Have Christians and Jews lost their humanity?

Some 101 years ago, in 1924, Hebrew University president J.L. Magnas was quoted as saying:

The purpose of the Hebrew University is not our assimilation among the peoples, but the absorption into Judaism of mankind’s spiritual treasures, in so far as the law of the Jewish soul permits this. We want to look out upon humanity through our own eyes, unblended by a civilisation that seems doomed to destruction by reason of its bondage to machinery. True to ourselves, we want to absorb and work over in our own way what humanity has given us. We want the Jewish spiritual view of life to be deepened and broadened, so that it may help broaden and deepen the spiritual life of humanity.

Today, hate and intolerance, coupled with the splenetic, small-minded antisemite bigots of this world, are initiated by global demagogues of the far-left, extreme right and various Islamist groups. They are not interested in helping to broaden and deepen the spiritual life of humanity, unless it is on their specific terms.

Collectively, their sole aim is to incite hate, intolerance and antisemitism through all sectors of society through blatant lies, misinformation and propaganda.

These racists – let’s call them for what they are – profess to be utterly convinced that their knowledge of the Middle East and of Jewish history is boundless. Coupled with their convoluted conspiracy theories, they are unshakable in their hatred not just of Israel, but of all Jews.

The Jew-haters continue to plod their way around the globe and have more than ever consolidated their objectives and strategy, recruiting journalists and social media to their cause. They have made successful inroads that must be recognized.

Throughout the years ahead, we must continue to hold these harebrained miscreants accountable for their virulent Judeophobia and bigotry. Any slight passivity from us will be perceived as a sign of weakness, thus helping their cause further.

“As Jews, we have preached to our own choir so much so that we have forgotten how to communicate with our Christian neighbors, and they, as a whole, do not know how to communicate with Jews.”

Co-operation and coordination at the regional and local grassroots level in Canada, where I reside, must be seen as a necessity in order to secure our well-being. This was emphasized to me this weekend by a Canadian reader who wrote:

We hit rock bottom last Thursday (Dec 5) with the front page headline [in The National Post], ‘Canada drifts into darkness as the rot grows ever deeper’, with accompanying photo of police holding back a phalanx of demonstrators trying to disrupt a public debate on a two-state solution that featured a number of Israeli public figures. The headline and photo headed up an opinion piece by Avi Benlolo.

The demonstrators were abusive and threatening and were arrested for assaulting the police. That’s what we’ve come to in Toronto, thanks to our government’s support for a Palestinian nation, at Israel’s expense.

So my question is: Where was our phalanx of supporters? Where were our slogans and placards and banners and bunting? Where were our voices? Nowhere to be seen or heard. Where were our positive messages about the wonders of our people and our land?

We need to move our phalanx from a street corner to the battlefield, wherever our haters may choose to appear, and outshout their every slogan, with what Am Yisrael Chai really means…what our tiny country has contributed to making the world a more just and compassionate place, with a few slogans from The Genius of Israel.

Happily, the UJA Federation seems to have got the message, and two fellows have volunteered to head up an action committee. But we have to move forward without delay. We cannot wait any longer. Jewish lives depend on it. Our political leaders have abandoned us. We have to defend ourselves.

It is universally recognized that without peace and security, there can be no meaningful development within a region. Progress in conflict prevention, resolution and management is a prerequisite for Canadian Jews as much as it is in other areas of the world. Yet, in Canada, as Jews, we have preached to our own choir so much so that we have forgotten how to communicate with our Christian neighbors, and they, as a whole, do not know how to communicate with Jews..

To quote Dietrich Bonhoeffer, “Silence in the face of evil is itself evil … Not to speak is to speak. Not to act is to act” If Bonhoeffer were alive today, I’m sure he would have shaken his head in disbelief at the lack of action by Canadians.

Shameful!