One narrative that has grown more dominant in the past few months is that which seeks to target, discredit, and harm “Zionists.”
I worry that many Canadians do not actually know what “Zionism” means, nor do they understand its origins, or how its sudden weaponization is concerning to Jews everywhere, and should be concerning to you, too. I write this piece with the hope that it may provide some clarity to those looking to delve more deeply into discussions they are seeing emerge online and in our public discourse on this topic.
This week, I made a post on social media that took exception to a group trying to garner support for the boycotting of “Zionist Restaurants” in Montreal. In my response, I said the following: “Don’t be fooled by what this means: it means don’t buy from Jews. Don’t associate with Jews. Don’t be near Jews. This is antisemitism. This is hate. Call it out for what it is.”
“Remember to ask yourself this”, I said: “Why should my Jewish friends, colleagues, neighbours and fellow Canadians be the subject of targeted attacks because of how some feel about Israel?”
Why do I believe the demand to boycott or target “Zionists”, whether that be businesses or individuals, is problematic? I’ll explain.
Those who suggest anti-Zionism is not antisemitism will point out that Judaism and Zionism are different. They are correct in that one is a religion, and I would argue, a people (or culture for some), and the other is simply a belief that Israel, as a Jewish homeland, should exist. By critiquing Zionism, they say, they are taking issue with the Israeli Government, and not Jews.
Here is the problem with that: the vast majority of Jews identify as Zionists. Again, this just means that they believe in a Jewish State or homeland. Some hold this belief because they see Israel as the ancestral homeland of Jews. For others, it is because they feel as though the treatment of Jews, as destructive as it has been over history, merits a safe place for them to live as a collective.
Whatever the reason one calls themselves a Zionist, the important thing to know is that the view pertains to the existence of the State as a homeland itself, not the way the state conducts its affairs.
Zionism has absolutely nothing to do with a predetermined set of views about what the Israeli Government of the day decides to do on any issue, whether that be about Gaza, or policies related to education, or the environment.

Zionism does not presuppose a singular position on the actions of the government of Israel or of the Jewish people. When the Zionist movement began in fact, there was no Government of Israel.
Some Zionists will support elements of Israeli Government policy, and others, such as the over 500,000 protesting in the streets of Israel itself, will have a different view. At any given moment, Zionists, just like anybody else, will hold a range of views on various topics to do with both Israel and beyond.
So, when one says “boycott Zionists”, presumably on the basis of some objection that they have to Israeli’s military campaign in Gaza, they make an assumption that all Zionists are supportive of those actions being undertaken by the Israeli government. As such, they say, the “Zionists” should be punished through boycotts and public shaming.
The main point here is that one can be a Zionist while at the same time disagree with the way Israel responds to conflict. So why treat all “Zionists” the same?
Therein lies the problem. If one wants to call out people who support the actions of the Israeli government in Gaza, so be it – there is plenty to object to in my view – but don’t use the label of Zionism as the pretext that serves as the foundation of those criticisms. When one does that, they are crossing the line into antisemitism.
If one doesn’t believe Israel has a right to exist, they should say that instead. Do not universally categorize a group of people as being responsible for the actions of individuals or governments; that is what we call “prejudice.” Do not be prejudiced towards Jews by assuming they are all the same, that’s called antisemitism.
To call for the universal boycott and targeting of “Zionists” is really just a call to boycott those that believe Israel has a right to exist, and that, as it were, just so happens to include the overwhelming majority of Jews, too.
Ben Carr is the MP for Winnipeg South Centre

