Tag: arson

Arson at synagogue

The doors and the flooring outside the entrance of Congregation Schara Tzedeck were damaged when an arsonist set fire to them the night of May 30. (photo from B’nai Brith Canada)

Around 9:30 p.m., after evening prayers on Thursday, May 30, a group of people were shmoozing on 19th Avenue, outside Schara Tzedeck synagogue. A passerby alerted them that there was a fire at the main Oak Street entrance to the shul. 

The group ran around the corner to the scene and a man used his jacket to put out the fire.

The arson attack was brazen – it was barely past sundown on a busy Vancouver artery. A resident across the street videotaped the scene from their apartment window.

The synagogue’s spiritual leader, Rabbi Andrew Rosenblatt, was immediately alerted by phone but his reaction was disbelief. The congregant who called him is an Israeli whose first language is not English and the rabbi wondered – perhaps hoped – that there was a miscommunication.

On Rosenblatt’s arrival, two fire trucks were on the scene and the rabbi let firefighters and police into the building, which was pervaded by the smell of the accelerant used to light the fire. The doors and the flooring outside the entrance were damaged, but the fuel had already begun burning out by the time the flames were doused.

Rosenblatt said he wasn’t focused on his emotions in the immediate aftermath.

“Honestly, I went very quickly into crisis management mode,” he told the Independent. “I wasn’t really processing any kind of deep emotions or letting the whole thing sink in.”

He dealt with police, notified the synagogue’s leadership and prepared for what he knew would be a media frenzy beginning the following day.

Support has been encouraging. Civic leaders, fellow clergy, multicultural representatives, members of the Jewish community and strangers have brought or sent well wishes and made donations.

Although Rosenblatt was in disbelief initially, he acknowledged that he and others have been warning about precisely this sort of escalation for months, including in a private meeting with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau earlier this year.

No arrests have been made but Rosenblatt said that the perpetrator is “theoretically identifiable” from photographic evidence. Police have asked Rosenblatt and others with firsthand knowledge not to share any additional details as they do not want any potential for affecting witness testimonies.

While the arson attack is deeply alarming, Rosenblatt believes it is a manifestation of a broader “mainstreaming” of antisemitism – a phenomenon he sees worryingly exhibited in last week’s decision by the BC Teachers’ Federation to reject the creation of a provincial specialist association, or PSA, addressing antisemitism and Holocaust education. 

“When people ask me what I’m concerned about, I’m honestly more concerned with what’s happening in the public schools,” said the rabbi. “Not that someone being brazen enough to light the synagogue on fire isn’t a horrible thing. It’s reflective of a willingness to go to violence. But the person who did that, at least, was ashamed enough to obscure his identity.”

Those who voted against an association for Holocaust and antisemitism education not only did so publicly but seem to view their actions as a form of righteousness, he said.

“Those people are proud and giving themselves a pat on the back,” he said. “That, to me, is the one which is going to cause more lasting harm.”

Other incidents, in which Jewish artists have been removed from exhibitions and Jewish-themed plays have been canceled, send a dangerous message to young Jewish artists and performers that their identity, and their associations with Israel, could have negative consequences, said the rabbi.

Meanwhile, he is hearing from colleagues across the country about habitual harassment and vandalism, from broken windows to dead animals thrown on synagogue property.

“People are just sort of inching over the lines,” he said. 

Rosenblatt said it is vital that all incidents be reported to authorities. The BC government has a Provincial Racist Incident Helpline at 1-833-457-5463. The website of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver has information on reporting hate crimes. B’nai Brith Canada has an app and other resources for reporting hate incidents on their website. Individuals or institutions requiring legal advice due to a suspected antisemitic incident can access pro bono legal consultation through a new helpline, 778-800-8917 or [email protected].

The arson took place less than a week before Mosaic, Schara Tzedeck’s major annual gala celebration. It was referenced at the event, but Rosenblatt said it did not cloud the celebration.

“It has not changed who we are or what we do and how we think about Schara Tzedeck,” he said. “You can’t let antisemites define you.” 

