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A pop-up art gallery celebrating Shabbat transcends the fight over defining Zionism
When discussing the anthology On Being Jewish Now—and anti-antisemitic outreach more generally—I have expressed skepticism of the term, “Jewish joy.” (Akin to Black joy, queer joy, etc.) It comes across as a way of saying, see, it’s not all bad!, where the effect is reminding of just how bad the speaker thinks it is. I can’t entirely articulate why it doesn’t sit right, but it doesn’t.
Then I was picking my kids up from school on Friday, in Toronto, and heard a small airplane overhead. It was flying—what else?—a big Palestinian flag. I tried to photograph this, but let’s just say there’s a reason the great photojournalists do not multitask in this manner. The best I could get was a picture where it looks like it’s a tiny flag hanging from a power line, which would have been far less dramatic and really par for the course.
I did some feeling of feelings that would not have been out of place in a book like the one edited by Zibby Owens. I thought about how to explain this to my children, before remembering that they are not at a point in childhood where there’s anything registering beyond, look, a plane. I thought about my own anxiety, and also about what a joke that was compared to parents of young children in Gaza—or in Israel for that matter—with far more substantive worries about what’s overhead.
Whatever the case, I was put in a mindset where I became determined to attend a photography exhibition slash Shabbat candle lighting happening down the street from me. I had known about this and thought it seemed… very much the sort of thing I’m happy to know exists, but is for people who don’t have all-hands-on-deck childcare situations. But my desire to get out of my own head led to my entire household getting out of our own home in the evening and seeing what this was about.
Petrina Blander’s photography exhibit Shabbat Shalom Toronto turned out to be like nothing I’ve ever seen. She Said Gallery is a pop-up-type space in a space that’s otherwise a laundromat. But there was a big spread with such items as cured ham (if you want Orthodox services on Roncesvalles, mes excuses) and wrapped confections with Cyrillic writing and drinks and more. Some of the photographs have obviously Jewish content, and an artist bio explains the artist’s Israeli background.
And the space was absolutely packed with what my square self would describe as an art crowd. Jews and non-Jews—I think? While I identified myself as being at The Canadian Jewish News, I was not there reporting-reporting, I was more trying to assess whether a specific Russian (?) chocolate had alcohol in it and intercepting a three-year-old who’d have otherwise put it in her mouth.
For obvious reasons, I wasn’t able to stay that long, but was there long enough for a Shabbat candle-lighting ceremony, involving a cameo by none other than one-time Bonjour Chai guest Elise Kayfetz aka Vintage Schmatta. Then some magnificent, enormous challahs came out.
It was powerful to see this big group assembled to do something Jewish, in a neighbourhood not exactly famed as go-to destination for Jewish joy—or Jewish anything for that matter. The event wasn’t pretending to be anything other than Jewish, wasn’t doing any kind of pro-Diaspora erasure of the existence of Israeli Jews. It wasn’t doom and gloom, it wasn’t draped in flags. It was quite simply orthogonal to the omnicause.
If the event felt refreshing, it was as much because “Jewish joy” was a contrast to whatever exactly has been happening in Roncesvalles Village since Oct. 7, 2023, as because the pandemic lockdown era still feels so recent, and there’s something a bit novel (to me, at least) about such festivity IRL. Something that would have struck me as normal to the point of unworthy of remark in, say, circa 2006 Brooklyn, seemed frankly a bit awe-inspiring.
***
“Fuck Zionists” So read some early-2024 graffiti several blocks from where the above action took place, a huge spray-painted message on a local overpass. Whoever put it there presumably has an idea, in their head, of who Zionists are. From the context, this was not someone crudely expressing a bog-standard fantasy about Gal Gadot, but rather an expression of ill will towards Zionists. But who do they mean by Zionists?
A new survey commissioned by the New Israel Fund, JSpaceCanada, and Canadian Friends of Peace Now asked 588 Jewish Canadians where they stood on various not at all contentious topics like Israel and antisemitism and such. The blockbuster finding was that while 94 percent believe Israel has the right to exist as a Jewish state, and 84% are emotionally attached to that state, a paltry 51 percent identify as Zionists.
