That’s shocking. Sorry to hear you have had to hide your identity and had to request that your daughter does as well. As it happens, I was recently startled when a Jewish friend of mine was asked by another mutual friend what he thought about “what Israel was doing”. I don’t think it was meant in a hostile way but clearly the idea was he was meant to state an opinion similar to that you mentioned. I feel bad that I didn’t challenge the questioner.
This is not a lot to ask. Your asks are reasonable and what every Canadian should have a right to under our constitution and charter of rights and freedoms. The “leadership” in Canada needs to step up for the Jewish community, and in the absence of this - we Canadians need to demand this.
These fears and sense of detachment are sadly all too common for Jews in the diaspora, especially in the liberal bastions where Jews tend to live. This is of course not a coincidence - liberal societies, where no one cares about your identity are where Jews thrive, because as history has taught us, every time identity politics surge, be it ethnic, economical, political or cultural, Jews are the first to be Otherized.
In times of these I take (small) comfort in knowing that the only think with a longer history than antisemitism is Jews overcoming it, not by cowering but by excelling untill there was no other choice but to accept them. Of course, one would prefer to not have to "earn" this acceptance (which I believe is one of the main reasons Jews decide to move to Israel), but life of struggle is still preferable to life of fear.
Thank you, Michael, for this perspective. It's more than bad enough that left wing commentators appear to get their talking points from CAIR/Muslim Brotherhood, but now we have to navigate blood libel from the likes of Candace Owens, Chuck Baldwin, James Perloff, Tucker Carlson and too many others who appear to use the same talking points as the left. They seem to have fallen for a perversion of the proverb "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" that states "the enemy of my enemy is more credible than my friend."
I am neither Zionist, Jew, Talmudist, Ashkenazi, Judaist, Mossad apologist, Jesuit, Mason, Scofield Bibliophile, nor the host of other identities that might be foist upon me for stating that I believe Israel is THE legitimate secular nation that it claims to be and Jerusalem is its capitol. And, conversely, IMO, those who identify as "Palestinian" or advocate for "Palestine" reject Israel as a legitimate nation state, claim Jerusalem as Palestine's capitol, are hostile to Judaism as a Global faith, and see Jews as a deceptive and exclusive "race" of people whose influence should be challenged at every venue.
Canada's Underground Railroad is creaking into reverse, over a century later. As long as our immigration is not selective for values, that is our future.
I grew up in peak Never Again small town Canada. I never thought twice about any identity other than Canadian until I was shocked when it was asked on my university application. The betrayal runs deep. Unwillingly, I am no longer just Canadian. I am also European.
Now we live in an environment of growing ethnic identification supercharged by intersectional progressive neo-tribalism. It's an environment where anti-semitism flowers.
You are living in a dream world of mainstream media if you believe that. You need to start reading/viewing independent journalists who provide truth and moral clarity.
I want to begin by saying thank you. I am a fellow Jew, and I appreciate the courage it takes to say some of this out loud.
However, there is one thing I find myself sitting with after reading your post and others like it:
Where is God?
So many reflections about the state of the Jewish people, about Israel, about fear and belonging and survival, and yet almost no one speaks His name. It feels as though we are telling our story without the One who began it.
Israel did not begin as a political project. It began as a promise. Our people were chosen by God. The land was given as covenant.
And yet in almost every conversation about our identity and our place in this world, He is missing.
Thank you for this post. Not to diminish your fears and concerns but we are all hiding. Judgement is in the culture now. I don't know what to do. But others like you who are speaking out have inspired me to add this text to my Substack posts, notes and instagram posts:
"I stand with Israel and the Jewish people in defending against terrorism and hate. 🇮🇱"
Like an email signature.
My sister then sent me a "Free Palestine" message. Uh oh, I thought.
But then we had a pretty good conversation. Polite. Respectful. I think she came around.
I wish everyone (meaning non-Jews like me) would do something.
Letters used to work. To "the editor," to your local and national politicians, to the UN. But who writes letters anymore?
That’s shocking. Sorry to hear you have had to hide your identity and had to request that your daughter does as well. As it happens, I was recently startled when a Jewish friend of mine was asked by another mutual friend what he thought about “what Israel was doing”. I don’t think it was meant in a hostile way but clearly the idea was he was meant to state an opinion similar to that you mentioned. I feel bad that I didn’t challenge the questioner.
Since the questioner is a friend, it isn't too late to talk about it. Be brave.
Heartbreaking. We are going backwards in western society. The recent rise of racism, misogyny, and antisemitism is horrifying.
A sobering read, but it needed to be said. Thank you for writing it.
This is not a lot to ask. Your asks are reasonable and what every Canadian should have a right to under our constitution and charter of rights and freedoms. The “leadership” in Canada needs to step up for the Jewish community, and in the absence of this - we Canadians need to demand this.
