By Ben Murane, Executive Director
I cast my vote on Monday and am relieved that our democratic traditions remain steadfast. There has indeed been rancor and divisiveness during the lead up to yesterday’s climax, with deep divisions within the Jewish community about our country’s direction. But few of us are taking our vote for granted these days.
When I cast my ballot – my first participation in a Canadian federal election since becoming a citizen two years ago – I couldn’t help but reflect on the peril of Israeli and US democracy.
Our Israeli friends and family are trapped in a war they cannot end, due to a government that needs war to keep its coalition partners together. They have protested by the hundreds of thousands in support of democracy and bringing home the hostages held by Hamas in Gaza. They do so in support of the demands of the hostage families, who since April of last year have been calling for the current government to step down, schedule new elections, and convene a commission of inquiry into the failures of October 7th. Polls over the past year consistently show that the majority of Israelis agree – even the majority of right-wing voters. Yet the government continues its attacks on democracy and continues an unnecessary war that takes lives daily.
To our south, our American friends and family are only now understanding the scope and scale of President Trump’s sweeping plans for dismantling democratic protections. The playbook is remarkably similar, including undermining civil society by threatening charities’ tax-exempt statuses. That is why NIF in the US joined hundreds of philanthropic foundations and nonprofits to sign a letter against the mere rumour of interfering with tax-exempt status. That is also why NIF there joined a coalition of other progressive Israel organizations, as well as important synagogues, to sign a letter objecting to the attempted deportations of an international student critical of Israel.
We Canadians are not at all taking Monday’s election or yesterday’s results for granted.
In the coming days, we will meet a new Canadian government and evaluate its plans. With our allies, we will ensure that our new elected leaders hear from Canadian Jewry’s strong and vibrant progressive wing. They’ll hear – contrary to the loudest voices presently – that we want a negotiated end to the war, the hostages to come home, aid to Gazans, and a negotiated pathway to states for both Israelis and Palestinians. As we saw in our joint survey last fall, the majority of Canadian Jews in fact advocate for two states, including pressure on both Israel and the Palestinians to get there.
Our role in the wider Canadian Jewish debate over Israel is to centre the Israelis who are fighting for democracy, equality, and peace. Whether they are civil liberties lawyers defending democracy before the high court like ACRI, or opposing ethnic cleansing in Gaza like Breaking the Silence, or rebuilding communities in the Negev with greater equality like Bimkom, or providing answers to how to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict like aChord and Mitvim – these Israelis’ voices need to be heard in Canada.
That’s why I was so humbled last week to moderate two Israeli leaders from Standing Together in Toronto – one Jewish and one Palestinian – and why I’m looking forward to the Vivian Silver memorial event “In Her Voice” on June 4th. And it’s why I’m hard at work recently on a special event on September 14th – a day-long conference with Haaretz. It’s why we proudly co-hosted a speaking tour across Canada featuring our funded partners The Abraham Initiatives and aChord, as well as our friend Dahlia Scheindlin.
Those Israelis need our support. We have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars in the past months towards civil society actors that are fighting for a better future. If you’ve already supported our For Freedom campaign, thank you so much.
If you haven’t made a gift to NIFC’s work yet this year, I hope you’ll take a moment right now to do so.