Page 6 - The Canadian Jewiish News, Friday, May 9, 1975
Canada Israel Committee Conference 75
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i Plaut tells CIC meeting
Rabbi Gunther Plaut
This:is a partiaktext of an address made by Rabbi Gunther Plaut, of Holy Blossom Temple, to the Canada—Israel Committee conference in Ottawa last week. Dr. Plaut is national vice-chairman of the CIC.
"No political alliance ever touched the inner nature of Israel and Judah. and no spiritual alliance ever wound its cords about the soul of our people. Apartness was the price of uniqueness, and what at First seemed spiritual necessity — to separate the people from its pagan environment — became in time the single "most significant aspect of its existence.
'"The very parlance of the Western world reflects this. East and West is a perfectly understandable division of geopolitical equals. Intellectual and non-intellectual. Christian and non-
Christians, believers and unbelievers — all these distinctions are obvious in their correlation and balance: But Jew and Gentile takes up the ancient prophecv^of HBalaani and perpetuates a contrast which numerically is preposterous and culturally without apparent cbntent. Yet there it is: Jews use it as do others, as if the world could be so divided, between a small, scattered, battered folk who form an infinitesimal portion of mankind, and all the others! It makes no sense, unless of course one view-s the improbable subspecie aetemita-tis. We Jews are a people dwelling apart. we are not reckoned among the nations.
Inner Securitv
"Wc fostered and encouraged the idea by our own religious and social habits. We could not eat the non-Jew's fwd nor drink his wine. We lived together for outer and inner security. The ghetto walls forced us to do what in many ways we might have done voluntarily. Now that they are gone we still huddle together in the warmth of our fellowship, the protective sentiment of past and prersent. and in the face of real or imagined rejection by the world around us.
"We remember how we dwelt alone in concentration camps aiid n>dc alone in cattle cars and dieci alone in nameless, shapeless forms. We clung to each other — to whom else might we have clung? We cried, but who heard us? Even when the full horror of Auschwitz was known and we begged the leaders of the West to bomb the railroad yards of that infamous chamel house where 10.000 men and women and children were being unloaded cvcrv- day of the year, the planes "coiild not be spared" as the politely regretful reply Avas phrased. Death came, as it always comes, to each one alone — six million times alone.
"Aloneness is the existential burden of the Jew. he is. as tradition and meaning convey, kadosh. holy and separate at once.
"That is the way it is with Jews "and that is the w ay it is with Israel: " "No other nation is deeply and passionately concerned about its existence. Whether it lives or dies may touch the diplomatic chords of the harp of peace, but the instrument would play a dirge as quickly as it would a dance. Israel has allies de convena'nce: it has no friends unto death. It belongs to the West but dwells in Asia, while most of its citizens stem from Africa and Eastern Europe. Its neighbors deny it the right to live and the world accepts such attitudes as if they were normal fare of international relationships. There is an aura of unreality about it all. fit for a play if the actors were not so real and the implications not so gruesome. Its neighbors cr\- Death to Israel! and all too often they mean Death to every Jew! The nations of the world think of power ploys and balances. They did it then, in the days of Hitler, and they do it today. Meanw hile. the Chosen of the Lord dwell alone in the rockfilled Land of Promise and arc not reckoned among the nations.
Supematnral Element
"What lies behind this strange a>nundrum the like of which cannot be found in historv? Leaving aside the supernatural element for a moment on which, acairding to your 6wn faith, you may agree or disagree, the basis may be found in a paradox. Here is a people who since the beginning of time has tried what is ultimatcly perhaps impossible: to combine a vision of one world with the insistence that this pei>ple remain identified and identifiable. Somehow historv" seems to rule that you cannot have it both Avays. If you strive toward the universal, then you must become part of it. be
amalgamated by it .absorbed in it. If you strive to be particular then you stand apart, and standing apart will either suffer ethe destructive forces'of overwhelming majorities, or will like the Eskimos or Bushmen be isolated-by human evolution, and become a special exhibit in the zoological garden of history. But Israel as a historic people has tried the impossible it has dwelt in every countr>' and clime, it has bejcome part of ever>- nation, desperately urgently and loyally so. Yet it has claimed that at the same time its members could also be part of the historic continuity of the Eternal People and give loyalty to the ciwenant once made at Sinai.
