Farber Careers From Career to Career

Well, it's official. The Ceej's Bernie M. Farber is leaving Official Jew-dom and entering the rough and tumble of politics. (The Ceej is being collapsed/absorbed along with other Jewish/Israel advocacy groups into one big streamlined outfit.) Not that he intends to let any of the political muck adhere to his shirtsleeves. No, indeedee! As he tells the Canadian Jewish News, he intends to avoid "mudslinging" and conduct his campaign with all due "civility".

Er, he knows he's getting into politics, doesn't he, and not one of those genteel interfaithy "human rights-y" samosa-fests he's used to attending--the ones where you get to schmooze convivially with all and socky?

No matter. Bernie's certain that the voters of the provincial riding of Thornhill will fall for a earnest "social justice" type, even though voters everywhere seem to be tacking rightward, and even though Thornhill, which is situated in the conservative 'burbs ringing Toronto, isn't exactly prime lefty territory. (At the moment, both its federal and provincial reps are Tory.)

But, hey, Bernie's got that mega-impressive C.V. on his side, and voters are sure to be wowed by that, no?

He said he was “immensely proud” of what Congress had accomplished under his watch.

“We have worked especially effectively with interlocutors outside of our community. That’s been the real strength of Congress. For example, when the United Church of Canada was poised to vote on a boycott, divestment and sanctions resolution last year in B.C., CJC went there to work the room and turned that around. That, to me, is a huge part of our legacy.”

Kudos for that BMF, but it's not as though the UCC, which is even heavier into the "social justice" tripe than the Ceej, has divested itself of Zionhass. For example, it still loves its KAIROS, one branch of which is devoted to the sort of "replacement theology" that wants to "replace" undeserving Jewish Israel with a "deserving" Arab Palestine.

Oh, well. Bernie can always point to his manifold other "accomplishments": his effort to link arms with devout Muslims in a failed bid to get the province to cough up funding for religious schools; his search for that e'er elusive line separating free speech from hate speech (a quixotic quest that propelled him to the front of the line of those championing state censorship and our our demented "human rights" system); his remarkable powers of persuasion that got the feds to spring for memorial plaques galore.

And let's not forget what a shrewd judge of character and the passing political scene he is: how he "kvelled" when the Wahhabis paid for a bamboozle-the-Jews scheme to "twin" mosques and synagogues; how he marched with pride as a faux-gay in the Pride Parade; how he thrilled to that Jews-mentoring-Somalis stuff; how he backed Richard Warman, Canada's pre-eminent (and, in fact, only) semi-covert sussing-outer of pajamas-clad Prairie Aryans; how he earned plaudits from one of Canada's most exquisitely multicultural of pundits, Order of Canada-winning Harpoon Sidiqqui.

Surely the voters of Thornhill will be bowled over/blown away by all that.

And if not, the CJN reports that the door is always open for Bernie to return to Official Jew-dom:

...while he intends to win, if he fails in his bid for the Thornhill seat, he’s “ready, willing and able to come back in a senior professional role in a new re-org.”

What exactly that role would be is still in question.

Shimon Fogel, the new CEO of CIJA – or Newco, as the restructured Jewish community advocacy apparatus is being temporarily called – said he was “confident” that Farber’s move into politics would continue to contribute to the “welfare of our community” and that Jewish Ontarians would “continue to benefit from his knowledge, expertise and commitment to amcha (the Jewish people).”

Fogel also said he would welcome Farber back to Newco if he wanted to return to Jewish communal work.

“If Bernie’s political aspirations do not work, there is absolutely an honoured place for him within the organization,” he said.

Fogel added: “However, CJC – like the other agencies [currently operating under CIJA, which include the Canada-Israel Committee, University Outreach Committee and the Quebec-Israel Committee] – will no longer exist as an independent entity. So his role will be defined within the context of the new advocacy agency.”

In other words, within the "new" context, I, Fogel, will be at the top dog while you, Bernie...not so much. In other other words, "hasta-la-vista-and-don't-let-the-door-hit-your-keester-on-the-way-out." (Er, was that too uncivil?)

BTW, I'm sure mega-bucks were paid out to someone to come up with the name "Newco," but it's a truly dreadful moniker. It makes Official Jewry sound like a cracker company.

Update: It's a sad day for those who've enjoyed reading Bernie M. Farber's unintentionally amusing "tweets" (most recently, his heartfelt regrets re the sudden death of professional wrestling's Randy "Macho Man" Savage). Now that he's segueing into politics, BMF of the CJC tweeteth no more.