Our latest survey, in partnership with @JSpaceCanada
and @peacenowcan is out!Read the full report here: https://t.co/UVZ8l1azT7 https://t.co/9dcba8A2l7 pic.twitter.com/lVhWleAphs
— New Israel Fund of Canada (@nifcan) December 10, 2024
Rabbi Avi Finegold and I spoke with Ben Murane of the New Israel Fund and Maytal Kowalski of JSpaceCanada to learn more, a conversation you can hear on Bonjour Chai. And they confirmed that the survey offers the what, but not the why. The “Zionism” question is ultimately a bit of a red herring, as no survey had ever asked this of Jewish Canadians previously. So, as Murane pointed out when we spoke to him, for all we know, the 51 percent figure was an increase.
When I saw the disparity, my first thought was that this was all a bit silly. Who are the people making up the difference, who think Israel has a right to exist as a Jewish state, but reject the term that is shorthand for precisely that belief? (Presumably no one is saying they are a Zionist but they don’t think Israel has a right to exist.) A kind of, who are they kidding? Obviously you’re a Zionist to the people mad at “Zionists,” whether you want to call yourself one or not. Because I don’t think “Zionist,” when sneered, is necessarily always a euphemism for “Jewish.” It is, however, a euphemism for “Jewish and supports Israel” and yes, I am aware of the far greater ranks of non-Jewish Zionists. Given the locations where protests cluster, it rather seems Jewish Zionists are the ones of antizionist interest.
And… given that nearly all Jewish Canadians support Israel’s right to exist, I suppose I do think that if you’re a Canadian Jew who believes Israel should exist, but doesn’t self-id as a Zionist, and you think “Fuck Zionists” graffiti isn’t about the likes of you, you’re fooling yourself. I also think it’s possible I have just invented a person to be mad at, because I sort of think however we
I also knew, even before I knew, that the 49 percent figure was going to be trotted out as evidence that see see see antizionism isn’t antisemitism! Which is true in a literal sense, but not if you let your mind be nimble enough to realize that someone who hates Zionism with all their might is almost certainly someone who objects to the existence of Israel as a Jewish state. There’s other language to convey that someone dislikes the current Israeli government, or opposes the occupation of the West Bank, or the war in Gaza. No good shorthand, perhaps—the term critical of Israel conflates criticisms of Israel with critiques of its very existence—but at any rate, I have never known “antizionism” to refer to the belief that instead of one Israeli politician being prime minister, it ought to be a different one.
Or have I? I suppose there is also, within the Jewish community, a subset of people who think of liberal or progressive Zionists as antizionists, so in a sense who could blame such people for saying, you’re right, I’m not a Zionist. This appears to be the hope from the survey’s organizers: to show the multiplicity of the Canadian Jewish community. To show that contrary to what certain self-appointed community leaders would have you believe, rah-rah, uncritical sorts who want Israel to annex whatever’s at arm’s reach represent only a fraction.
By some definitions, virtually no one alive today is a Zionist. Modern political Zionism was the belief that a Jewish nation-state should exist in Palestine. I say “was” because such a state has existed in that location since 1948. The thoughts of someone living in 2024 about whether this ought to have happened are the stuff of dorm-room musings but nothing more. There are Israeli nationalists, and supporters of Israel who are not Israeli themselves, but Zionism itself, well, it’s complicated. A deeper exploration can be found in a recent essay by Rabbi Avi Finegold.
I took a class in college, Zionism and its Critics, and both wish I remembered more about the early history of modern Zionism and… am not sure how much any of it has to do with what’s up for discussion today. The antizionism of let’s not do that thing is such a different entity than the antizionism of let’s dismantle what exists.
