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Nov. 3, 2006
Advocating for Israel
Meeting reveals a wide variety of opinion.
RON FRIEDMAN
The Canada-Israel Committee, whose goal is to speak for all of
Jewish Canada on matters of Israel advocacy, discovered in its first
meeting in Vancouver that this won't be a simple task.
CIC, Pacific Region, held a roundtable discussion at the Jewish
Community Centre of Greater Vancouver Oct. 25 to invite comment
on how best to advocate for Israel. The gathering – led by
CICPR director Adam Carroll and chair Michael Elterman, revealed
how diverse opinions on Israel are, even within the Jewish community.
Around 30 people were at the meeting. The first to speak –
in effect setting the mood for the whole discussion – was Rabbi
David Mivasair of Congregation Ahavat Olam.
"The messages put out by the CIC are too simplistic,"
Mivasair declared, "and lack credibility. By not allowing for
any criticism of Israel, advocacy lacks congruence to reality."
Several people in the meeting did not appreciate his words. One,
Bill Iny, told Mivasair, "to say it gently. I think that you
are a very dangerous person." Iny preferred to focus instead
on the need for a comprehensive media strategy, suggesting the CIC
take proactive measures, rather than merely reacting to events.
"When the Arabs want to do something, they are there with a
video camera before the event occurs," he said. "These
things are staged. I don't know that we have any staging or any
preparations for when the news happens."
Iny was not alone in his criticism of the media. Many in the group
felt that the mainstream media is to blame for unsympathetic opinions
of Israel – that newspaper and television stories are unbalanced
in their coverage of the Middle East and tend to show Israel in
a negative light. Suggested solutions included educating journalists,
sending more letters to the editor, co-ordinating a united response
against anti-Israel coverage and personal outreach to media managers.
Although the CIC's mission is to advocate for Israel, one Israeli-Canadian,
Hila Russ-Woodland, who is involved with Peace it Together, among
other things, felt there is not enough involvement of Israelis.
"I feel uncomfortable sitting here as an Israeli and listening
to people trying to speak on my behalf," she said.
One commonly held concern was a lack of co-ordination regarding
Israel advocacy between different parts of the community. Many Jewish
organizations take part in hasbara (Israel advocacy), but
each group acts independently, without knowing what others are doing.
Some felt that what was missing was education – information
that would provide people with knowledge, which could then be disseminated
to the wider population. Another approach was to present an alternative
picture of Israel, focusing on the nonpolitical aspects of the country
"beyond the conflict," like its culture, industry, agriculture,
science or art, in order to demonstrate the similarities between
Israel and Canada.
One topic on the meeting agenda was to identify on which demographics
Israel advocacy should focus. Christian, Muslim and Hindu communities
were all suggested as appropriate religious groups with which to
engage. Proposals were also given regarding targeting younger audiences
in schools. Other groups that were said to deserve attention were
the political left and academia. After decades of Jews being labelled
as Communists and Bolsheviks, it was suggested that "the left"
was now largely antagonistic towards Israel. "A whole generation
of people is growing up to understand that justice, social justice
and rightness is equitable with anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism,"
said David Sussman.
Although tensions arose during the meeting, reactions to it were
generally positive and generated optimism regarding the future actions
of CIC. "It was good that we could participate in a meeting
like this. It's always good when we can gather people in the community
who want to help and offer opportunities for them to do so. There
is always more work to be done," said Lorne Balshine of the
now-disbanded Israel Action Committee.
"What we heard was the diverse opinions on what we should do
as a community to advocate for Israel," said Carroll, "and
I think that the meeting generated some great ideas that are going
to be followed up on immediately."
Carroll said that CIC is open to all views and that part of the
reason for the roundtable was to hear a wide range of opinions.
"The thing to remember is that we have to represent the Jewish
community," he said. "If we're appealing to the masses
as much as possible, we're doing our job."
Others disagreed. "I think, due to the diversity of views within
the Jewish community, it is unrealistic to have one organization
that is able to speak for the whole community," said Mivasair.
"I don't think that the CIC's advocacy is representative of
Canadian Jewry."
The meeting made clear that, in Vancouver, just as in the rest of
the world, Israel is a divisive topic, with as many opinions as
there are people to express them. Even though everyone who showed
up for the roundtable had a positive attitude and the best intentions,
Israel and policies regarding Israel tend to inflame passions. This
is true for both Jews and non-Jews alike and serves as a reminder
that achieving successful advocacy for Israel will require hard
work – and compromise.
Ron Friedman is a reserve officer in the Israel Defence Forces
and a student in the master's program in journalism at the University
of British Columbia.
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