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December 14, 2001
Cries of anti-Semitism
Opinion
CYNTHIA RAMSAY SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Last week's letter to the editor by Prof. Rene Goldman ("Astonished
at kudos," Bulletin, Dec. 7), as well as comments that I
have heard from members of the Jewish community in casual conversation,
motivate me to write about the Unitarian church and my experiences,
as a Jewish person, with the institution and several of its members.
Early in November, the Unitarian Church of Vancouver removed a
Hebrew song from one of its services. It compounded "this anti-Semitic
snub," wrote Goldman, by providing a meeting room for Jews for a
Just Peace. These incidents, plus the fact that Goldman's letter
to the church newsletter was neither published nor acknowledged,
led Goldman to conclude that the church had "destroyed the decades
of goodwill that bound the Unitarian church to the Jewish community
and [they] should bow their heads in shame." I find this conclusion
disturbing for many reasons.
For those of you who may not know me, I am a co-owner of the Bulletin,
as well as its publisher. While I have been to many synagogues over
the years, I most regularly attend Beth Israel, where I sing in
the choir and often participate in services. I also sing in the
Vancouver Jewish Folk Choir, which is based out of the Vancouver
Peretz Centre for Secular Jewish Culture. I have also been hired
by the Unitarian choir as a professional singer. I have sung with
them on several occasions and have thoroughly enjoyed the experience.
I have been treated with respect and kindness every single time.
I know several of the choir members on a personal level, including
the choir director. No one I have encountered in my many times at
the institution has ever demonstrated any anti-Semitism and to label
them as anti-Semitic is a horrible and unfair presumption.
It was from my connection with the church that I discovered that
"Bashanah Haba'ah" had been pulled from a Nov. 11 service. In a
Bulletin editorial meeting, we decided that this decision
was worth investigating and phoned the reverend of the church. As
was the case with Goldman's attempt to receive an explanation, we,
too, got no satisfactory response from Rev. Andrew Backus, interim
minister. In his opinion, it was an internal church matter - one
that was not up for general public discussion. The reverend's response
was unfortunate, and not conducive to interfaith dialogue, but not
anti-Semitic in and of itself.
The Bulletin wrote an editorial on the matter, saying that
the decision not to sing "Bashanah Haba'ah," a Hebrew song about
the dream of peace, was misguided. Ostensibly, the choice to remove
the song was made in an effort to remain neutral about the political
situation in the Middle East - singing in Hebrew being perceived
by some people as "siding" with Israel. However, any song of peace
should be sung, no matter in what language it is written, stated
the Bulletin editorial.
Perhaps because of what was written in this paper, perhaps not,
"Hashiveinu" was sung as a hymn at the Nov. 11 service. As well,
"Sim Shalom" - a song of peace - was included in another choral
performance. Hebrew songs are being sung at the Unitarian church
- something that, I would think, is not done at other churches with
any frequency. Because of this, the Bulletin gave the Unitarians
kudos. The powers-that-be at the church rethought their decision
and reversed it. For this, they deserve recognition and praise.
They do not deserve to be called anti-Semites.
All too often, I think, the Jewish community is quick to label
as anti-Semitic anyone who dares criticize any aspects of Judaism
or any of Israel's actions, even if the people doing the criticizing
are Jews.
While I personally disagree with most of the ideas put forward
by groups such as Jews for a Just Peace, I believe that they have
every right to present their points of view and they have every
right to rent whatever meeting room space they like. That the Unitarian
church was the location of one of the group's recent meetings indicates
in no way whatsoever that the institution and its members are anti-Semitic.
Neither does the fact that they were trying to remain politically
neutral by removing a Hebrew song from their repertoire.
There is a saying: Be slow to judge, quick to forgive. That one
poor decision - one that was revoked - should mar the reputation
of the church in the eyes of members of the Jewish community says
more about us than it does about the Unitarians. Anti-Semitism is
a powerful accusation and I would caution that we not throw the
term around lightly - it is not meant to describe anyone who disagrees
with us.
If we use it without proper regard, we may find that, in cases
of real anti-Semtism, our cries for help go unheeded.
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