Zionism is used these days to mean support for Israel. Sometimes it suggests enthusiastic or uncritical support, other times just support in the sense of, wishing Israelis well, and not wanting the state itself obliterated. ‘I’m not a Zionist, but I believe in Israel’s right to exist’ is—as came up recently on Bluesky—similar to ‘I’m not a feminist, but I believe in equal rights for women.’ It is—among other things—a way of distancing yourself from an identity label that you anticipate will lead people to stop listening to you (on the topic at hand, or in general) before you’ve had a moment to say what it is you actually think.
I’m not much of a joiner, but nor am I someone who strives to transcend labels. I call myself a feminist and a Zionist because this is the most effective way of conveying that I believe women are people and that Israel is a country. I’m also in the privileged position of someone who opines for a living, so what I specifically think about a range of issues is no great mystery, and not something that must be inferred from single-word summations. I don’t need to put emojis in bio because people can read absolute reams of my holdings-forth, not to mention listen to the podcasts.
And I don’t get out much, but am 100 percent in favour of there being fun Jewish stuff going on in Roncesvalles, and would hope that 100 percent of the Jewish Canadian population is with me on this.
The CJN’s opinion editor Phoebe Maltz Bovy can be reached at pbovy@thecjn.ca, not to mention @phoebebovy on Bluesky, and @bovymaltz on X. She is also on The CJN’s weekly podcast Bonjour Chai. For more opinions about Jewish culture wars, subscribe to the free Bonjour Chai newsletter on Substack.
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Jewish leaders welcome Canada’s decision to convene a second national antisemitism forum
Just one day after Israel’s president Isaac Herzog called on Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to take “firm and decisive action” to combat the “intolerable wave of antisemitic attacks against the Canadian Jewish community”, the federal government announced on Dec. 20 it is convening a national forum on combating antisemitism.
Details are scarce, but the forum will take place in Ottawa in February 2025, under the direction of the justice department and the department of public safety. Political leaders from all three levels of government will be invited to discuss how to better coordinate the justice system and law enforcement and focus specifically on “the growing public safety threat of antisemitism,” according to a media release from the Department of Justice on Dec. 20.
“Canada has seen a troubling rise in antisemitic incidents, threats, and hate crimes,” the release stated. “The Government of Canada recognizes the urgent need for national leadership to ensure Jewish Canadians feel safe in their synagogues, schools, and communities.”
This announcement comes at the end of a turbulent week that saw Congregation Beth Tikvah Ahavat Shalom Nusach Hoari, west of Montreal, firebombed overnight on Dec. 18. It marked the second time since Oct. 7, 2023, that the Dollard-des-Ormeaux shul and adjacent Jewish school were targeted, as well as the West Island office of Montreal’s Federation CJA.
Then, on Dec. 20, in Toronto, the Bais Chaya Mushka girls’ school was attacked by unknown gunmen who opened fire at 2:30 a.m. into the front of the building. It was the third time this year that the school has come under fire. No one was injured in either incident.
Jewish leaders have been pressing Ottawa to do more than issue sympathetic statements condemning antisemitism. They want to address meaningful gaps in policing across jurisdictions, and to press police to better enforce existing laws. In 2023, there were 900 hate crimes against Jews reported to Canadian police; Jews were the target of 70 percent of all religion-motivated hate crimes.
However, many community leaders point out that there have been few prosecutions, and are decrying that many of the charges eventually get dropped. Weekly antisemitic and anti-Israel street protests continue in many Canadian cities. Canadian and U.S. federal authorities have recently foiled several terrorist plots involving suspects who were charged with planning attacks on Jews in Ottawa, New York and Richmond Hill, Ont.
Second antisemitism summit since 2021
The February forum is being convened less than three years after the first antisemitism summit was held in July 2021, in the wake of the brief Hamas-Israel war earlier that year. Canada’s first special envoy on antisemitism, Irwin Cotler, helped steer that day-long event, which was held virtually due to the COVID pandemic. The guest list was restricted at first to Liberal ministers and lawmakers.
