We don’t know what we have until it is eaten away at. How could we?  

Is it possible for a child who grew up in a peaceful, rational society to understand and recognize how other nations operate? Could I, as a child of the ’60s and ’70s, feel the oppression of such states as Libya or Congo, where its citizens are persecuted and made to feel fear by selfish dictators and self-centred autocrats? I have never double-locked my doors or looked over my shoulder in fear of uniformed men.  

Yet recently I had a talk with a friend who told me she is frightened in a way she has never felt. She told me, “I am scared ISIS is coming over here,” in reference to the very chilling Islamic State terrorizing Syria and Iraq. She added that for the first time in her life, she is developing anxiety and panic, believing that things are changing in our peaceful forest, Canada, and violence is coming our way. 

My friend attributed her fears to what she reads in the news  – journalists having their heads lopped off and children being forced to kill grown men. She is shaking at such barbarism. She cannot sleep as she used to and doesn’t feel the Canadian sense of freedom she once did. 

I am not certain how to calm her because I am beginning to feel the same. For the first time in my life, I too fear those in our midst, in our neighbourhoods, down the street from us, who only this past summer during the war on Gaza, walked proudly and openly with placards at anti-Israel protests calling for “Jewish children into the ovens.”  The fundamentalist Muslims and their allies here in Toronto are truly upsetting. 

I can only answer her that most people are noble, that goodness ultimately triumphs. I also encourage her to become part of the change – to fight the bad guys, and even more, to work toward strengthening the virtuous. While I am uncertain of the future and how to battle the present, I cannot approach it in any other way. 

I must be involved in this revolution and I express an invitation to you to do the same. 

Embrace the Christians, the Muslims, the other, those whom you know, and create energy of peace and tolerance. As a community, let’s be introspective and determine how prepared we are for the rough days by coming together and asking some key questions such as: are we doing enough to ensure the safety and security of our members; are we all playing an activist role in the strengthening of the Jewish People; do the major Jewish organizations including the Jewish federations and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) have a plan if Canada takes a European turn for the worst?

It is crucial that we, the Canadian Jewish community, recognize that we have had some very good decades, perhaps the best throughout history. It is paramount that we understand we have to strategize together to create a plan for our own future. And it is crucial for our leadership to look closely at what is occurring around us and act as role models for the rest of our members, taking the perilous events happening in every continent, very seriously. 

My friend is scared. She feels that we could be in the midst of a world war, one that will require a massive response from millions. How do we contain fundamentalist Islam? How do we fight terrorists on our streets? How do we wake up our own Jewish neighbours so that each and every one of us plays a role in fighting evil forces and finding peace in our world, which is beautiful and where most people are decent? 

 Peace cannot be kept by force; it can only be achieved by understanding. – 
Albert Einstein.