By Michael Regenstreif
In the last issue in this space, I wrote about the sad news that the Canadian Jewish News (CJN) would cease publication with its June 20 issue and noted the grassroots petition at savethecjn.com. The petition quickly blossomed into Project CJN 2.0, an online brainstorming session to come up with ideas that would keep the CJN alive and reposition it for the future.
Interestingly, the Toronto-based activists who organized the petition and Project CJN 2.0 are Alana Kayfetz and Rachel Singer, a pair of 29-year-olds from the heart of the under-40 demographic that studies tell us don’t read or care about newspapers. Many Bulletin readers will remember Kayfetz from her time working with students at the University of Ottawa and Carleton University as Hillel Ottawa’s executive director from 2008 to 2010.
Thanks to the quickly organized campaign, and to the response from shocked readers, the CJN board of directors has announced “an all-out effort to save the print edition of the newspaper” that would involve new financing, campaigns to increase subscriptions and advertising, building a financial cushion, and a streamlined operation. Marty Goldberg, who is leading the CJN board’s efforts, set a deadline of May 31 for the effort to succeed.
As I noted last issue, newspapers are an essential part of the glue that holds a community together, and Jewish communities, in particular, have a rich tradition of such newspapers. And I am reminded of the importance of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin as our community’s newspaper almost every time I speak to someone, whether it’s on the phone or in the hallways and locker room of the Soloway Jewish Community Centre, or when I attend a community event.
To be sure, the Bulletin faces some of the same challenges that led to the initial announcement the CJN would close – particularly in attracting young readers. So it’s heartening to see the groundswell of support for the CJN has been led by young people. Our own project to redesign our print edition, launch a dynamic online Bulletin and develop more content that speaks to the concerns of younger readers – while still serving our traditional readers as well as, or even better than, we have in the past – points to an exciting future for this newspaper.
As a Jewish community journalist, I’ve found it dismaying that Toronto and Montreal’s Jewish communities – which together number more than half of Canada’s Jewish community – would lose their community newspaper. Here’s hoping the CJN’s last-minute efforts will be successful.
Stephen Hawking
Renowned physicist Stephen Hawking has joined the BDS (boycott, divestment, sanctions) movement and cancelled his participation in Facing Tomorrow 2013: The Human Factor in Shaping Tomorrow, the Israeli Presidential Conference taking place June 18 to 20 at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem.
Under the guidance of Israeli President Shimon Peres, the almost-annual conference founded in 2008 has become one of the world’s most important and prestigious conferences for the presentation and discussion of ideas for the future. The conference attracts academics, scientists, philosophers, statesmen and even royalty and celebrities from around the world.
Hawking, in a May 3 letter to the conference, wrote: “I have received a number of emails from Palestinian academics. They are unanimous that I should respect the boycott. In view of this, I must withdraw from the conference. Had I attended, I would have stated my opinion that the policy of the present Israeli government is likely to lead to disaster.”
In the case of Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians, academic and artistic boycotts are not a way forward to peace – they only serve to harden attitudes and alienate populations when, if anything, they need to be brought together in dialogue.
Hawking may well think Israeli policy toward the Palestinians “is likely to lead to disaster.” There are many Israelis who would agree. But he should go to Israel and say so, and say why. And he could offer advice or ideas that might help solve problems that have been intractable for far too long.
And perhaps Hawking could also offer some analysis of Palestinian policies that have been every bit as responsible – if not more so – in keeping the peace process from moving forward much faster and much more efficiently than it has.
Visionary events like the Israeli Presidential Conference help make the world a better place. Boycotts don’t help at all.
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