Following that first summit, the Canadian heritage ministry promised a series of actions to combat antisemitism, and, as The CJN has reported, some of these have come into being:
- Boosting financial help for Jewish communities in the government’s next anti-racism action plan, which was launched earlier this year
- Adjustment of the Security Infrastructure Program, announced this year, to help Jewish places of worship, camps, schools and offices more easily afford to hire security guards, and fortify their security equipment
- Introduced an online hate bill, aimed at tackling hate speech on social media. It has not been adopted yet, due to concerns about infringement on free speech
- More money and staff for the work of the office of the special envoy to preserve Holocaust remembrance and combat antisemitism, including a new handbook on antisemitism, issued Oct. 31
- Funding to revamp the national Holocaust monument signage in Ottawa
- Hearings into antisemitism held on Parliament Hill, specifically looking at campus antisemitism
However, it has been more than a year since domestic antisemitism exploded in the wake of Oct. 7. The violence has cost the lives of more than 800 Israeli soldiers and thousands of Palestinians, including Hamas terrorists, in Gaza.
As of now, it appears that a Jewish Liberal MP from Montreal could play a key role in the summit. Rachel Bendayan, a lawyer who has represented the riding of Outremont since 2019, was named to the federal cabinet on Dec. 20. Aside from her new duties as minister of official languages, Bendayan was named associate minister of public safety.
While Bendayan’s office did not reply to The CJN by publication time, she said she was “honoured and humbled to be sworn in as Minister of Official Languages and Associate Minister of Public Safety,” in a post on social media. “Grateful to share this moment with my family. Ready to get to work.”
Her colleague Anthony Housefather took it as an important signal that Bendayan’s nomination came on the same day as the antisemitism forum announcement.
In July, Housefather, who has since repeatedly called for the Prime Minister to resign, was named special advisor to Trudeau on matters concerning the Jewish community and antisemitism. Housefather has been lobbying for this new summit, behind the scenes and publicly, for months.
“I will work very hard at this forum to push for immediate action and solutions across the levels of government and am gratified that my friend and colleague Rachel Bendayan is the new Associate Minister of Public Safety as her position will allow the Jewish community voice to be even more prominent in giving priority to the issue of anti-Jewish hate,” Housefather said in a statement to The CJN.
Housefather and the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs have been working with Special Envoy Deborah Lyons to get this new summit approved. As The CJN reported on Dec. 11, calls for the summit were growing louder in recent weeks.
However, according to Richard Marceau, a CIJA vice-president, a summit of words was meaningless unless such a forum focused specifically on policing, law enforcement and prosecutions.
“The forum’s ultimate value will be determined only by the concrete results that come from it,” said Marceau, adding that the values of all Canadians are at stake, not just for Jewish Canadians.
“Police need more resources and specialized training. Laws need to be enforced, charges need to be laid, and perpetrators must be fully prosecuted to end the domination of our streets by extremists,” he said. “And the glorification of terrorism must finally be made a criminal offence in this country. Through the Forum, we will push for these and other concrete measures—but what we won’t accept are photo ops and platitudes. Action to protect our community and all Canadians is long overdue.”
Ahead of Friday’s summit announcement, the other Canadian Jewish member of the federal cabinet, Ya’ara Saks, the minister of mental health and addictions, stood in solidarity outside the site of the Bais Chaya Mushka school in North York after it was shot at.
Saks told a media conference that no Jewish girl, including her own daughters, should have to wake up every morning and ask whether it is safe to go to school—although she didn’t give away any hints that such a summit announcement was imminent.
“The community has been very clear in what needs to be done,” Saks said. “We need all hands on deck, all heads coming together to navigate forward collectively, collaboratively and with one unified voice to ensure that the Jewish community stays safe.
“I am hopeful that we will all get together and do the right thing on behalf of the Jewish community.”
While full details of the new summit have not been released, its fate could be in jeopardy even before it begins.
Although Bendayan and the other cabinet ministers were sworn in officially on Friday, it is unclear how long the Liberal government will remain in power. Efforts are underway by the Opposition Conservatives and New Democrats to topple the government soon, either through a non-confidence motion when Parliament reconvenes on Jan. 27 or sooner. Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre is asking the governor general to force Parliament to come back before sooner than Jan. 27.
