Sephardi voices omitted
I was disappointed to see that The CJN’s image of the future of Canadian Jewry appears to include so few non-Ashkenazi names (“These 24 Jews are changing the world as we know it,” April 2).
I commend the recent efforts made by the paper to be more forward thinking and inclusive. I also respect and admire many of the outstanding individuals on this list. But time and time again, our institutions fail to represent the whole community, and many of us have simply stopped paying attention to organizations and publications that do not reflect our vision for modern Judaism. I hope that you revise your process for future lists and highlight some of the great work happening in all corners of our community.
Jonathan Moyal
Montreal
Those infamous signs
In reference to the lack of hard evidence, such as photographs, of anti-Semitic signs, here are some memories on the matter (“No dogs, no Jews: No evidence,” April 9).
Those of us in our 70s and 80s (or more) are not yet in our dotage. Many of us vividly remember those signs. “No Jews no dogs”; “Restricted clientele”; “Gentiles only”.
Very few families had cameras, and if they were lucky enough to own one, it was used for happy occasions: visits with family and friends, the children, bar mitzvahs, weddings, etc. Who in their right mind would have wasted film on such unpleasant subjects as those signs, reminiscent of Europe, particularly during World War II? Revisionist interpretation is a dangerous sport.
Miriam Cohen
Montreal
Signs of the times
I arrived in Canada in 1951 from England and during the summer of that year, I visited the Laurentians with a friend, specifically the town of L’Esterel. There, in front of a large green-hedged enclosure (probably a golf course), was a sign, prominently displayed in front of the entrance, “No Dogs, No Jews.” I had never seen anything like this in England or anywhere else. This sign was no myth.
Later in 1956, when staying at my in-laws’ cottage in Ste. Agathe des Monts, we invited a friend, Dr. Ben Wittenberg, a prominent doctor from Detroit, and his wife (who happened to be non-Jewish) to visit us. We made a reservation for them at the Laurentide Inn. When we arrived at the hotel and went to register they were refused admission with the words “Pas des Juifs.” Anti-Semitism in Quebec in the 1950s was alive and well.
Doreen Salmon Sternfeld
Westmount, Que.
Be wary of school funding
Cantor Eric Moses’ impassioned plea for equality in government funding for faith-based schools in Ontario is refreshing and welcome (“Ontario should fund Jewish day schools,” Toronto edition, April 9). But we should be careful about what, exactly, we ask for – taking government money could lead to government meddling in our schools’ curricula.
Would funding embolden Queen’s Park to demand we suppress traditional Jewish teachings about homosexuality because it doesn’t fit with the secular law on same-sex marriage? Would it lead to demands we never speak of Palestinian Arab terror past or present, declaring it prejudicial to Ontarians of Palestinian Arab descent?
Perhaps what we should be asking for are permanent and major tax credits and rebates for parents, essentially full-tuition vouchers, that could only be used at faith-based schools, not secular private schools. These could be of equal financial help to parents, but not risk making our schools beholden to the secular political and social agendas of the provincial government, as the public schools currently are.
Steve Mitchell
Toronto
A touching remembrance
I read the article on Jews in jail (“Easily shunned: Canadian Jews behind bars,” April 9) with interest.
Several years ago, I was a social worker at the Guelph Correctional Centre. The late Rabbi Philip Rosensweig, the rabbi from Kitchener and the father of Avrum Rosensweig of Ve’ahavta, used to visit the centre regularly.
We met because paycheques were distributed in a special room and he heard my last name “Katz” called out. We were friends from then on. Just a little remembrance of a wonderful man.
Gilda Katz
Toronto
Memories of York U
I take strong objection to the statement “to the best of his knowledge, in his early years at York, [Martin] Lockshin was the only person to wear a kippah on campus,” (“York prof to make aliyah this summer,” cjnews.com, April 9).
My late husband, Prof. Sol Tanenzapf, was brought to York University in 1968 to help start the department of Jewish studies. As an observant Jew, he always wore a kippah, be it on or off campus.
Elaine Tanenzapf
Toronto
Turning Al-Quds Day around
Rather than follow B’nai Brith’s childish attempt to stop the Al-Quds Day rally (CJNews.com), why don’t students take the initiative and turn Al-Quds Day into an Israeli celebration?
They could give out blue and white cookies labelled in Hebrew and Arabic, and they could put up posters with fun facts such as: why is it called Al-Quds? Because when the Arabs invaded Israel in the seventh century, they asked the local Jews “What is this city called?” and were told “Ir Hakodesh, the Holy City,” so the Arabs called it Al-Quds.
Charles Heller
Toronto
