Want to know what’s on my mind at present? Edgar Bronfman’s ‘revelation’ that antisemitism is somehow a thing of the past. A relic of a bygone era.

In his latest writings, Edgar Bronfman, at one time one of the most powerful financial leaders in American Jewry, pontificates on the state of antisemitism in North America.  He quickly dismisses it as no longer an issue.

I still remember the pundits who at the time of the signing of the Oslo Accords were also quick to tell us that there would no longer be the need for Israel advocacy organizations since peace was now upon us. Let us remember that Yasser Arafat, a nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize, would eventually receive this most coveted of honours. The premise was that between Yitzhak Rabin, Yasser Arafat and now Abu Mazen, we would all enjoy tranquility in our old age. If only these pundits had been correct.

They were prepared to turn a blind eye to Yasser Arafat’s terrorist operations, his use of PA machinery to incite hatred and glorify violence. They ignored the deadly havoc wrought by Fatah’s Al Aqsa Martyrs’ Brigade and the Tanzeem militia. They discounted too Hezbollah and Hamas.

Many of these same pundits are now hard at work once again. Their new mantra: antisemitism is dead. Perhaps, Edgar Bronfman has not himself faced any antisemitic incidents personally.  Mr. Bronfman may go from country estate to golf course, from yacht club to exclusive far away destinations, or wherever his heart desires, and mingle with the elite. I challenge Mr. Bronfman, however, to spend one month as a visible Jew wearing a kipah [skullcap], perhaps having peyot [sidelocks], wearing a bekishe [long black coat] and walking the streets of the cities in North America.  Better still, perhaps Mr. Bronfman could carry an I Support Israel sign on campus during anti-Israel Apartheid Week.  After that, he could advise those of us on the frontline of fighting antisemitism that it is no longer an issue.

Maybe, if Mr. Bronfman would be so willing, we could organize a guided tour for him of the rural town of Ste-Agathe, Quebec, so that he can visit with Jews whose windows have been smashed and property vandalized. Better still, while in Canada he can do a cross-country tour and visit a Jewish cemetery where gravestones were overturned last year. He can travel to synagogues that were defaced with antisemitic graffiti. He can visit the community of Moncton, New Brunswick, where the Jewish community is now grappling with security issues, their synagogue the object of vandalism during the High Holiday period.  The incident follows an act of vandalism during the summer when a swastika and the word “Retards” were spray painted on the same synagogue’s front door.

And the list goes on, should Mr. Bronfman care to learn more, he could volunteer to staff B’nai Brith Canada’s 24-hour, 7-days-a-week Anti-Hate Hotline, which victims call to report antisemitic incidents, not at yacht clubs or golf clubs, but rather in schoolyards, on campus and subways, in restaurants, at community centres and on public streets. Everywhere, in fact, where grassroots Jewish Canadians live and breathe.

Mr. Bronfman would be well-advised to read B’nai Brith Canada’s Annual Audit of Antisemitic Incidents to understand the mood that prevails in North America.  Sadly, we have always had well-meaning and good Jews who simply were not able to look beyond their own environment and see the clouds on the horizon.  We, in Canada, have only to remember that indeed there were such Jews whose silence was deafening as the St. Louis was being turned away from the shores of Canada.

Today’s very real challenges require the concerted efforts of all. However, as much as one may wish to turn a blind eye to the realities of antisemitism, bigotry, and hatred, we can ill afford to do so.

As the pundits of yesterday show us, we need to learn from our mistakes.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, October 8th, 2008 at 10:05 am and is filed under canada-Jewish community. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.