Western Civilization
"\\ has often .been stated that The Holocaust represented the near bankruptcy of Western civilization; it saved itself only by helping to bring the state of Israel into being. Without Israel the moral sanity of the West might indeed have been jeopardized, and if by a cruel confluence of circumstances the inconceivable would occur and Israel be destroyed and another holocaust be unleashed, one can only speculate that with it Western civilization would destroy its moral founda-ticVn and thereby itself.
"This is the way the historic people appears in histor\- and this is how the state of Israel must be seen. In the context of this vision, it is the tangible expression of an eternal parado.x.
"If I may state it in somewhat simplistic terms, the existence of the state of Ij-rael may be seen as our people's attempt to secure our particularity, that is to say, our identity and sur\'ival: while Dias-p^>ra Jewr>-, that is to say Jews in C a n a da, the United States, France. South Africa or wherever, expresses our people's reach for the universal. We cannot do without either. Doing without the
state of Israel would once again put our. survival in jeopardy; having the state of Israel as a place to which every Jew can go of right means to us the securing of our identity, the assurance of our sur\'iyal. This above all, is the meaning of the state of Israel. and this is why to every Jew in the Diaspora it has a meaning that affects, his own existence. This has nothing to do with dual loyalty, a Canadian Jew is no less loyal to Canada and its security, its laws and its ideals, than any other citizen, yet at the same time he bears an additional burden of responsibility.
Survival of Judaism
" Being a Jew he is committed to the survival of Judaism and the Jewish people; and consequently the existence of Israel, a nation unlike any other nation, becomes to him a spiritual necessity. This is w hy Jews are not merely interested in Israel s survival, they are desperately committed to it. because in that sense Israel represent the assurance of their o\yn survival as a particular people in the stream of history.
"But at the same time we. who live in the Diaspora, are committed also to the survival, the welfare, the spiritual and physical prosperity of the land in which we live and to which we belong in freedom. For these free countries are in a sense expressions of our striving for the universal ideal. To this ideal wc make our contribution in science, education, literature, and economy. No other people has. if I may say this immodestly, contributed as much to scientific intellectual and artistic progress of humanity. No other people has been distinguishr ed by as many Nobel Prize winners. . no other people has given to the world as many seminal figures who have spelled the advent of new- ages.
"This then is the paradoxical
role which is attached to our very existence as Jews, as an Eternal People standing vertically in history, and being spread horizontally amongst the nations. We belong to mankind and are part and parcel of it.
Sense of Identity
"But at the same tiine we are also apart, in that we have a special relationship with the God in Whom we believe. We believe that only if we remain Jews at all costs and. under all circumstances can we fulfil this role, and this we sec guaranteed and enforced by the existence of the state of Israel. It's existence has rekindled the seiise of identity of the Jews in Soviet Russia, and it has brought ' about a new Jewish cultural renaissance. Nothing that has happened since, no wars that, have beleaguered our people, no disappointments and setbacks, will drive us from the waiting post of historv-. We believe in one mankind and we believe that peace will eventually come: Ours is an unlikely path amongst the nations, and in a sense. Israel, created after thousands of years of . waiting.^ is in itself an unlikely presence amongst the people of the world, dwelling alone, yet desperately trying to be part of it, rejected yet ultimately the focal point of so much contemporary history.
"1 might conclude here, yet I cannot: for the paradox has yet one other dimension and it has to do with moral behaviour and convictions. It is not the least puzzling and paradoxical element in our history that we. who have . striven to be the harbingers of peace and suffered death all too often ratherthan take up arms, are now seen as the Spartans of our time — the soldiers incarnate of our time. It is not the least paradox of all to find our people, the world's teacher in morality, to be accused of the ultimate immoral-
ity, of depriving others of land and living; and we. sooften the hunted and the refugees, are made responsible for the fate and deprivation of others. Nothing, says the world to us. can right the wrong unless you give back what you have, andjill too many say, unless you surrender both your soul and your life.