By MYRON LOVE About 25 years ago (or so), I took a class given by Rabbi Allan Green, then still the rabbi at the Beth Israel Synagogue –  delving into the meaning of the opening prayers that are recited daily during the morning service. It was one of the more interesting classes that I have taken.  Regrettably,  he didn’t follow up with more classes exploring the origins and meaning of the prayers we recite in shul.
After reading James Gershfield’s new biography of his father, the late Rabbi Rabbi Edward M. Gershfield, who passed away in 2019 at the age of 86, and his passion for the meanings of words and prayers, I think I would have enjoyed studying with him.
James Gershfield’s “Rabbi Scholar Father Friend: The Life, Thought, Humor, and Wisdom of Rabbi Edward M. Gershfield” is, in a sense, a sequel to “Rainy River Girl,” a memoir of his mother, Toby Gershfield, co-written and published by her son – a former computer  software developer who decided a couple of years ago to change direction and founded Scribal Scion Publishing LLC, a small publishing company dedicated to publishing – under the Scribal Scion imprint – Jewish books that inspire and comfort.
As reported a few weeks back in the pages of the Jewish Post, “Rainy River Girl” is the story of Toby Gershfield’s early years growing up in the small southwestern Ontario community where her father Dr. Nathan Helman served as the town dentist.  Her mother, Sophie, was the daughter of the esteemed Rabbi Israel Kahanovitch – Western Canada’s foremost rabbi in the interwar years and beyond.

While “Rabbi Scholar Father Friend” does have aspects of a biography – largely in the opening and closing chapters – the 180 page book is more an ode to a beloved and illustrious father.  
In his short introduction to “Rabbi Scholar Father Friend”, Gershfield observes that “every person is unique, which is a ‘truism,’ as my late father would say. However, some people have a very unusual combination of personal strengths, knowledge, insights and personality that make it worthwhile to get to know them and their life stories”.
He notes that his father combined a variety of qualities that made the elder Gershfield’s life, thought, humour, and wisdom worth studying.  His  father,  he writes, “was a rabbi, a scholar, a father, and a friend.  He was  also a beloved teacher, an innovative thinker, a gifted orator, a respected adviser to other rabbis, an expert on comparative Jewish and Roman law, a beautiful singer of Jewish prayers, and a talented Hebrew scribe who administered and wrote many Jewish divorce documents, known as Gittin.”
Ed Gershfield was born and grew up in Winnipeg.  “Rabbi Scholar Father Friend” chronicles his early years here.  The future rabbi actually had a largely secular education – having attended Machray Elementary School  and St John’s. 
While he did attend synagogue – the Tiferes Israel (aka the Mezhiricher shul) regularly with his father, it was at Talmud Torah (evening school) that his love of Judaism was inculcated.  The most important influences were his cheder teacher Mr. Klein and Rabbi Avraham Kravetz, the school’s principal.  It was Rabbi Kravetz who recognized promise in the young Gershfield and encouraged him to consider the rabbinical life.
Rabbi Kravetz encouraged his young protégé to enrol in the Jewish Theological Seminary with the idea that, according to James Gershfield, after he received his ordination he would return to Winnipeg to lead a new Jewish Studies Department that Rabbi Kravetz was hoping to establish at the University of Manitoba.  When that didn’t materialize, the newly ordained Rabbi Gershfield decided to remain in Manhattan.
Although he did serve as a congregational rabbi for a couple of years early in his career – and again in the early 1980s, his true passions was for teaching and scholarship.  In addition to his study at the JTS, he earned an MA in Latin from Columbia University and a PhDl in the study of Jewish law, as compared to Roman Law. 
He was one of America’s pre-eminent experts in the field. He also became a specialist in granting Jewish divorces (gittin).  His son devotes entire chapters to the subject  of gittin and his father’s study of Roman law.
Readers, I am sure, will also enjoy Rabbi Gershfield’s thoughts on Jews and Judaism, examples of his words and wisdom and humour, some of his stories and his analyses of the meanings of some Hebrew words, expressions and prayers in  the siddur.
“This book was written from my perspective as his son,” writes James Gershfield, “and is based on both my personal experiences and the knowledge that I have gained about his life from people who knew him, and from his writings and audio recordings.
“Once my father turned 80 years old, I felt that there were many times in my life when I had not paid enough attention to what he was saying, and I was sure that there were many things that he said that I didn’t remember. So, I made an extra effort during the next several years to listen carefully to any stories that he would tell, and to write them down so that I could remember them and preserve them. Many of those stories and thoughts are in this book.”
Rabbi Gershfield passed away in 2019 at the age of 86.
“While I worked as a software engineer for over forty years,” notes James in the book, “I gradually came to understand that you don’t need to be a pulpit rabbi to have a strong connection to Judaism and Jewish learning. As I got older, I gradually figured out a way to connect with my father in a way that we could both understand each other. That is the intended meaning behind the title of this book: “Rabbi Scholar Father Friend”. My relationship with him developed over time from him being my rabbi, which never changed, to a scholar, to my father and finally to being my friend.”

