WE ARE NOT ALL THE SAME

I am going to weight in on a subject that will lose me a few friends, the affection of some close family members, and hate mail from some members of the Jewish community. If what I am about to write was written by a non-Jew there would be howls of “anti-Semitism!”

A horrible new kind of reality judgement has descended upon many members of the Jewish community here. They are moving to the Right, not because they are politically conservative, but because they judge Harper by his attitude toward Israel. No matter what, he supports Israel. He is in lockstep with Netenyahu and will reject any suggestion that his government is faulty.

It has always seemed to me that the Jewish community in the Diaspora, not all but most, especially Canadian and American Jews, tend to accept whatever Israel does without question. It is: “right or wrong my country still.” Perhaps it is the sense of being threatened by a hostile world that makes so many of them crawl into a protective pan-Zionist cocoon. So whatever kind of government Israel elects – hawks or doves, conciliators or aggressors, there is no distinction. The world and politics are viewed in the glass of “what is good or bad for the Jews.”

I take heart knowing that the same is not the case in Israel, where strong anti-government attitudes are expressed; where anger over the building of settlements is evident; where many Israelis do not believe that the level of force used in Gaza is appropriate to the danger, or that the incursion into Lebanon was not justified.

Support for Israel has become one of those “wedge” issues. Sadly, and I am ashamed for it, the strategy is working. In the York Centre riding the Liberal incumbent is Ken Dryden. (I always believed he would have been the best choice for leader.) He is not a political hack. He is an honest, dedicated man. He may be defeated by the Conservative candidate. I know – that’s politics. But this is more. The riding contains a large number of ultra-orthodox Chasidic Jews who are the people who in a recent provincial election put up sighs praising Premier Harris for his stand on funding parochial schools, and completely ignoring or indifferent to the ruin Mike brought to our province. In Israel, these people are militant about “the land God promised us.”

Now, I presume that these ultra orthodox flock to the Tories because they have not protested against the building of new settlements in the West Bank. Those settlements are to provide shelter for the burgeoning population of orthodox Jews living in Israel. Add to those zealots, all the moderate Jews, even some secular non-believers, who will vote Conservative because of how good Harper has been for Israel, and how indifferent the other two parties are.

What bothers me about this whole attitude is that we are voting in Canada for the kind of government we need, not for how the government appears to feel about the State of Israel. To me, it is obvious that the Harper government is pandering for votes and using an issue that has no bearing of the future of Canada and its real problems: unemployment, health care, and education.

Israel itself is full of people who dissent just as I have. The fact is that Israel was founded by secular Jews, mostly leaning to the political Left. In recent years, between new immigration from highly orthodox Jewish communities like Morocco and Yemen, and the booming birthrate among the orthodox, that the pendulum has swung. Israel has become a theocracy. Because of proportional representation, the religious parties receive seats proportional to their share of the popular vote. They are a small group, but without them it is difficult to form a working government. They are the “squeaky wheel” that gets the grease.

I still have trouble believing that the Jewish community that was once in the forefront of progressive ideas can be turned into political zombies. By the way, it was the same during the last Presidential election when Obama’s majority threatened by Florida, where a majority of elderly Jewish voters also believed he was not a big supporter of the State of Israel, and that he might be sympathetic to the plight of the Palestinians. (I don’t share that notion. I think the Palestinian “cause” has received attention far out of proportion to the reality on the ground.)

But here in Canada, and often with the Jewish press, there is a slavish devotion to Israel and an unwillingness to be critical of anything Israel does. It’s no way to vote.

P.S. I am not being naïve about the issue. I know that all political parties pander to minorities, many of whom are more interested in what is happening in their country of origin than in the future of this country.