An Address to Jewish Millennials
Several months ago I had the pleasure of reading an article in an AISH e-bulletin by a young man who put a positive spin on a message intended to vilify Jews, the hashtag #Jewishprivilege was intended to be a rallying cry like #whiteprivilege to separate people, deny their humanity and blame them for something, just about anything. Noah Goldman showed us how to both accentuate the positive, like #Jewishprivilege I have Shabbat, or to counter the image with the not so rewarding reality, like #Jewishprivilege I lost my grandparents in the Holocaust. The examples are mine, but the concept alerted me to an intelligent person who was thinking about turning things around. So, I asked Noah to write an article for the CAEF Bulletin and to tell us what he thinks important.
CAEF and our supporters are fighting AntiZionism which is just the newest form of antisemitism. So, what should we be saying to young people about Zionism?
My Zionism for Today
By Noah Goldman
Right next to my bed lies a very special book that both inspires and challenges my passions on the Jewish State. That book is The Zionist Ideas: Visions for the New Jewish Homeland – Then, Now, Tomorrow by Gil Troy with a marvelous foreword written by the dynamic Natan Sharansky. Zionist Ideas is a two century long conversation on what Jewish sovereignty should be. I encourage every engaged Jewish Zionist to get a copy of this book and consider adding to this continuing conversation.
Zionism today faces many obstacles. As it so happens, the Jewish people are never without immense challenges. My grandfather grew up in perhaps one of the most, if not the most unfortunate generations of Jewish history. He grew up in Offenburg, Germany and in the year of his bar mitzvah was forced to flee with his family – in 1938. They made their way to the small country of Liechtenstein, essentially hiding under Hitler’s nose. He recalled to me the bombs he would hear with a great fear of the unknown, especially if there would even be a following day. Thankfully, he and his family survived the war. Tragically, those who stayed behind or fled to France perished. Today, I am part of what might be considered one of the most fortunate generations of Jewish history. There is a strong Jewish state that serves as a haven for a long-oppressed people. Anti-Jewish hatred was thought to have remained on the fringes of society, unwelcomed by the mainstream.
Every generation in Jewish history has faced challenges and this generation is no exception. Israel, imperfect as it may be, is targeted by delegitimization tactics by those who used to be on the fringes. Anti-Jewish hatred is on the rise and becoming more accepted within the mainstream of many societies. In addition to that, the Jewish community is very divided along a multitude of hard lines. These are the great challenges of our generation and we must devote great strength to solving these challenges. Perhaps the first move we should make is in addressing our challenges by working to improve our dialogue. Let us talk about and define our Zionism.
Analysis of a Propagandistic Research Survey
Dogan Akman has much to contribute to our search for truth and our condemnation of lies and liars. He patiently uncovers the faulty methodology and conclusions in the survey conducted this past summer by EKOS Canada, funded by 3 organizations, 2 of which are well known supporters of BDS, frequently vilify Israel, deny her legal status, and unabashedly ignore both the attacks on Israel from her Arab neighbours and the lack of human rights accorded to Arab citizens by Arab governments.
We should not be surprised by the report’s summation. No questions in the survey, a project intended to bring policy recommendations to the Federal government about its relations with Israel, ask respondents about the listed terror organization Hamas, nor the Palestinian Authority which celebrates terrorists and pays them well for killing Jews, and jails its own citizens for supporting Israel or selling land to a Jew.
In considering research-driven policy one is generally expected to start with a review of the literature, with verifiable facts and a set of coherent variables in selecting respondents, but this study, as described by Akman, ignores much about good social science, rational policy making, as well as history and diplomacy. More importantly there is no real consideration of the human rights of an oppressed people, about which the sponsoring organizations are so concerned, for they ignore entirely the perpetrators of violence—the Palestinian Arabs are victims of their own corrupt leaders. Read the full analysis here.
CAEF extends sincerest thanks to Lloyd Duckman, a very proud Zionist, for his years of service on the Board of Directors. Lloyd has served as Treasurer, and is a member of the Steering Committee; he never missed a meeting.
CAEF is pleased to advise that thanks to Goldi Steiner, Co-Chair CILR, United with Israel published the rebuttal letter by Dr. David Nussbaum in response to the McGill Daily’s biased anti-Israel Commentary article.
The Green Party Bashing Israel-Has it Lost its Environmental Imperative?
In the last issue of CAEF Bulletin, I shared a letter to Ms. Elizabeth May who as outgoing Leader of the Green Party of Canada, threw a few stones at Israel on her way out the door. On October 6th, a newer Member of Parliament from the Green Party, added a few of his own, so one has to ask, what are the priorities of a party that promotes itself as about the environment, clean energy, renewable and sustainable everything and strong employment, innovative technology and human rights? Which of those concepts is served by bashing Israel, especially a country that has the best record in the world for innovation, sustainable energy production, renewable/reusable product design and development, and the best human rights record in all of North Africa and the Middle East?
