Monday, May 23, 2011

Save Our Ceej!

Two young Jews, both named Mira, are concerned about the impending consolidation of Jewish/Israel advocacy groups, a move that would mean the demise of the Ceej and its "social justice" agenda:
This merger would create the impression that the Jewish community stands unified on all issues, and that it has a singular focus on Israel, when, in fact, neither statement is true. By diluting its domestic agenda and sidelining the variety of voices that exist among Canadian Jews – and particularly among the younger generation – the organized Jewish community would be further narrowing its base.
The social-justice agenda of the CJC has always attracted a wide cross-section of community members. For some, this was because of a passion for the defence of the Jewish community in the face of anti-Semitism. For others, it was because of a belief that Canadian Jews have a responsibility to advocate not only for themselves, but also for other communities at risk.
Many within the Canadian Jewish community have argued that streamlining the domestic and international agendas makes sense given the perceived relationship between anti-Semitism and anti-Zionism. But this logic breaks down when one realizes that Canadian Jews – including many solidly Zionist groups – do not automatically agree with every action that Israel takes.
Well, Mira Squared, your logic breaks down when one realizes that Zionhass is the latest manifestation of that age-old scourge, Judenhass, something you "social justice"-besotted young'uns refuse to consider. And should the Ceej shuffle off, there are plenty of other hyper-"critical," tikkun olamish Jewish groups where you can park your allegiance--New Israel Fund of Canada and Independent Jewish Voices Canada, for two.

1 comment:

Carlos Perera said...

As I'm sure I've mentioned before in these comments, I'm Catholic; I can assure you, we have more than our fair share of Miras, only they don't repeat _tikkun olam_ like the sheep in _Animal Farm_, they bleat instead about the "social gospel" of Jesus to justify adherence to whatever politically correct trope the pigs have written on the side of the barn. Funny how so many of these "social justice" issues actually controvert at least 3,300 years of Judeo-Christian moral theology.

What follows is an (almost) old man's divagation--I figure I'm now entitled to a couple a day, the frequency to increase as I age--but the name _Mira_ caught my attention straightaway as I read the post. I had not heard it in a good 40 years; I actually went to junior high and high school with a girl whose name was Myra. Do you have a reservoir of them in Toronto, or is the "Mira²" phenomenon one of those "sometimes Jesuits die in threes" events statisticians love to point out?