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UN Extends Peacekeeping Mission Between Syria and Golan Heights
Fences are seen on the ceasefire line between Israel and Syria in the Golan Heights, March 25, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Ammar Awad
The United Nations Security Council on Friday extended a long-running peacekeeping mission between Syria and the Israeli Golan Heights for six months and expressed concern that military activities in the area could escalate tensions.
Since a lightning rebel offensive ousted Syrian President Bashar al-Assad earlier this month, Israeli troops have moved into the demilitarised zone – created after the 1973 Arab-Israeli war – that is patrolled by the U.N. Disengagement Observer Force (UNDOF).
Israeli officials have described the move as a limited and temporary measure to ensure the security of Israel‘s borders but have given no indication of when the troops might be withdrawn.
In the resolution adopted on Friday, the Security Council stressed “that both parties must abide by the terms of the 1974 Disengagement of Forces Agreement between Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic and scrupulously observe the ceasefire.”
It expressed concern that “the ongoing military activities conducted by any actor in the area of separation continue to have the potential to escalate tensions between Israel and the Syrian Arab Republic, jeopardize the ceasefire between the two countries, and pose a risk to the local civilian population and United Nations personnel on the ground.”
Armed forces from Israel and Syria are not allowed in the demilitarized zone – a 400-square-km (155-square-mile) “Area of Separation” – under the ceasefire arrangement.
U.N. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said on Thursday: “Let me be clear: There should be no military forces in the area of separation other than U.N. peacekeepers – period.” He also said Israeli airstrikes on Syria were violations of the country’s sovereignty and territorial integrity and “must stop.”
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Shots fired at Bais Chaya Mushka girls school for the third time this year
Bais Chaya Mushka, an elementary girls’ school in Toronto, was shot at early in the morning on Dec. 20, the third time the school has been targeted in the past seven months.
Shots were fired at the school in May and then again in October, on Yom Kippur.
Officers from Toronto Police Service’s 32 Division responded to reports of gunfire to discover six bullet holes in the building’s exterior. No one was inside the school at the time and no injuries were reported.
“It’s incredibly unfortunate that I stand here to discuss yet another shooting at this school,” Supt. Paul MacIntyre of the Organized Crime Enforcement Unit said during a press conference outside the school Friday morning.
Police have made progress in previous incidents at the school, MacIntyre said, stating that two people, a man and a youth, were arrested in connection with the October shooting, and a firearm was recovered. Investigators are now working to determine whether the latest attack is connected to those earlier cases.
“We’ve solved the second case, and the same teams are now working on this investigation,” he said. “With just a few days before Hanukkah, we know how deeply disturbing this is to the Jewish community. We will leave no stone unturned.”
Insp. Roger Desrochers of the Hate Crime Unit said hate crimes require “careful investigation” to determine whether they meet the threshold for charges under the Criminal Code.
“These matters are challenging. Not all offensive actions meet the threshold for criminal charges, and each case must be weighed carefully,” Desrochers said during the presser on Friday afternoon.
Rabbi Yaakov Vidal, principal of the school, said it was challenging to inform parents about the third shooting this year.
“It’s very, very difficult. It’s very, very hard to be woken up in the middle of the night with such news—and it’s now the third time,” Rabbi Vidal said at a press conference outside the school.
“We were not sure if we were able to have school here, due to the police investigation, then we were told it was possible to have school here. I was actually looking for a different location… Parents are very, very frustrated, very afraid to send their kids to school. I am aware of a few that did not send their kids to school today. We hope they once again feel safe to do so every single day, as they deserve.
The school had full-time security during the day when students were present, but overnight security was too expensive, Rabbi Vidal said. “We may have to do this at this point. We’ll have to see what our next step is.”
The recent violence has raised questions about police efforts to protect Jewish institutions. MacIntyre said police have ramped up patrols in recent months under initiatives like Project Resolute but emphasized that officers are also working to balance broader community safety concerns.