It was brought to our attention by our supporter, Sydell Waxman that on October 6th, Paul Manly introduced petition e-2565 in the House and made remarks that she then challenged in a letter she shared with CAEF. With Ms. Waxman’s approval, we sent the response to all elected members of parliament and share it here:
To: All Members of Canadian Parliament
Re: petition e-2565 and comments made in Parliament by Paul Manly, MP Nanaimo-Ladysmith, on October 6, 2020
Dear Mr. Manly,
Your recent comments in Parliament which I insert below for reference, promote a false narrative about Gaza, the Palestinian Arabs and Israel, and also breach a long history of Canada’s support for its major Middle Eastern ally, the State of Israel.
Below your statements is our response and I invite you and all members of Parliament to become more informed.
Manly:
“Mr. Speaker, it is an honour to present petition e-2565, which has 2,686 signatures. It calls upon the Government of Canada to request that Israel immediately lift the blockade on Gaza, in order to enable medical and humanitarian aid during the COVID-19 pandemic; insist that Israel permanently end its blockade of Gaza; and vote at the UN General Assembly in alignment with the majority of the international community taking a stance in line with international law and human rights for Palestinians.”
CAEF reponse:
Notwithstanding your long personal history of animosity towards the Jewish state, your role as an MP should be to present truth not fabrication to members of Parliament, to your constituency, and to all Canadians. Your statement is ignoble, misleading and unworthy of someone holding an elected position in the Canadian parliament. Surely by now you have been able to grasp that no blockade of Gaza has inhibited any distribution of medical supplies by Israel and never has. Below is an excerpt from correspondence by Professor Zion Hagay, Chair of the Israeli Medical Association, published September 26, 2020 in the Lancet, in response to a similar maligning unverified political piece that attempted to denigrate Israel.
“To put matters into better perspective: since the outbreak of COVID-19, Israel has continuously transferred critical medical equipment to the West Bank and Gaza Strip. A statement from the UN Secretary General in late March, 2020, noted that “Israeli and Palestinian authorities continue to coordinate their responses closely and constructively, a major factor in the containment achieved so far. Israel has also facilitated the entry of critical supplies and equipment into Gaza since the beginning of the crisis. This is in addition to Israel's cooperation to allow for the movement and access of personnel involved in the COVID-19 response to and from both the West Bank and Gaza.”
The Perversity that is the United Nations - Not the World’s Peace Keeper
CAEF draws your attention to this article in The Jerusalem Post, October 4, 2020, by new Israeli Ambassador to the UN, Gilad Erdan. In it, Erdan asks if the UN, which has failed to consistently sanction terror states, yet year after passes motions condemning Israel, a country on which global technology, medicines, agriculture, water conservation, humanitarian programs and more depends. Does it deserve another 75 Years??
CombatAntisemitism.org Invites You
On October 21 and 22, from 1-4 PM Eastern, the U.S. Department of State will host a Virtual Conference on Online Anti-Semitism. This program will be the first-ever US Government-sponsored conference dedicated to combating online anti-Semitism.
The U.S. State Department has prioritized fighting anti-Semitism and has brought together leaders of government, religious and civil society, social media platforms, and academia to discuss effective counterstrategies to combat online anti-Semitism while upholding America’s longstanding commitment to free speech.
Participants in this exclusive event will include: Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, Israeli PM Benjamin Netanyahu, Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey Rosen, Members of the US Congress, the UK Parliament, and the Israeli Knesset, Special Envoy to Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism Elan Carr, European Commission Coordinator on Combating Anti-Semitism Katharina von Schnurbein, IHRA President Amb. Michaela Küchler, UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief Dr. Ahmed Shaheed, representatives from Facebook and Tik Tok, and many others.
Public viewing of the will be available beginning on October 23 at this link.
It is Called a “Role” for a Reason—It’s Acting!
This story is almost too stupid to write about, but it has to be called out. Antisemites can’t seem to handle the fact that the beautiful Jewess Gal Gadot has been chosen as the second Jewish actress to star as Cleopatra. They have their guns out. Better they should take out their mirrors. Or maybe they should invest in a dictionary, or check Wikipedia which states that “acting is an activity in which a story is told by means of its enactment by an actor or actress who adopts a character—in theatre, television, film, radio, or any other medium that makes use of the mimetic mode.”
I think that means that a good actor can portray any ethnic or cultural role, gender, age, or even disability. Did Sarah Berhardt not play Hamlet when she was already of middle age? How obnoxious are those who claim cultural appropriation? If there are few roles specifying a person of colour, should they be denied other roles? This is so ludicrous. Did any son of god, play Jesus in any passion play? Who do you think plays Tevya in Korea?
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