Small wins amid gloom

The rescue of four Israeli hostages from Gaza last week and their reunions with their loved ones is a bright spot amid much dismal news – though there remain 120 hostages whose reunions with their families we dream of and hope will happen soon.

This rescue has been a source of tempered joy for Israelis and others. In a time of tragedy and despair, these moments are worth appreciating. Amid the relief, we mourn the life of the Israel Defence Forces officer who died from wounds received during the operation and we mourn the lives of the many innocent Gazans lost. Holding this tension is weighing mightily on many of us, knowing that placing hostages among civilians is a deliberate and overwhelmingly cruel strategy of Hamas.

Closer to home, we are not without bleak news, but neither are we bereft of hopefulness.

The arson attack on Schara Tzedeck Synagogue two weeks ago is deeply troubling and scary. The outpouring of support and empathy from so many is a silver lining. Clergy, elected officials, multicultural community leaders and ordinary folks have expressed solidarity with Schara Tzedeck and the broader Jewish community.

A few less monumental but hopeful items crossed our desks recently.

The Vancouver Comic Arts Festival, which had earlier canceled the participation of artist Miriam Libicki, issued an apology for their actions – and announced that “the vast majority” of individuals who had perpetrated Libicki’s banning had resigned from the organization’s board.

Suffice to say, this is not the foremost news story this year. But it is surprisingly uplifting when a glimmer of common sense emerges where intolerance had once prevailed.

Libicki had been canceled ostensibly because she had served, once upon a time, in the Israeli army. IDF service was also the excuse used when inspirational speaker Leah Goldstein, a BC resident, was canned from an International Women’s Day event in Ontario in March. 

Assertions that an artist (or performer or whoever) is being excluded because they served in a military that we see every day in the news engaged in a tragic conflict may seem legitimate, or at least not quite as blatant as, say, posting a sign that reads “No Jews allowed.” Notably, though, no such litmus test, to our knowledge, has ever been applied to any artist (or whoever) in Canada based on their service in any other national armed forces – and, given the diversity of our country, we can be pretty much assured that we have citizens who have served in many of the world’s most tyrannical and nasty, even genocidal, militaries.

Other excuses to ban Jews or pull Jewish- or Israel-related work from events, exhibits, performances, etc., have also included enough plausible deniability to steer just clear of indisputable antisemitism.

Goldstein’s cousin, local photographer Dina Goldstein (it’s sadly becoming a family affair), was recently removed from a group exhibition. In this instance, the gallery claimed financial considerations were the deciding factor.

Then there are cases where venues pull an event or performer based on security concerns, as the Belfry Theatre in Victoria did with their scheduled performance of the play The Runner. They had reason to fear violence – the theatre was vandalized amid the controversy. But cancelations based on security concerns, as valid as they may seem, give an effective veto to those who are potentially violent.

In the shadow of the Belfry decision, The Runner was pulled from the PuSh Festival in Vancouver, the stated reason being that another artist threatened to pull their work from the event if the play was mounted. 

In addition to cancelations, there is plenty to raise alarm bells about anti-Israel bias in the public education system, as well, as we are forced to outline in discouraging detail elsewhere in this issue, with the BC Teachers’ Federation making some controversial decisions. But, again, here some reason prevails, though not from the BCTF.

The Burnaby school district took what it called “immediate action” when it became known that elementary students had been given an exam question asking them to make a case for and against the existence of the state of Israel. We could fill volumes with outrage about the unmitigated nerve of a teacher thinking this was a legitimate subject for grade sixers (if it was on the exam, one can only imagine what the same educator said in the classroom) but let’s take some solace that there were reasonable people in a position of authority to respond when this became public.

In further good news in the education realm, on June 1, the University of British Columbia’s Vancouver Senate soundly rejected (by a vote of 49 to 16) a motion urging the university to cut ties with institutions in Israel.

In challenging times, it is even more necessary to acknowledge and celebrate small victories and acts of decency. It is an act of individual and communal resistance to remain hopeful and steadfast in pursuit of peace and justice.