We Jews weep when we recall the innocent victims of terrorism in Paris. We excoriate the anti-Semitic ideology behind these vile acts.
The threat to western values that are dear to us, including freedom of speech and of the press, has led public debate to focus largely on the legal boundaries of such speech. In all western countries, some speech is subject to legal penalty, but different countries have different boundaries. In some European countries, you can be fined or jailed for anti-Semitic comments. In the United States, you can call Judaism a “gutter religion” and suffer no legal consequences. In Canada we have an unclear middle position.
Some have suggested that western countries enact laws against “blasphemous” speech. This would be a terrible idea. Any student of Jewish history knows that Jews were often silenced because what they said was defined as blasphemous by Christians. One person’s theology is another person’s blasphemy.
I suggest that in Jewish circles, we move the discussion to a more Jewish frame of reference. Instead of asking what speech should be legal in Canada or France, Jews should think about what speech is in consonance with Jewish values, as it helps build a society of respect and harmony.
To give an extreme example of legal but bad speech, the police in Halifax have ruled that the members of the Facebook group, “Class of DDS 2015 Gentlemen,” broke no laws of Canada with their disgusting comments about women. We all understand, and Dalhousie University understands, that the fact that such speech is “protected” in Canada does not mean that the students’ actions were morally neutral. In a university that has a code of conduct that requires something beyond observing the laws of Canada, these students are likely to be branded offenders of that code.
Like Dalhousie University, Judaism also has a code of conduct, instructing us to avoid many types of speech that the law of the land allows. Gossip, even when true, is a Jewish religious-ethical sin. Lying, even when no one suffers from the lie, is also an infraction. It is considered preferable to throw yourself into a fiery furnace than to say embarrassing words to someone in public. (Ketubot 67b and other sources)
It isn’t just Judaism – the Pope understands this, too. Of course, he feels great sadness over the loss of life in Paris and is on the side of the victims, not the perpetrators. But his recent statement demands more of Catholics and others who might listen to him: “You cannot provoke, you cannot insult other people’s faith, you cannot mock it.” The Pope is well aware that in the pre-modern world, Christian leaders often did mock other people’s faiths. So did Jewish leaders, for that matter, when they were not afraid of being killed for doing so.
But in our multicultural countries, the irreverent mocking of religions as found in publications like Charlie Hebdo is detrimental. We Jews can agree that such nasty, obscene and offensive mocking must be protected by law. But we should join with the Pope in distancing ourselves from such hurtful speech.
Martin Lockshin is a professor of Jewish studies at York University.
