I think the terrible truth is that since a central tenet of woke progressivism is the idea of inherent "complicity", many progressive Jews might believe that there are no "good Jews" who are free of the sin of Zionism. The same way many progressive white people will engage in self-flaggelation like "I am an uninvited settler complicit in white supremacy, patriarchy, blah blah blah", and say that as a white person you can never atone for or get rid of your "whiteness", but must devote your life to "doing the work" and "unlearning" and "de-colonizing". I think this explains the treatment Jesse Brown gets for merely posting stories of firebombings and shootings, or the murder of his relative - speaking about that is offensive to them because of the way they view the inherent power imbalance that makes all Jews, who are now "white", inherently complicit
This post must have been staggeringly hard to write, with much courage to see through.
I'm not a Jew, so I won't pretend to try an understand what this must feel like. But as a combat veteran and first generation Canadian I hope you understand that a silent (silent as we have no legislative or judicial power, yet) majority simply cannot fathom why events requiring two days of travel are beginning to erode what is left of the social contract for this country; particularly when the protestors are kids barely old enough to know 9/11, much less and the Holocaust, 1948, 1967, and 1973, the bombing of the 1990's...well one gets the point I presume.
As someone who understands pain...I'm sorry. I thought this was beneath our society.
Thank you for writing this, and to the editors for posting it.
The Canadian governments -Provincial and Federal- could both do more to control the Anti Israel protests happening across the country this past summer. Use the laws which exist and arrest those who promote hatred of Jews. Ban Samidoun from their secure perch in Vancouver. From there, protest rallies are organized and hatred flows.
We have here in Canada many philanthropic entities established and funded by Jews be they hospitals, university based centres of excellence, research centres, libraries, art galleries and recreation centres. Our society is enriched by those generous gifts. Teaching a community of Intifada supporters how to deface those buildings, must be condemned in the most severe way. The protesters have fomented unrest in a peace loving county. That this has not been stopped and dealt with was a blight on our summer and encouraging to enemies who have been taught to despise Jews.
I appreciate your views but I’m not holding my breath waiting for Canada to held Israel and combat antisemitism in any meaningful way. Canada is run politically by a Quebec based apparatchik which under the tutelage of the Catholic Church has been rabidly antisemitic for generations. Politicians at both the Canadian Federal and Quebec levels continue to look the other way when laws banning the use of religious symbols are passed in Quebec.
I remember a a child being told by a grade school teacher that the Quebec premier (Duplessis?)had said that the holocaust was an English lie.
Sad but true. I am not holding my breath either. I have no respect for the politicians currently spending my taxed dollars. They look the other way on too many issues creating harm for Canadians.
I have quite a few jewish friends and I can't tell you how many times I got genuine thanks and sighs of relief, after simply asking them how they were doing and that they were in my thoughts, in the aftermath of October 7th.
Jews are truly alone in this unconscionable fight against them. Thank them, hug them, tell them they matter. They need it right now.
One can be anti-war and not want the jews to be eradicated. A simple position that escapes the islamo-fascists who thrive on hate and violence, like the iranian government, hamas and hezbollah.
... And by extension all the useful idiots in the west who support murderous regimes (look up queers for palestine for a laugh - how long do you think a gender/queer/fluid/trans person would last in that environment?).
You can't reason people out of their prejudices, which are irrational by definition. For my part, all the people I've met who self-identified as Jews have proved themselves warm, friendly, and often wise and witty; and I love Jewish literature. I'd be inclined to say I like Jews, except for the wee detail that if I were Jewish myself I'd have good reason to be suspicious of any kind of generalization about population groups, positive or negative. There's simply no alternative to taking individuals as you find them.
I will say this, though: Jews have clearly been more sinned against than sinning in history, and the neural short-circuitry required to accuse Jews of genocide is breathtaking. My advice to Israel (not that Israelis need any from me) would be, 'Don't let your guard down for a second. You're surrounded by irrational prejudice that wishes you ill. You're right, and it's wrong.'
