CAEF's Response to The Atlantic School of Theology Honouring Anti-Israel Radicals

The Rev. Dr Heather McCance

President

The Atlantic School of Theology

66 Fracklyn Street

Halifax, NS B3H 3B5

Dear Rev. Dr. McCance:

We've heard that the Atlantic School of Theology is about to confer honorary

doctorate degrees on Larry and Judy Haiven for their work with the group

"Independent Jewish Voices".

Allow us to inform you that "Independent Jewish Voices" is "independent"

because they are virtually ostracized within the mainstream Jewish community.

No other Jewish group, other than perhaps "Jews for Jesus", has less standing and

credibility among the overwhelming majority of Jews and their representative

institutions. They're the Jewish equivalent of, say, the Westboro Baptist Church.

You're playing the good old "Good Jews/Bad Jews" game. Just as the mediaeval

church pumped up as heroes the Jews who accepted baptism and cast aside their

Jewish beliefs as being the "good Jews", you're giving out diplomas with stickers

on them to Jews who throw Israel, home to half the Jews in the world, under the

bus.

In your world, the tiny sliver of Jews who hate Israel and want to see it destroyed

and its Jewish inhabitants driven to the four winds, are the champions of human

rights, while the 95%+ of Jews in this country who support a Jewish state in the

land of Israel are the bad Jews -- not all that interesting, and not worthy of your

fancy diplomas.

As a people, we've been around the block a few times (3,000 years, inquisitions,

pogroms, 90+ expulsions), and we know the games that the clever antisemites

play and we've memorized the catalogue of pseudo-intellectual trickery. We

know the "Wait a second, some of my best friends are Jews" routine. We know

all about tokens and lucky mascots. We know that what was called in the 19th

Century "The Jewish Question" has morphed into, in the early 21st century, "The

Jewish State Question".

So have fun at your little ceremony. But don't imagine you're fooling anyone.

Yours very truly,

R. Michael Teper

President

Canadian Antisemitism Education Foundation