When asked whether Jewish institutions should consider armed private security, MacIntyre said he does not support the idea, adding, “We are here to support the community and will continue providing all available resources to ensure their safety.”
Parents picking up their daughters at school expressed both their concern and their determination as the school dealt with a third shooting.
One mother was on the verge of tears as she discussed her decision to send her child to school this morning.
“I don’t even know what to think anymore. It’s the third time. The cops are here, so I feel safe today, but the rest of the time I don’t feel safe,” she said. “These are little girls they’re trying to scare. These idiots should be thrown in jail, but they can’t seem to catch them.”
Her daughter, who suffers from anxiety now, made a grim joke about how easy it is to attack her school, the mother said. “This is my eight year old thinking this. She doesn’t watch violent things.”
Rabbi Yosef Hecht, a Chabad rabbi in Aurora, said he dropped off his two daughters at school this morning “with a very heavy heart,” especially since it was the third shooting.
“Did they catch the people? Do they know who’s behind this? Is it larger than what they are really telling us, is there something larger that we’re not aware of yet?” he asked.
But despite his concerns, he didn’t hesitate to send his children to school. “I felt the school did a good job repairing it temporarily. It shows that, no matter what, we are going to be resolute, strong, and this will just make us stronger and more proud.”
Local leaders call for action
At a press conference earlier in the day, politicians and leaders of the Jewish community were on hand to condemn the shooting and press all levels of government for more action.
The shooting came two days after a Montreal synagogue was firebombed for the second time since Oct. 7, 2023, the date of the Hamas terrorist attacks on Israel and the start of the war in Gaza.
“There are common-sense things that our leaders can do to deal with this problem right away. We need funding for police to get the job done and we need to put a stop to the extremism in our streets that’s inciting this violence. The time for our leaders to speak, to tweet, is over. Now it’s time for them to take action,” said Noah Shack, interim president of the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
“The fact is, this isn’t an isolated activity, whether it’s a synagogue being firebombed in Montreal or this school here that continues to suffer from gunfire in an effort to intimidate the girls that are here. There should be no daylight between the mayor of this city, the police of this city and the community that is facing this kind of threat day in and day out,” Shack said.
City councillor James Pasternak said Toronto police are stretched thin and need support from provincial police forces and the RCMP, and called for closer ties between elected officials and police forces.
“The police act forbids elected officials from directing police operations but the police act doesn’t stop us from nuance. We have to back up our police services, give them the political will to stop these roving mobs… that are inciting some of the violence that we are seeing in this neighbourhood and across the land,” he said.
Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow, who said in a statement that the shooting was “unacceptable,” was criticized by some Jewish community leaders for her weak stance on the antisemitism that has escalated in the city.
“Mayor Olivia Chow’s continued platitudes in response to antisemitic hate in Toronto ring hollow in the face of her permissive approach to this growing problem,” B’nai Brith Canada stated on social media.
“She has enabled an environment where such acts are allowed to flourish. Banal condemnations without concrete actions leave the Jewish community vulnerable and unsafe.”
Enough is enough. Antisemitism and antisemitic attacks have no place in Toronto.
The latest shooting at the Bais Chaya Mushka Elementary School is unacceptable. Once again students, families, and neighbours are waking up to safety concerns.
My office has been in contact with…
— Mayor Olivia Chow (@MayorOliviaChow) December 20, 2024
Michael Levitt, a former Liberal MP and now the president of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center, who attended the press conference, also laid responsibility on Chow.
“We have not seen the mayor of the city draw a line through this type of activity and come out and be strong enough,” he said. “Sure, when shots are fired, but what about when all the other incidents have gone on? We need our mayor take a stand with the Jewish community and make it clear that keeping the Jewish community safe is a priority.”
MP Ya’ara Saks appeared at the press conference to expressed her support for the Jewish community. She pushed back on the suggestion that Prime Minister Justin Trudeau had not taken the issue seriously enough, pointing to increased funding for federal infrastructure grants, which can now be used for a wider variety of security resources.
This afternoon, the federal government also announced that a second national summit on antisemitism would be convened in February.
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