“Rabbi Scholar Father Friend” is available in both paperback and hard cover on Amazon.

Dos and don’ts of online trading, things to keep in mind when looking at an online brokerage account and how to keep your information safe from fraud.

Trading online can be a very beneficial way to grow your wealth, and it can be much more efficient and easy than traditional trading. There are several things that you should keep in mind if you choose to trade this way, however. You shouldn’t simply dive into online brokerage sites without knowing the rules.

In the following sections, we will review the dos and don’ts of online trading, to give you a better grounding to get started on. When you find a reliable site, you may be lucky enough to get one that offers a no deposit bonus Forex to help you get started.

Dos of online trading

When you trade online, there are certain things that you should always do. These include the following:

• Keep an eye out for “assured” returns. Everyone wants to make a lot of money and do so quickly. However, you should beware of sites that offer you assured returns, because this isn’t the way that the market really works. To grow your wealth takes time and effort, and consistently watching the market over a longer period. Therefore, anything that looks overly flashy or too good to be true should be avoided.
• Make a concerted effort to review and adjust your account regularly. You should take the time to review your trading account on a monthly or quarterly basis for several reasons. It will help you keep track of your funds and securities. It will also help ensure that all of your transactions are legitimate and that there haven’t been hacking attempts on your account. And it will help ensure that there are no idle funds or securities that have remained and should be eliminated.
• Keep your broker informed of any changes. If you see any anomalies or suspicious looking activity in your account history, you should immediately notify your broker. The longer problems exist, the bigger they can become. Also, you should always keep your contact details up to date so that representatives can reach you if necessary. This should include an email and mobile number.
• Choose to settle your accounts as often as possible. When you choose the frequency of receiving your account statements, you should be sure to choose 90 days or less. This will help ensure that you are on top of your account changes, and it is also the official policy of many exchanges.
• Make sure that your funds payouts are received into the bank account with which you registered on the site. Exchanges work via bank accounts that match information provided on the corresponding brokerage sites. Any unrelated bank information could cause issues with the site.

Don’ts of trading

What you should avoid doing with regard to online trading is just as important as what you should do. Therefore, keep the following don’ts in mind when you trade online:

• Never transact with unfamiliar brokers. When you choose an online broker, be sure to make sure that it is registered with the SEC and is properly regulated. Unregistered brokers do not have to follow official rules of transparency, data storage, and banking, and you could be risking your money if you trade on them.
• Don’t ignore any type of communication that you might receive from the exchange. When people receive frequent messages from their exchanges – many of which are simply updates or general information – they tend to ignore messages that might be critical to their accounts. Therefore, you should always at least look through messages to make sure your account is in good shape.
• Don’t share your banking information with anyone. When you find a secure exchange site, you will have to enter your banking information in order to receive payouts. However, you should never share this information with anyone outside the site, which should be encrypted and ensure the security of your information. Also be sure never to share your password or login information.
• Don’t transfer any funds to people that are not designated to receive them. Even if you are sending to someone that you know and trust, exposing this information can leave you open to hackers, and you could end up getting your account information compromised.
• Don’t follow investment advice that doesn’t come from an official or objectively trustworthy source. There are many TV and Internet ads, social media sites, and other sources of false and misleading information out there. When you hear about a company, be sure to do independent research on it to make sure that it is reliable before getting involved.

Conclusion

Online trading is making a huge difference in people’s ability to grow their wealth, and do so more efficiently, comfortably, and successfully than ever before. But you should be careful to do it in the right way to make sure that you maximize your profits and avoid falling victim to fraud.