Week of Oct. 2, 2014

Learning from Chabad

The column “Learn from Chabad” (Sept. 11) struck a chord with me.

As a child, I was brought up in a Christian household with Protestant and Roman Catholic parents. Church services were an hour in length, starting Saturday evening with three additional services offered on a Sunday. 

Religious instruction, either after school or on weekends, was one to two hours long. For holiday services, one did not have to pay a fee per person to attend.

As an adult, I converted to Judaism. The fees for this process were quite high. Services on Shabbat are too long and are only offered at one time, and most are not kid-friendly.

To encourage the younger generation and include young families, family-friendly services are needed, shorter services are needed and one should be able to choose between more than one service on a Friday night or Shabbat morning. Woman-friendly would be great, too.

I have yet to come across a shul that offers all this. As I converted Conservative, I should not have to seek a Reform or Reconstructionist shul to access religious instruction or spiritual guidance.

 Shuls need to change with the times. Those who want a more traditional experience will most likely turn to the Orthodox institutions. 

I think this article should encourage Jews who are not rabbis or religious leaders to comment too, to see what younger Jews think should change.

Vikki Brewster 
Montreal

Not in our backyards

It is ironic to have read “Toronto Jews look north” (Sept. 18) about the discrimination within Toronto neighbourhoods toward the Jewish community in the 1930s, 1940s and 1950s and the current controversy over a Muslim development complex proposed for the Thornhill Woods suburb (“Vaughan Council rejects Muslim housing development,” Sept. 18). 

One presumes that Vaughan City Council and the Preserve Thornhill Woods Association rejected the application of the Muslim housing development because the initial proposal violated city zoning bylaws, especially the suggested building of low-rent apartment housing. Indeed, it is understood that such a proposition devalues the current upscale real estate surroundings.

On the other hand, the Vaughan municipality permitted more than a dozen highrises, along with vast retail spaces, just a few minutes drive south of this area considered for development, creating high traffic and a densely populated neighbourhood. 

Therefore, it is in the interests of both the Jewish and Muslim communities to establish a mutually beneficial environmentally friendly neighbourhood.

Smadar Meiri 
Thornhill, Ont. 

A question of priorities

The Sharp family is to be commended for proposing a Jewish museum (Sept. 18).

If there are funds available in the community for this project, then perhaps some of the money to be raised could be allocated to provide for additional spaces at Baycrest for seniors who value kashrut and need the type of treatment and care Baycrest can provide but who lack the funds to get into Baycrest.

Funds could also be allocated to provide kosher meals for Jewish seniors in Ontario’s long-term care homes.

The Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and UJA Federation of Greater Toronto should take leading roles in ensuring these changes take place.

Charles Abshez 
Toronto 

Keep the cards

It is debatable whether members of Parliament should send greeting cards for Christmas or Rosh Hashanah to their constituents. But I was taken aback when I received three identical Shanah Tovah cards in the same day from Mark Adler, all sent through the free postal service available for MPs.

I randomly surveyed three neighbours: they had received two, four and seven (!) such cards from our MP. There are better uses of taxpayer dollars.

Martin Lockshin
Toronto 

No room for anti-Zionists

There is lots of space for critical voices. There is no space within the Jewish community for Jewish anti-Semites or anti-Zionists pretending to be pro-Israel and pro-Judaism (“How does the left fit in?” Sept. 18).

Groups like JSpace and Independent Jewish Voices stress that they want Jews and Arabs to live peacefully together and criticize only Israel for not forming a peaceful alliance.

However, the history of Israel, the constitutions of Hamas and Fatah, and the educational dogma and public media of both Fatah and Hamas clearly indicate that neither group wants peace and that they will do anything in their power to destroy Israel. 

Blaming Israel for the constant state of conflict is therefore simply refusing to see the situation as it exists.

Additionally, these negative voices are used by anti-Semites to prove that even the Jews are critical of Judaism and Israel. This is very harmful to the Jewish People.

Lastly these groups insist that having a democratic State of Israel is more important than having a Jewish State of Israel.

It is not. It is sufficient to have a democratic state for the Jews. It is more important to have a state which is a homeland for Jews than to have a democratic state of various peoples in the Middle East.

If the Arabs wish to have a democratic state, they simply can turn Jordan or one of the other Arab or Muslim states into the democracy they seek to impose on Israel. 

Those who would destroy Israel through ignorance or belief in universal democracy are extremely harmful to the Jewish People everywhere and to Israel, and so should be excluded from any meaningful and constructive Jewish conversation relating to Israel. 

Jonathan Usher 
Toronto

JIAS continues to serve

The corollary to Mordechai Ben-Dat’s ode to the history and importance of JIAS (“The immigration experts,” Sept. 24) is its continuing importance and vitality today. In Montreal and Toronto, JIAS continues its work as advocate for Jews around the world and provides outreach, education, immigration and integration services to thousands of new members of our Canadian community. 

In Montreal, JIAS – now part of the merged and strengthened social service agency OMETZ (Courage) – is the voice of new and prospective immigrants to Montreal.  Newcomers from the former Soviet Union, France, Belgium, Hungary, the United States and other parts of Canada are helped with their immigration process and greeted as part of our multi-faceted community through welcome sessions, language courses, settlement work, training and employment services.

Immigration was and continues to be a vital backbone of our community. The history of immigration to Canada and JIAS’ work provides the foundations for the excellence of immigration services today.  As we welcome these new Jewish families into our communities, so our communities grow and strengthen.

 

Susan Karpman, Director, Community Services and Immigration
Agence Ometz 
Montreal