Your statement that you can't reason people out of their prejudices is one I agree with, but it makes me wonder: can be people be reasoned INTO prejudice? Were the coddled and cocooned campus kids already prejudiced on October 6th? Or were they simply primed to hear a particular message at a particular pitch because of the victim-oriented worldview they've been learning since kindergarten? Can these kids be yanked out of their morally-confused quagmire, or do these thoughts only run one way, like porcupine quills?
That is such a great question and one we have to contend with. We are seeing the results of the victim-oriented worldview and it is terrible. I have been thinking a lot lately about Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks' compelling 2013 Erasmus Lecture in which he spoke about the West's renewal depending on a creative minority. I think it is a worthwhile read in these times.
I’m not sure the unique type of persecution the Jews continue to deal with is really about religion. Most people probably don’t know and care nothing for what Jews believe religiously. The persecution is aimed at the ethnicity, the shared lineage, their cohesiveness and even their success. It is heartbreaking and obscene for Canadians to believe they are in any position to judge Jews in Canada based on the actions of the Israeli government. Our young people are unable to grasp the complexity of the Middle East and its tortured journey since the time of the Crusades. They grasp on to the easily understandable paradigm of the colonizer and the colonized. Perpetrator and victim. They seem unaware of the tragic reality that the Jews have been the hunted and persecuted victims for centuries. Thousands of brave young men from Canada joined the Allies during WW2 to to liberate Europe and as events unfolded to stand up once and for all against the horrific atrocities committed by the Nazis. Many lost their lives and for many surviving couples and families it was the defining commitment that changed their world view forever. Israel is not a perfect solution but it has every right to defend itself from those who work to destroy them.
the OG of victimhood ideology were women and Jews, and both groups are now subject to blatant hate - with some charity reserved for the "good ones". For Jews, it's proclaiming yourself anti-Zionist, and for women it's repeating the mantra: Transwomen are women.
in both cases, to be a "good one" will only last for so long; one step out of line and they'll be coming for you next.
No. The "OG" of resistance to oppression -- actual oppression -- were women and Jews, as well (if one limits the scope of "OG" to the last 60 years, as you appear to do) as American civil rights activists. The OG women's movement, Jews declaring Never Again", Civil Rights folks -- they stood for genuine equality and full participation in western democratic society. Victim positioning is an ideological hijacking of legitimate social movements.
Steve, by all means be an atheist and be negative toward all religion. That is your right in this country - at least until the mobs that now run around in our streets require that you pay obeisance to a "certain" formulation. Oh, they won't require you to bow and pray, yada, yada, yada but they will start with prohibitions on criticisms, etc. Then, well, then you will see how they "progress."
Oh, and if you are such a lifelong student of history how did that 1930s/early 1940s thing in Germany turn out?
And again, if you are such a lifelong student of history - and I presume someone who attempts to learn from history - what lessons can you offer from October 7, 2023 and the activities of the - let's call them the "various" groups - in the year since?
Man up, Steve. No fence sitting. Decide what you believe and state it clearly.
I am a Gentile and I say unabashedly I am a supporter of Israel, with all it's flaws, and of my Jewish neighbors. Period. No equivocation.
What say you? Or are you too cowardly to take a stand?
Achtung Herr Schultz... I clearly hit a nerve with my thoughts on 'religion' and it's effects. Any sane student of history and true believer in the
Golden Rule should be able to figure out where to 'stand' on the horror show in Israel. Or to use a trite cliche', some of my best friends are Jews . That clear enough for you or do I need to 'man up' and not be 'cowardly'.
For some reason I expected better from you Kenneth. How wrong I was. You are cordially invited to call me a coward in person should you ever find yourself on the Island
( not the Rock,the other one). I'm not hard to find as their are only 2 of us. It would allow you to place the consequences of personally insulting someone in historical context. I await your appearance with happy anticipation.
For starters, Judaism is an ethnoreligion. Also, I have yet to hear of an Antisemite who checks to see that you fasted on Yom Kippur before spray-painting a swastika on your garage.
Of course hatred is the problem. History also tells us that religion is all too often a catalyst to hatred which is one of the main reasons for my opinion on religion, ethno or otherwise.
