eighth front of that war – on college and university campuses,” she said. “I am going to war with my peers, my professors, the administration and even the UBC president. I don my hostage pin and head out the door every day into an unknown battlefield of anti-Israel rhetoric, terrorist supporters, and antisemitism.”

Nybo said students are “being brainwashed and fed purposeful disinformation about Israel and the history of the Middle East every single day” while a “prominent” history professor for Middle Eastern studies at UBC wears a keffiyeh on campus, joins pro-Palestine rallies “and encourages his students to do the same for extra credit.”

She said, “I am standing here sounding the alarm about the bias ingrained in the university academic system.”

This “overwhelming systemic issue,” she said, can be confronted with education and by empowering students, as she was. Nybo had a campus media fellowship with AVI and HonestReporting Canada. This helped her hone her writing and editing skills, and her pro-Israel articles have been published in the National Post, Jewish Independent and Algemeiner. She was subsequently accused by a professor as being “employed by Zionist entities,” she said.

But challenges such as these can be faced when students are brought together, she said, “under the banner of allyship, building bridges and empowering students to speak out, all while providing community reinforcement.”

Dave Gordon is a Toronto-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in more than 100 publications around the world. His website is davegordonwrites.com.

Changes at CIJA

Shimon Koffler Fogel is moving on from his role as president and chief executive officer of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA).

Fogel’s career as a Jewish professional began in the 1980s with the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Atlantic Jewish Council and he joined the team at the Canada-Israel Committee, CIJA’s predecessor organization, in 1988.

Throughout his 40 years of leadership on behalf of Canada’s Jewish federations, Fogel made an impact through his relationships with Canadian leaders across party lines, his knowledge of policy and politics, and his strategic vision. His leadership was invaluable as Canadian Jewry navigated extraordinary challenges in the world, most recently in the wake of the Oct. 7 terror attacks and the rise of antisemitism.

To lead CIJA forward, the organization has assembled a team offering a diversity of executive-level skills, including in government relations, public policy, business and human resources. Noah Shack has agreed to take on the role of interim president, building on his career in Jewish advocacy that began at the Canada-Israel Committee 17 years ago. Shack will oversee CIJA’s day-to-day operations, closely supported by a strong lay leadership group composed of board chair Elan Pratzer, Michael Aronovici, Steven Kroft, Martha Durdin and Mark Spiro.

Over the coming months, CIJA’s board will convene a search process to select a permanent successor to Fogel.

– Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs