By Frank Dimant, CEO, B’nai Brith Canada
Published in the Full Comment section of the National Post’s website
An elegantly-dressed woman was boarding a flight overseas and settled into her business class seat. She reflected on her life. Her grandparents had been Orthodox Jews but she had distanced herself from traditional Judaism, becoming an enlightened liberal committed to the values of human rights, justice for all and a better world for mankind while abandoning all of Judaism’s rituals and customs.
Suddenly, she spotted a man dressed in a black suit wearing a black hat and moving toward the seat next to her. He did not acknowledge her other than with a nod.
She kept quiet for the first hour of the flight but decided that she could not contain herself. She looked at the man and stated, “It is so primitive that you seek to maintain such antiquated customs that have no more validity in our society. You are an embarrassment to me as a Jew and I despise the fact that all of us Jews are judged by your looks and your behaviour. Isn’t it time you shaved your beard, took off your silly black hat and joined us in the 21st century?”
The man looked at her and said, “Madam, I am a Mormon,” at which point she, without batting an eye, responded, “In that case, let me tell you how much I admire your tenacity, your commitment to tradition and your preservation of your cultural heritage.”
While B’nai Brith Canada usually agrees with much that is written by the renowned National Post columnist Barbara Kay, it was a great disappointment to read her latest article: “The fanatics within” (July 28).
This piece caused great offense to many within the Jewish community. Perhaps one of the most salient points that was overlooked was the fact that the Israeli conversion law to which Barbara Kay makes reference was introduced by one of Israel’s most secular parties. The law was introduced to help expedite the conversion process for Russian Jews, with varying degrees of Jewish affiliation, who immigrated to Israel and were interested in fast-tracking their acceptance into the Jewish community.
Barbara Kay also creates confusion with the verbiage she uses. The notion that Haredim are all “parasites” is laughable, since they are also cardiac surgeons, labourers, social workers, lawyers, CEOs, academics and decorated soldiers. In Israel, some of the most modern hospitals in the world are supported and administered by Haredim for the totality of society. ZAKA, the courageous voluntary rescue organization that is usually first on the scene after a suicide bombing in Israel and sends units to natural disasters across the globe, is also a Haredi-run humanitarian organization.
The first Zionistic Haredi political party to become an official member of the World Zionist Organization is Shas, which represents most of the Sephardic Haredi community. Thus, to classify an entire group of people as parasites is sadly reminiscent of language used by the enemies of the Jewish people. A very poor choice of words.
On the question of Judaism and the Messianic era, perhaps the question can best be phrased, “Would many in the world today be desirous of ushering in a Messianic era of tranquility, an era of peace, an era of social justice?” I daresay the vast majority of people would welcome the opportunity of experiencing such a Messianic era. I do not know of any Hassidic group or Haredi group, either in Israel or elsewhere in the world, that has plans to destroy the Al Aqsa Mosque. To even accuse the group of such thinking is akin to throwing a lit match into a barrel of oil.
Perhaps, on closer examination of what people are doing to “force G-d’s” hand to bring about the Messiah, one can look at the Chabad Lubavitch Movement, a component of the Haredi world, welcoming to Jews and non-Jews alike, which opens its arms to the hungry and has established thousands of institutions around the world to assist Jews who are traveling and need a place to rest. It has established drug rehabilitation centres for Jews and non-Jews, and its road to bringing the Messiah rests in performing good deeds. Established Chabad Houses on campuses seek to counter the influences of drugs and immorality, and feed thousands of Jewish youth every Friday night to give them a flavour of a traditional Sabbath. They are non-judgmental and live their lives in peace when not molested by others.
Hardly the evil villains of Ms. Kay’s article. She owes the Jewish world an apology.
— Frank Dimant is CEO of B’nai Brith Canada.
B’nai Brith Canada has been active in Canada since 1875 as the Jewish community’s foremost human rights agency
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