Jews use sign language

Editorial

Mazal tov. The Jewish community of Greater Vancouver has taken an important step in standing up for Israel in the face of the relentless bashing it is taking from Canadian critics.

Last Friday, several dozen supporters of Israel met at Hillel House on the campus of the University of British Columbia and marched over campus to witness a public meeting featuring two New Democratic party members of Parliament and two other vocal critics of Israel.

It was a rare scene to have a large number of local Jews (and their allies) publicly attend a meeting with outspoken critics of Israel. Editorials in the Bulletin in the past have pressed the Jewish community not to be so private or quiet in its support for Israel. It's good to see some movement in this direction.

Special kudos go to the executive director of UBC Hillel, Eyal Lichtmann, the Hillel students and a substantial number of non-students who joined in, including some evangelical Christians who came to show support for Israel.

The group arrived early and took almost every seat in the room, which led to the four speakers facing a crowd of unfriendly faces. Though a few supporters of the speakers managed to get a couple of chairs and take standing-room positions, many students were kept from the meeting by fire regulations limiting the capacity of the room.

Though adversarial, the meeting was not without its humor. Hillel organizers, determined to maintain civility and respect for the speakers at the same time as registering their disapproval, had printed dozens of signs reading "I disagree."

When Svend Robinson, MP for Burnaby-Douglas, opened the meeting with a speech predictably critical of Israel, he was met with stony silence. Before long, however, one of the New Democrat's comments spurred a disruptive rustling of papers and Robinson found himself facing as many as 50 signs silently declaring "I disagree." Unflustered, the veteran MP made light of the tough crowd and may even have endeared himself to some for his good nature in the face of adversity.

The signs kept reappearing throughout the meeting and speakers seemed amused by their ability to automatically gauge what the audience was thinking, an immediacy usually limited to stand-up comedians.

The crowd wasn't uniformly condemnatory, either. At times, when Robinson's comments were deemed conciliatory, audience members folded their pages over to read "I agree."

What happened in the meeting itself was, by and large, a repetition of the criticisms of Israel that have been lodged repeatedly over the past couple of years. The content of the meeting, however, is not as significant as the fact that a substantial group of Zionists emerged from the confines and comfort of the Jewish Community Centre and various other places of familiarity and support. We stood (sat, actually) with Israel and let that country's critics know that their views are not held by everyone.

Unlike similar scenarios in Montreal where pro-Palestinian and pro-Israeli students squared off, which on at least one occasion devolved into a riot, the meeting was a credit to people on both sides of the issue. Though there was certainly tension in the room, there was never a sense that events could turn for the worse.

One of the young organizers of the panel even seemed pleasantly surprised at the turnout, apologizing before the meeting began for the lack of space and noting that he hadn't expected such interest in the event.

This was a small step for a few dozen Jews who travelled to UBC last Friday. But it was a giant leap for this community. Israel's critics are gearing up for a massive onslaught of negative campaigning.

The Jewish community has set a precedent that we will not cower at home while our critics spread their message. We have begun to stand up to the one-sided activism that has targeted Israel. Let's not stop there. Let's use this successful adventure as a model for an ongoing engagement and dialogue with our critics.

And next time they plan a public meeting, they might think about booking a larger room.

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