Shana Tova – 5787 – שנה טובה

שנה טובה | Shana tova.

This year, Rosh Hashana, the two-day holiday marking the Jewish New Year 5787, begins Friday evening, September 11 – unfortunately coinciding with the 25th anniversary of the world’s most deadly terrorist attacks.

Over the past few years, I have talked about how Rosh Hashana (literally “head of the year”) is very different from celebrations marking the arrival of January 1 each year. Rosh Hashana is a time of reflection and introspection. We review the previous year, and look ahead to the next.

Much of what I have to say this year is unchanged from last year and I say that with regret – the situation has gotten worse, not better.

The past three years have been unlike any other in my lifetime. For Jews around the world, these are extremely troubling times. Jews in Europe and North America are actively questioning whether it is safe to wear signs that visibly identify ourselves. Canadian Jews have experienced higher levels of antisemitism than just about everywhere on the planet, and it just doesn’t seem to be getting better.

As I noted a few years ago, the first month in the Jewish calendar (Tishrei) is filled with holidays – indeed, they are religious Holy Days. Combined with Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur, there are 7 holy days this month: 2 days for Rosh Hashana, 1 days for Yom Kippur and the first 2 and last 2 days of Sukkot. This year, all of those days other than Yom Kippur fall on weekends, meaning that observant Jews will not need to take a lot of time away from the office, other than possibly leaving early on the Friday afternoons. Yom Kippur begins on Sunday evening, September 20 and continues through Monday September 21. Please try to help your employees, your colleagues, your students, by making reasonable accommodations for observance of the holidays. My office will be closed for those holidays.

In 2023, the last day of Sukkot fell on October 7, a day that forever changed the world for Jews in Israel and in the Diaspora. A few weeks in advance of that day, in my 2023 post, I asked if the world was more tolerant than I experienced in my early working years. That was before we witnessed the waves of antisemitism that have continued to rise over the past three years.

Two and a half years ago, I wrote “Defending my identity”, trying to capture some of my feelings on what was then the 5 month anniversary of the horrific attacks by Hamas. October 7, 2023 marked the start of a global campaign attacking Jewish indigeneity in Israel, a global campaign that began even before Israel’s military entered Gaza to respond to the attacks. I encourage you to re-read that piece to get an appreciation of what Jews like me are feeling as we approach the third anniversary of October 7. Warren Kinsella’s book, The Hidden Hand, is “An explosive inside look into the highly-planned and well-funded global propaganda campaign to delegitimize Israel and sow the seeds of antisemitism in the aftermath of October 7th.”

Unchanged from that time is my disappointment in the failures of those in positions of authority to take meaningful steps to address issues within their purview. As I have written before:

I am tired of politicians thinking that the way to respond to antisemitic acts is to write on Twitter that “This is not who we are” or claim that “Hatred and violence against Jewish communities have no place in Canada.”. Condemnations on social media are no match for intimidation by throngs calling “Death to the Jews”. Tweets are ineffective against fire bombings and shots fired at synagogues and Jewish community centres.

Three months ago, Prime Minister Mark Carney addressed a Toronto synagogue saying, “A country in which Jewish day schools require guards, in which synagogues require barriers, in which Jewish children attend school behind perimeters of protection – is a country that is protecting its citizens but is failing its civic compact.”

The Prime Minister said,”The crisis of antisemitism in Canada today is specific, severe, and demands a targeted response.” And what was that response? He struck a committee, a new Ministerial Advisory Council on Rights, Equality, and Inclusion to be chaired by Minister of Canadian Identity and Culture, Marc Miller. Although Minister Miller’s department, also know as Canadian Heritage, is certainly the right home for such a committee, Heritage has the distinction of having the highest percentage of Jewish employees experiencing discrimination (34%). Three months later, the Ministerial Advisory Council has not indicated that any actions have been taken to date.

Schools are opening with no actions taken. Canadian Jews attending services for the Holy Days will pass through security check points, under police guard with synagogues absorbing much of the cost of protecting their members. What was accomplished over the summer?

Toronto Metropolitan University (TMU) has provided a shameful case study in how leaders have failed to lead. A report on two campus antisemitic events was commissioned by TMU. The report was released a few weeks ago detailing 8 actionable items recommended by the author, retired Justice Mary Lou Benotto. Rather than acting on the report and implementing any of the actions in time for the start of school, TMU followed the Prime Minister’s approach and appointed a committee to develop “an implementation blueprint”, kicking the can down the road for 7 months. As the Globe and Mail wrote in a banner editorial entitled “The betrayal of Jewish students needs to end”, “No blueprint is needed, just a spine.”

Which brings me to how you fit in to help in defending my identity.

In resigning from British Columbia’s provincial NDP caucus, Selina Robinson wrote, “I don’t need your hugs and your emojis. What my community needs however, is for you to stand up to antisemitism.”

Call out hate when you see it online. Tell your elected officials that antisemitism isn’t just a problem for Canada’s Jews. Demand action. Grow a spine.

And as I have indicated, every once in a while, I’d be OK with a hug.

I’ve observed that the journey we travel over the course of a year often takes some detours, presenting challenges along the way. “It is rarely a smooth, incident-free trip. Sometimes, it feels more like we are riding a roller coaster. Still, we press ahead, continuing to approach each day with a positive outlook, moving forward one step at a time.”

May the year ahead be marked by good health, by personal and professional growth, and may it be a year of peace for all. Shana tova.