December 15, 2008: OPIRG reinforces perception leftist anti-Zionism is antisemitic

By Michael Regenstreif

Reporter Liana Shlien has a story on page 13 of this issue of the Bulletin about a visit to Ottawa on November 20 by Israel Siriri, the chair of the small Abayudaya Jewish community in Uganda, and a talk that he gave about his community at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre. The primary sponsor of Siriri’s visit here was Hillel Ottawa – the Foundation for Jewish Campus Life.

In advance of Siriri’s visit, Hillel approached the Ontario Public Interest Research Group at the University of Ottawa (OPIRG-Ottawa), a group funded by a $3.38 annual levy on every uOttawa student, and asked for assistance in promoting the event with the African Jewish leader.

OPIRG-Ottawa states that its “mission is to bring together and build upon a broad-based community dedicated to social, economic and environmental justice. OPIRG is concerned with the contribution that students, the university and the community can make towards social change.”

Given OPIRG-Ottawa’s mandate, it is quite logical to assume they would be anxious to lend their support to a presentation by the leader of a small community in Africa about the history of his community, and about the kinds of projects it undertakes to sustain the community, its infrastructure, its schools and its outreach to other communities in the region.

Hillel didn’t hear back from OPIRG-Ottawa in advance of Siriri’s visit. Later, though, Hillel received an e-mail from the OPIRG-Ottawa board of directors explaining they had decided not to offer their endorsement of the event or to promote it.

The OPIRG-Ottawa email went on to say they rejected the event because of Hillel’s “relationship to apartheid Israel” adding that “Zionist Ideology [sic] does not fit within OPIRG’s mandate of human right’s [sic], social justice.”

Leaving aside the nonsense about “Israeli apartheid” – for that, see the article by Dan Schloss, Hillel Ottawa’s Israel advocacy coordinator on page 26 – OPIRG-Ottawa’s flapping about Zionist ideology wouldn’t have been a surprise had Hillel been asking for their support for an appearance by Benjamin Netanyahu. But other than the fact that Siriri’s first name is ‘Israel,’ his talk had absolutely nothing to do with Israel or Zionism. One of Hillel’s co-sponsors of the event was the Kurdish Youth Association of Canada, hardly a Zionist organization.

By promoting a Jewish-oriented event perfectly in tune with its proclaimed mandate, the evening with Siriri would have provided OPIRG-Ottawa with the perfect opportunity to show that the perception that leftist campus anti-Zionism is not tinged with the antisemitism many people perceive. Instead of seizing the opportunity, OPIRG-Ottawa reinforced that perception.

September 15, 2008: Prime minister chooses Sukkot for election day

By Michael Regenstreif

The federal election campaign officially began last week after Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s visit to the governor general. The election will be on Tuesday, October 14. Although federal elections are traditionally on Mondays, this election will be on a Tuesday because Monday that week is Thanksgiving Day, a legal holiday.

The day Harper chose for the election happens to be the first day of Sukkot, a day when observant Jews will not be able to participate in the democratic process. Although, as both Canadian Jewish Congress and B’nai Brith Canada have pointed out, Jews who observe the festival won’t lose their vote. They’ll have ample opportunity to vote in advance polls.

But there’s more to being part of the process than just voting. Observant Jews will be denied the opportunity of staffing polling stations or of helping their candidate get out the vote on election day. Observant Jews who are active in campaigns may be denied the opportunity to celebrate or commiserate at their candidates’ headquarters as the returns come in on election night. And observant Jews who like to stay home and watch the coverage on TV may have to miss out because they won’t turn on their television set on a holy day.

All of those things, and more, are part and parcel of participating in our democratic society. A religious holiday of any major faith that keeps citizens from full participation in the process should not be used as an election day.

There was no necessity for Harper to have called the election when he did. He could have waited until he actually lost the confidence of the House of Commons; something he had pledged to do when his government passed legislation fixing the election date for every four years unless the government loses a non-confidence vote in the House.

Or, the prime minister could have set the election date for two weeks later when the Jewish holidays would not have been a factor.

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A hearty Mazal Tov to everyone connected to the Soloway Jewish Community Centre. This week marks the 10th anniversary of when the Soloway JCC moved into the brand new Joseph and Rose Ages Family Building. In addition to its first-class fitness facilities, the Soloway JCC provides superb programming for all sectors of the community, and for all ages, from infants to seniors. The Soloway JCC is something we can all be very proud of.

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We’re pleased to introduce another new column this issue. Liana Shlien’s Campus Life debuts on page 52 and will focus on Jewish student life on Ottawa-area university campuses. The column is scheduled for the first issue of the month during the school year. Liana is a fourth-year journalism student at Carleton University and worked at the Bulletin over the summer as our staff reporter/intern. She’s continuing to work part-time with us now that classes are back in session.

Finally, Shana Tova – Happy New Year – from all of us at the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin.