On Israel, Canadian Jews must embrace unity, not uniformity
Yair Szlak is the chief executive officer of Federation CJA . Adam Minsky is the president & CEO of UJA Federation of Greater Toronto. Ezra Shanken is the CEO of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver. This column was jointly authored by and submitted on behalf of Canada’s 12 Jewish Federations.
Within that unity, there has never been uniformity when it comes to the policy choices made by Israel’s elected leaders. Every Canadian, regardless of political stripe, knows what it means to love one’s country and yet disagree – often vehemently – with the government of the day. This is especially true at times when politics touch on issues that speak to the country’s very identity.
“When you get that type of overreach in the indictment of the proposals, then you end up in a situation where one side, the government, says it is trying to restore democracy, and the other side says this is the end of democracy,” Mr. Cotler said in a recent interview with the Times of Israel. He argues that neither claim is accurate, and what’s needed instead is “engagement without that kind of apocalyptic language.
The conversation was candid and passionate, but also respectful and unifying. Leaders emerged with a greater understanding of each other and a realization that, in a community as diverse as ours, these issues are being felt in different ways. For a big-tent organization like the Federation, representing the community at moments when consensus is elusive means creating meaningful space for good people to disagree with one another – not voicing one viewpoint to the exclusion of others.
South Africa Latest News, South Africa Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Canadian Acura VP of U.S. sales is sold on California, but his soul is still CanadianThe road trip Acura executive Emile Korkor followed took him from Toronto to the United States to run sales.
Read more »
Opinion: Canadian Pacific’s Kansas City Southern merger does not solve railway’s declineMergers are now often substitutes for effective solutions to railroading’s pervasive problems
Read more »
Opinion: Amid rising U.S. protectionism, here’s what Canadian trade leadership can look likeJoe Biden’s visit to Ottawa comes as the economic pendulum swings away from the free trade ideology that Washington had championed for decades
Read more »
Russia summons Canadian diplomat to protest 'regime change' statement | CBC NewsRussia's Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday it had protested to Canada's top diplomat in Moscow over comments by Canadian Foreign Minister Melanie Joly about 'regime change' in Russia.
Read more »
Two men who lost fingers crossing into Canada become Canadian citizens - Terrace StandardPair among wave of refugee-claimants who snuck into Canada from the United States in 2016
Read more »
How to have healthy-looking skin, according to a top Canadian plastic surgeonAt\u002Dhome solutions that are all about consistency
Read more »