An imam’s view on funding

In a letter to the editor (“Who should pay?” May 28), Jeffrey Stutz made some wonderful comments.

It is worth noting that with respect to funding religious-based private schools, there is blatant religious discrimination taking place right here in Canada. Ontario’s provincial government is funding Catholic schools to the exclusion of all other religions. The just thing to do would be to fully fund other religions as well.

If that is not possible, then some form of tuition assistance should be provided to parents who want to enrol children in private schools the way other provinces provide partial funding for all private schools. 

If that is not possible, then our tax dollars should not be used to fund any religion. 

We cherish the past, but we are in 2015 and we need to be fair with all religious and non-religious-based private schools. 

Also, non-Catholics are not allowed to enrol their children in Catholic schools until Grade 9, even though Catholic schools are publicly funded.

One suggestion would be that Jewish schools should try to decrease their tuition. I am very surprised that tuition is $10,000 or much higher than that. We understand that to have good facilities and good teachers, salaries need to be high, which can only be possible through higher tuition. But current tuition rates in many Jewish schools are too high for middle-class Jewish parents with multiple children.

Imam Nazim Mangera
Toronto

Anti-Semitism at the UN

I have the greatest of respect for former Israeli ambassador to Canada Alan Baker and applaud his effort to universally criminalize anti-Semitism (“Anti-Semitism should be an international crime,” May 28).

While the International Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Anti-Semitism is completely necessary and justified in view of the horrific increase in anti-Semitic acts around the world, it is difficult to conceive that the United Nations, with a component United Nations Human Rights Council, would even allow consideration of this proposal on its agenda. It is too occupied each and every month condemning Israel for non-existent and contrived human rights violations. 

Nonetheless, the effort is certainly worthwhile and should be supported and endorsed by every Jewish organization in the world.   

Bert Raphael, President, 
Canadian Jewish Civil Rights Association 
Toronto 

Israel and democracy

In Gil Troy’s column “Israel’s Jewish and democratic ideals are in harmony” (May 28), he writes, “Democracy begins by realizing that every individual is equal, has dignity and has inherent rights.” It seems that Troy has missed several incidents that occurred recently in Israel.

The Ethiopian Jews who demonstrated and rioted recently are looking for “the democracy” of which he preaches. Many of these Jews are now actually first generation Israeli-born, by the way. Unfortunately, they are treated like second-class citizens only because they are black.

The scene I witnessed on TV was a black Jew with blood running down his face and crying out “I am a Jew, I was in the army!” This could have been a scene from my ghetto days, many years ago.

The second episode of democracy in Israel happened recently, when the Women of the Wall were attacked by religious fanatics, who have hijacked the Western Wall with the consent and help of the Israeli government. 

The fanatics grabbed the Torah from women’s hands, tore the tallitot that they were wearing, pushed them around and chased them away from the Wall. The “best part” of this was that some of these women were then arrested by the Israeli police.

No, Mr. Troy, Israel is not a democracy, even according to your standards. As a lifelong Zionist who still loves Israel, I must say that at best, it is a theocracy, with some traces of democracy in it. 

Let us hope that change will come to Israel soon. 

Philip Goldig
Montreal