Last week, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, in conjunction with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, released the results of a community survey on antisemitism. There were, perhaps, few surprises.<\/p>\n
Of those surveyed, 85% said that antisemitism has \u201cincreased a lot\u201d since Oct. 7, 2023. More than 60% of respondents said they avoid displaying items that would identify them publicly as Jewish and almost two in three said they avoid particular places and events out of concern for their safety.<\/p>\n
A public opinion poll released around the same time indicated that the often-discussed \u201csilent majority\u201d is on our side \u2013 most British Columbians are concerned about antisemitism. More than three-quarters of respondents to a Research Co. poll said they are concerned about \u201caggressive behaviour by pro-Palestinian protesters,\u201d \u201cprotesters targeting Jewish neighbourhoods and Jewish-owned businesses\u201d and \u201crising prejudice against Jewish Canadians.\u201d<\/p>\n
While we would appreciate if the solidarity expressed in this survey were articulated more vocally and visually, it is reassuring to know that the targeting of our community is not unnoticed or uncontested. The survey is, in any event, a rare encouraging sign.<\/p>\n
It may seem delusional to seek rays of light amid reports of unabating antisemitism. But is one narrative of Passover not precisely to remind us that we have met and overcome suffering and subjugation in the past? When we celebrate the holiday, we are reanimating our collective experience of resistance to tyranny and oppression, the birth pangs of our peoplehood, and the victory over apathy and forgetting. An unequivocal through-line across Jewish history is resilience.<\/p>\n
We retell the story of Exodus every year during the seder not as history but as a living, spiritual framework for Jewish identity and values.<\/p>\n
While this is a very difficult time, it also has the capacity to bring out tenacity, determination and unity among the Jewish people.<\/p>\n
Difficulty can also create cracks in unity. This is the night when, more than other nights, we reflect on liberation from literal or figurative slavery \u2013 in today\u2019s situation, perhaps, freedom from violence and discrimination \u2013 and the imperative of Jews to protect and advocate for liberation. So, as we witness growing fissures in the Jewish world, let us rededicate ourselves to the project of liberation and peoplehood based on fundamental values of freedom, love, unity and community.<\/p>\n
On Passover, we are reminded that there are pharaohs in every generation who seek to destroy and oppress. We utter the words \u201cYou shall tell your children,\u201d because a vivid memory of the past is central to facing our present and creating our future. Every generation faces its own \u201cEgypt.\u201d The work of liberation is not yet finished.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n May those who are held captive in Gaza, those who are fighting to defend Israel, those experiencing violence and discrimination, or seeking freedom in any form, be redeemed.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Last week, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, in conjunction with the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, released the results of a community survey on antisemitism. There were, perhaps, few surprises. Of those surveyed, 85% said that antisemitism has \u201cincreased a lot\u201d since Oct. 7, 2023. More than 60% of respondents said they avoid […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[11],"tags":[801,458,2796,3649,400,23909],"class_list":["post-46173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-from-the-ji","tag-antisemitism","tag-cija","tag-exodus","tag-jewish-federation","tag-passover","tag-polls"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=46173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/46173\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=46173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=46173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=46173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}