• 'It is my personal feeling that for all too long we have suflfeied thesfe accusations in silence or ha V e responded with polite phrases, statistics and explanations. Perhaps the time has come to forsake this role and exchange our position in the box of the accused with that of the stance of the accuser.
Vision of Healing "These then are some of the thoughts which one Jew lays before fellow- Jews and fellow Canadians of other religious persuasions, thoughts bom of conviction, anxiety, of faith as well asof hope. Our vision is not one of destruction but of healing. We see ourselves amongst the nations as a potential harbinger of spiritual grandeur, and Israel and Jerusalem as the place to which men will look for inspiration.
"Perhaps we are closer to the realization of this hope than we know, but all of us. be we Christians or Jews, be we concerned w-ith |)oiitics as our profession or merely as oiir hobby as citizens, must look at histor>- in its widest perspective. Our responsibility is not only to tomorrow but to the morrow afterwards, not only to this decade, but to the decades to come. Our responsibility is ultimately to humanity and its fate. Israel among the nations is a description of geography, but also a statement of faith in the historic process which will see the universal and the particular, unlikely as the combination may seem, yet -joined together in the harmony of peace and progress."
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continue to differ over
By LEWIS LEVENDEL CJN Associate Editor
OTTAWA —
Delegates to the fourth' annual policy conferenpe of the Canada-Israel Committee hailed the a n-nouncement of the planned opening of offices in Ottawa and Toronto, but continued to : differ over the functions of the CIC.
While the two-day convention was going on, candidates to head the new offices, expected to open later this month, were being interviewed. The CIG had for some time been seeking the funds and "the right persons" to man the new offices.
Headquarters for the CIC is Montreal.
Regarding the CIC structure, Milton Harris seermed to sum up the feelings of many delegates. "The people want a body, not a device," declared the ehajrman of Canadian Jewish Congress, Central Region.
He was responding to Phil Givens,; Canadian Zionist Federation president, who had explained to a CIC Ontario region meeting what the function of the CIC is. "It is a device reflecting the three main organizations. (Congress, Zionists Federation and B'nai B'rith) representing the Jews of Can-
ada."
Answering critics from small towns who felt alienated, Givens said big cities are "where the action is" and the CIC has not solved how to clue into the smaller communities.
"It is just impossible to use a national meeting to do the kind of job that is needed." he added.
Harris, originally from London. Ont.. had charged Toronto and Montreal had usurped the complete leadership. "The way we are structured does not respond to the needs of the total Jewish community." he declared. "We owe the outside community some participation in the deci-
sion-making process."
Mrs. Henrietta Ches-nie. president of Holy Blossom Temple in Toronto, said the CIC has to give the Jewish communities the kind of input they need. Like her. many of the delegates urged more information be distributed to eommunitv groups by the CIC.
Another hot topic at the convention was response to the expected appearance of a Palestine Liberation Organization delegation at the UN-sponsored criminology convention in Toronto in September.
■"Whatever we undertake in Septenibers must be a national, not a
Cotter attacks foreign policy
Cont'd from Page 1
Cotler talked of "irri-descent symmetry*,' of interest between Canada and Israel and urged CIC members to stress the similarities between the nations. "Support for Israel should follow for the intrinsic morality of her position." he emphazised to 125 persons attending the CIC luncheon in the Skyline Hotel.
Another of the speakers, military analyst John Gellner, caused a . stir when.he said that on the basis of objective measures. Isra.ers best course of action would bt to attack the Arab countries now.
Israel will never be in ^ better strategic position, he told a CIC workshop. The: editor of Canadhn IMenoe ((^uutMly and university professor, em-phastiied this assessment was purely jfrom a militaiy :st»tidpoiht. all other con->iderait6hs: Waived.
won, he said ;i^di»houM destroy Ae ewiny
^r/;^ JSiAidlb^ At«bs would ■: i)nd|^'''lt-:,i^iMt^^ to: 'rtroid ft showdown and ^^DbMlte the
Professor Irwin Cotler
tion, hoping that Israel would weaken. However, the Palestinians may force the Arab governments to' take action, he added.