I always struggle while considering the hostage situation. Immediately following the massacre and subsequent kidnappings my first thought was that families should consider their loved ones to be deceased as that seemed like the most likely outcome once their purposes had been sufficiently exhausted. Easier to consider of course because they weren’t my loved ones. Hamas played their hand much as expected by releasing some of the hostages to somewhat stem the hopelessness of the situation while kicking off the protests against the Israeli government for their perceived inaction. What a horrible situation for those directly affected as there are no practical answers. Caving in to Hamas will only prolong the pain as will slowly working toward their eradication. Now add the Hezbollah dynamic, with Iranian fingerprints and worldwide media anti Semitic pile on and the situation has become even more hopeless.
You get to the point where some people are so smart that they are in fact stupid. You see it with the Liberals and one of their foundational beliefs. Minister Freeland expressed it with her insistence that a "rules based order" must be maintained, even when none exists. It's their way of excusing Canada's underachievement and underperformance in the world order. "Don't worry, the wolf would never dare violate the treaty, they said so!" It is the same here.
These folks are so isolated from the savagery of infidels (and their implicit supporters) that they do not understand that the world lives by the insight of that intellectual colossus Mike Tyson "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."
People who are anti-Israel and pro-Hamas don’t understand that Hamas = violence and that rooting out Hamas is actually what anyone who supports Palestine would want as well. They conflate Hamas and Palestinians and while there is overlap, it’s not the same thing.
But I also think about lgbtq people supporting Hamas from the comfort of their North American homes when if they lived in Palestine - well, they either wouldn’t have an lgbtq identity or they’d be dead. That simple. (And yes, as far as I’m concerned anyone who opposes Israel’s right to defend themselves is pro-Hamas and is supporting the continued reign of terror over Palestine as well.)
I think the terrible truth is that since a central tenet of woke progressivism is the idea of inherent "complicity", many progressive Jews might believe that there are no "good Jews" who are free of the sin of Zionism. The same way many progressive white people will engage in self-flaggelation like "I am an uninvited settler complicit in white supremacy, patriarchy, blah blah blah", and say that as a white person you can never atone for or get rid of your "whiteness", but must devote your life to "doing the work" and "unlearning" and "de-colonizing". I think this explains the treatment Jesse Brown gets for merely posting stories of firebombings and shootings, or the murder of his relative - speaking about that is offensive to them because of the way they view the inherent power imbalance that makes all Jews, who are now "white", inherently complicit
This post must have been staggeringly hard to write, with much courage to see through.
I'm not a Jew, so I won't pretend to try an understand what this must feel like. But as a combat veteran and first generation Canadian I hope you understand that a silent (silent as we have no legislative or judicial power, yet) majority simply cannot fathom why events requiring two days of travel are beginning to erode what is left of the social contract for this country; particularly when the protestors are kids barely old enough to know 9/11, much less and the Holocaust, 1948, 1967, and 1973, the bombing of the 1990's...well one gets the point I presume.
As someone who understands pain...I'm sorry. I thought this was beneath our society.
Thank you for writing this, and to the editors for posting it.
The Canadian governments -Provincial and Federal- could both do more to control the Anti Israel protests happening across the country this past summer. Use the laws which exist and arrest those who promote hatred of Jews. Ban Samidoun from their secure perch in Vancouver. From there, protest rallies are organized and hatred flows.
We have here in Canada many philanthropic entities established and funded by Jews be they hospitals, university based centres of excellence, research centres, libraries, art galleries and recreation centres. Our society is enriched by those generous gifts. Teaching a community of Intifada supporters how to deface those buildings, must be condemned in the most severe way. The protesters have fomented unrest in a peace loving county. That this has not been stopped and dealt with was a blight on our summer and encouraging to enemies who have been taught to despise Jews.
I appreciate your views but I’m not holding my breath waiting for Canada to held Israel and combat antisemitism in any meaningful way. Canada is run politically by a Quebec based apparatchik which under the tutelage of the Catholic Church has been rabidly antisemitic for generations. Politicians at both the Canadian Federal and Quebec levels continue to look the other way when laws banning the use of religious symbols are passed in Quebec.
I remember a a child being told by a grade school teacher that the Quebec premier (Duplessis?)had said that the holocaust was an English lie.
So my message to Israel is, “Never Again” .
L'Shanah Tovah to all.