Absolutely. Carney, Ford, Smith. It's a disgrace.
These fears and sense of detachment are sadly all too common for Jews in the diaspora, especially in the liberal bastions where Jews tend to live. This is of course not a coincidence - liberal societies, where no one cares about your identity are where Jews thrive, because as history has taught us, every time identity politics surge, be it ethnic, economical, political or cultural, Jews are the first to be Otherized.
In times of these I take (small) comfort in knowing that the only think with a longer history than antisemitism is Jews overcoming it, not by cowering but by excelling untill there was no other choice but to accept them. Of course, one would prefer to not have to "earn" this acceptance (which I believe is one of the main reasons Jews decide to move to Israel), but life of struggle is still preferable to life of fear.
Thank you, Michael, for this perspective. It's more than bad enough that left wing commentators appear to get their talking points from CAIR/Muslim Brotherhood, but now we have to navigate blood libel from the likes of Candace Owens, Chuck Baldwin, James Perloff, Tucker Carlson and too many others who appear to use the same talking points as the left. They seem to have fallen for a perversion of the proverb "the enemy of my enemy is my friend" that states "the enemy of my enemy is more credible than my friend."
I am neither Zionist, Jew, Talmudist, Ashkenazi, Judaist, Mossad apologist, Jesuit, Mason, Scofield Bibliophile, nor the host of other identities that might be foist upon me for stating that I believe Israel is THE legitimate secular nation that it claims to be and Jerusalem is its capitol. And, conversely, IMO, those who identify as "Palestinian" or advocate for "Palestine" reject Israel as a legitimate nation state, claim Jerusalem as Palestine's capitol, are hostile to Judaism as a Global faith, and see Jews as a deceptive and exclusive "race" of people whose influence should be challenged at every venue.
Thanks for writing (and sharing) this, Mickey. Deeply moving. I'll send it to some folks.
Canada's Underground Railroad is creaking into reverse, over a century later. As long as our immigration is not selective for values, that is our future.
I grew up in peak Never Again small town Canada. I never thought twice about any identity other than Canadian until I was shocked when it was asked on my university application. The betrayal runs deep. Unwillingly, I am no longer just Canadian. I am also European.
Now we live in an environment of growing ethnic identification supercharged by intersectional progressive neo-tribalism. It's an environment where anti-semitism flowers.
"peak Never Again" 😂 love that! So true, 70s, 80s. Maybe we should just say that, like "Never Again" tshirts. ffs
if you made it progressive intersectional neo-tribalists, then you could have "pinto's".
yeah, as a Hillel-ist Hebrew, I'm against this.
Generalizing that the Left wants to destroy Israel and thereby make the world’s problems disappear is a pathetic strawman.
Yes. Only 90% of the left wants that
A statistic that only substantiates the bias of the claimant in its being unverifiable.
It's only the noisy protesting ones denying Jewish students their rights then is it? The rest of the left is collectively in love with the Jews?
I wouldn’t generalize.
Then you are hiding under a rock (or getting all your news from CNN, CBC and the New York Times)
Pejorative and dismissive language is not needed when one’s point of view is soundly reasoned.
You are living in a dream world of mainstream media if you believe that. You need to start reading/viewing independent journalists who provide truth and moral clarity.
I want to begin by saying thank you. I am a fellow Jew, and I appreciate the courage it takes to say some of this out loud.
However, there is one thing I find myself sitting with after reading your post and others like it:
Where is God?
So many reflections about the state of the Jewish people, about Israel, about fear and belonging and survival, and yet almost no one speaks His name. It feels as though we are telling our story without the One who began it.
Israel did not begin as a political project. It began as a promise. Our people were chosen by God. The land was given as covenant.
And yet in almost every conversation about our identity and our place in this world, He is missing.
If you go to town after town, and everywhere you go, people hate you, the common element there is *you*.
Thank you for this post. Not to diminish your fears and concerns but we are all hiding. Judgement is in the culture now. I don't know what to do. But others like you who are speaking out have inspired me to add this text to my Substack posts, notes and instagram posts:
"I stand with Israel and the Jewish people in defending against terrorism and hate. 🇮🇱"
Like an email signature.
My sister then sent me a "Free Palestine" message. Uh oh, I thought.
But then we had a pretty good conversation. Polite. Respectful. I think she came around.
I wish everyone (meaning non-Jews like me) would do something.
Letters used to work. To "the editor," to your local and national politicians, to the UN. But who writes letters anymore?
You have it right. We need to just talk to each other.
Don't hide your humanity. Don't separate yourself off from the rest of humanity.
"Wow, I understand the conflict from having a country you love run by an utter f'wad'"
https://www.nerdpocalypse.net/
the anything t shirt.
ok, you could also use that first line or any of the hundreds of suggested lines included with special pen with each t shirt.