Israel is dependent on outside sources for 15% of her arms while the Arabs aredependent for iB5% of their arms from other countries, he stated. However, this will diminish as times goes on. / Regarding her present bordetsi krael would be most vulnerable for an attack from Jordan although that is unlikely because of present pditi^' cal factors, said Ctellher.
In the Sinai, holding the Gidi and Mitia passes gives Israel "a tremendous advantage."
Another of the highlights at the convention was Rabbi. W. Gunther Plant's often emotionally-moving address. National vice-chairman of the CIC. he was addressing the convention on the topic, "Israel Among The Nations."
He said that if there were another Holocaust and Israel woujd be destroyed, "one can only speculate that with it^ Western civilizatioijwould destroy its moral founda-f tion. and thereby itself.",
There's an aura of unreality about Israel's position today, said the Toroiito rabbi. "Its neighbors cry 'Death to Israel' and all too often they mean 'Death to every Jew'. The nations of the world think of power ploys and balances. They did it then in the days of Hitler, and they do it today. Meanwhile, the Chosen of the Lord dwell also in thi rock-filled Land of Promise and are not reckoned among the nations."
Jews are not iiicrely interested in Israel's survival, said the rabbi.'
"they are desperately committed to it because in that sense Israel represents the assurance of their own survival as a particular people in the stream of history."
Another highlight of the conference was a panel of three non-Jews discussing "Canada and Israel — Toward Mutual Understanding."
Lloyd Axworthy, Manitoba Liberal MLA and political science professor, said non-Jews don't support Israel because they have not been shown how.
He told an audience of about 80, however, that Canadians have an underlying worry that "if things get hot in the Middle East, may be it will affect us in Canada."
He called for more economic aid from Canada to Israel to "show the Yanks they are not alone in supporting Israel. We (Canada) need to prod and nudge theU.S. as in the past."
Religion professor David Demson of University of Toronto, accused Canada "of waffling on fundamental gut i^ues," and poet Louise Gareau-Des Bois spoke movingly of her recent trip to Israel.
ncttms
Toronto affair." said Rabbi W. Gunther Plaut. He urged busloads of people to come to Toronto to join demonstrations a/id called for protests across the country. CIC has organized a committee, headed by Lou Silver of Toronto, to deal with the matter.
CIC Director Mver Bick lold The The CJN the convention was "a watershed" in the development of Canadian Jewish Ufe. He said for the first time during the convention, delegates had made appointments and had gone to discuss the Middle East with their MPs on Parliament Hill, four blocks away from the Skline Hotel conference site. "Aiid lots of good information and lots of good technique were transmitted to the delegates." he added.'
The first day of the conference was taken up with closed sessions. Rabbi Jordan Pearlson of Toronto's Temple Sinai delivered the keynote address on "Israel's Image in Canada." Following that were commissions on Arab propaganda, media, goveimment and foreign policy, and communicating with the grass roots.
In ah interview following his speech, Rabbi Pearlson said»(he belief in the Masada complex is a vary tragic one for Israel to adopt.
"The result of Masada was mass suicide of a tenacious, courageous remnant." he said "I believe Israelis need a more positive image."
Regarding Canada. Rabbi Pearlson said this country has not been asserting her leadership to the degree she should. "Canada, more than any other middle power, has, the capacity to re-assert the message and hopes of Western democracies," he declared. "Canada should be encouarged to play the; unique role as symbol of Western morality."
ShaiJi^ a lighter moment prior to the fourth Cauda-rlsrad ComuMttee parttamentary dinner hi Ottawa iue; left to right/Actfatg Pri^ Minister MitcheD Sharp, Israel Ambassador Theodor Meion and Charles Bronfman, president of Allied Community Services in Montreal. In previous years Sharp addressed the dhmer in his capacity of external affairs mhiister. (Canada-I^ael Committee photograph)