Sad but true. I am not holding my breath either. I have no respect for the politicians currently spending my taxed dollars. They look the other way on too many issues creating harm for Canadians.
I have quite a few jewish friends and I can't tell you how many times I got genuine thanks and sighs of relief, after simply asking them how they were doing and that they were in my thoughts, in the aftermath of October 7th.
Jews are truly alone in this unconscionable fight against them. Thank them, hug them, tell them they matter. They need it right now.
One can be anti-war and not want the jews to be eradicated. A simple position that escapes the islamo-fascists who thrive on hate and violence, like the iranian government, hamas and hezbollah.
... And by extension all the useful idiots in the west who support murderous regimes (look up queers for palestine for a laugh - how long do you think a gender/queer/fluid/trans person would last in that environment?).
You can't reason people out of their prejudices, which are irrational by definition. For my part, all the people I've met who self-identified as Jews have proved themselves warm, friendly, and often wise and witty; and I love Jewish literature. I'd be inclined to say I like Jews, except for the wee detail that if I were Jewish myself I'd have good reason to be suspicious of any kind of generalization about population groups, positive or negative. There's simply no alternative to taking individuals as you find them.
I will say this, though: Jews have clearly been more sinned against than sinning in history, and the neural short-circuitry required to accuse Jews of genocide is breathtaking. My advice to Israel (not that Israelis need any from me) would be, 'Don't let your guard down for a second. You're surrounded by irrational prejudice that wishes you ill. You're right, and it's wrong.'
Your statement that you can't reason people out of their prejudices is one I agree with, but it makes me wonder: can be people be reasoned INTO prejudice? Were the coddled and cocooned campus kids already prejudiced on October 6th? Or were they simply primed to hear a particular message at a particular pitch because of the victim-oriented worldview they've been learning since kindergarten? Can these kids be yanked out of their morally-confused quagmire, or do these thoughts only run one way, like porcupine quills?
That is such a great question and one we have to contend with. We are seeing the results of the victim-oriented worldview and it is terrible. I have been thinking a lot lately about Rabbi Lord Jonathan Sacks' compelling 2013 Erasmus Lecture in which he spoke about the West's renewal depending on a creative minority. I think it is a worthwhile read in these times.
Such courage to speak the truth Ariella. My heart breaks that we seem unable to not learn from the past.
As a non-jew, I happily proclaim to be a Zionist.
I’m not sure the unique type of persecution the Jews continue to deal with is really about religion. Most people probably don’t know and care nothing for what Jews believe religiously. The persecution is aimed at the ethnicity, the shared lineage, their cohesiveness and even their success. It is heartbreaking and obscene for Canadians to believe they are in any position to judge Jews in Canada based on the actions of the Israeli government. Our young people are unable to grasp the complexity of the Middle East and its tortured journey since the time of the Crusades. They grasp on to the easily understandable paradigm of the colonizer and the colonized. Perpetrator and victim. They seem unaware of the tragic reality that the Jews have been the hunted and persecuted victims for centuries. Thousands of brave young men from Canada joined the Allies during WW2 to to liberate Europe and as events unfolded to stand up once and for all against the horrific atrocities committed by the Nazis. Many lost their lives and for many surviving couples and families it was the defining commitment that changed their world view forever. Israel is not a perfect solution but it has every right to defend itself from those who work to destroy them.
the OG of victimhood ideology were women and Jews, and both groups are now subject to blatant hate - with some charity reserved for the "good ones". For Jews, it's proclaiming yourself anti-Zionist, and for women it's repeating the mantra: Transwomen are women.
in both cases, to be a "good one" will only last for so long; one step out of line and they'll be coming for you next.
What does OG stand for?
No. The "OG" of resistance to oppression -- actual oppression -- were women and Jews, as well (if one limits the scope of "OG" to the last 60 years, as you appear to do) as American civil rights activists. The OG women's movement, Jews declaring Never Again", Civil Rights folks -- they stood for genuine equality and full participation in western democratic society. Victim positioning is an ideological hijacking of legitimate social movements.
As an atheist and firm believer that all ' religion' is ultimately the bane of humanity this piece is hard to get my head around.
As a lifelong student of history it is depressing and sadly,perfectly understandable. Man, reality fucking sucks, always has, always will.
Steve, by all means be an atheist and be negative toward all religion. That is your right in this country - at least until the mobs that now run around in our streets require that you pay obeisance to a "certain" formulation. Oh, they won't require you to bow and pray, yada, yada, yada but they will start with prohibitions on criticisms, etc. Then, well, then you will see how they "progress."
Oh, and if you are such a lifelong student of history how did that 1930s/early 1940s thing in Germany turn out?
And again, if you are such a lifelong student of history - and I presume someone who attempts to learn from history - what lessons can you offer from October 7, 2023 and the activities of the - let's call them the "various" groups - in the year since?
Man up, Steve. No fence sitting. Decide what you believe and state it clearly.
I am a Gentile and I say unabashedly I am a supporter of Israel, with all it's flaws, and of my Jewish neighbors. Period. No equivocation.
What say you? Or are you too cowardly to take a stand?
Achtung Herr Schultz... I clearly hit a nerve with my thoughts on 'religion' and it's effects. Any sane student of history and true believer in the
Golden Rule should be able to figure out where to 'stand' on the horror show in Israel. Or to use a trite cliche', some of my best friends are Jews . That clear enough for you or do I need to 'man up' and not be 'cowardly'.
Ah, an attempt to utilize my supposed ethnicity!
Horror show, yes. Caused by Hamas, absolutely.
But, then, perhaps you are simply attempting to be a "good Jew."
For some reason I expected better from you Kenneth. How wrong I was. You are cordially invited to call me a coward in person should you ever find yourself on the Island
( not the Rock,the other one). I'm not hard to find as their are only 2 of us. It would allow you to place the consequences of personally insulting someone in historical context. I await your appearance with happy anticipation.
copout.
For starters, Judaism is an ethnoreligion. Also, I have yet to hear of an Antisemite who checks to see that you fasted on Yom Kippur before spray-painting a swastika on your garage.
Religion isn't the problem here. Hatred is.
Of course hatred is the problem. History also tells us that religion is all too often a catalyst to hatred which is one of the main reasons for my opinion on religion, ethno or otherwise.
People forget also, “ First we come for the Saturday people, then we come for the Sunday people.”
Hate is heartbreaking and impossible to reconcile with
I always struggle while considering the hostage situation. Immediately following the massacre and subsequent kidnappings my first thought was that families should consider their loved ones to be deceased as that seemed like the most likely outcome once their purposes had been sufficiently exhausted. Easier to consider of course because they weren’t my loved ones. Hamas played their hand much as expected by releasing some of the hostages to somewhat stem the hopelessness of the situation while kicking off the protests against the Israeli government for their perceived inaction. What a horrible situation for those directly affected as there are no practical answers. Caving in to Hamas will only prolong the pain as will slowly working toward their eradication. Now add the Hezbollah dynamic, with Iranian fingerprints and worldwide media anti Semitic pile on and the situation has become even more hopeless.
You get to the point where some people are so smart that they are in fact stupid. You see it with the Liberals and one of their foundational beliefs. Minister Freeland expressed it with her insistence that a "rules based order" must be maintained, even when none exists. It's their way of excusing Canada's underachievement and underperformance in the world order. "Don't worry, the wolf would never dare violate the treaty, they said so!" It is the same here.
These folks are so isolated from the savagery of infidels (and their implicit supporters) that they do not understand that the world lives by the insight of that intellectual colossus Mike Tyson "Everyone has a plan until they get punched in the mouth."
Thanks for that . I had forgotten Tysons quote. Words to live by, almost up there with the Golden Rule.
People who are anti-Israel and pro-Hamas don’t understand that Hamas = violence and that rooting out Hamas is actually what anyone who supports Palestine would want as well. They conflate Hamas and Palestinians and while there is overlap, it’s not the same thing.
But I also think about lgbtq people supporting Hamas from the comfort of their North American homes when if they lived in Palestine - well, they either wouldn’t have an lgbtq identity or they’d be dead. That simple. (And yes, as far as I’m concerned anyone who opposes Israel’s right to defend themselves is pro-Hamas and is supporting the continued reign of terror over Palestine as well.)
Thank you to The Line and your courage Arilella to write this article.