Renowned Jewish Canadian historian Irving Abella spoke about the Jewish Canadian experience from the 1800s to modern day in a lecture at McGill on Thursday, January 25, organized by the Jewish Studies Students Association.
Abella began his 2-hour lecture by reminding the predominately Jewish audience that racism and bigotry is not unique to European history, but is part of Canada’s past, as well. While many view Canada as a country that has always been available to the masses of refugees Abella’s research shows this is not so.
Currently a professor at York University in Toronto, Abella taught for a year at McGill, and also served from 1992 to 1995 as the president of the Canadian Jewish Congress.
In fact, Canada’s past immigration policies were “racist and exclusionary,” and Jews were at the bottom of the list of preferred immigrants to the country. In the past, the fact that the Canadian Cabinet did not hold a ministerial position for immigration shows how little respect was given to the issue, she said. Bureaucrats, who essentially carried out the functions of an immigration minister, aimed to “keep the doors of Canada as tightly closed as they could.” The “legally sanctioned discrimination” in Canada was not helpful to the “doomed Jews of Europe seeking to escape” during WWII, Abella explained. He said the rise of anti-Semitism surrounding World War II did not quell in Canada until the creation of Israel in 1948.
Abella outlined numerous differences between Canadian and American Jews. In Canada today, there are more Holocaust survivors than in the States; Canadian Jews are more philanthropic than Americans, more like to travel to Israel, more likely to send their children to day school, and less likely to assimilate. Canada has fewer Jews in the political sphere than the States, with a smaller number of Jewish cabinet ministers in Canada than America.
When his best-known book, titled None is too Many was published in 1983 in Canada, the story of Jewish immigration to Canada — or lack thereof — hadn’t received much academic attention. After the lecture, during the question and answer period, Abella was asked if he faced any criticisms from the media upon the publication of the book. He said that it was received warmly, except in Quebec, where Laval University students wanted to know why he was bringing up something that had already occurred in the past.

Just like the limited number of free Elie Wiesel tickets sold out quickly last year, so have tickets for another Jewish speaker coming to Montreal –- Stephen Lewis. Currently serving the final months of the post he has held since 2001 as the United Nations special envoy for HIV/AIDS in Africa, Lewis is also a well-known Canadian Jew and activist. Although the free tickets to see Lewis speaking about “Life, Death, and the Urgency of Hope” are sold out, students wishing to fork out the $20 full ticket price can still attend. The event is presented in part by Students Helping Others Understand Tolerance (SHOUT), Hillel Montreal, Africa is Real, and Amnesty International Concordia, along with numerous other sponsors. Students that did receive free tickets are asked to bring a non-perishable food item with them the night of the event, which takes place at 7pm on January 15th at Concordia University.
Lewis’ numerous past positions include provincial party leader, diplomat, author, scholar and chair of his foundation, the Stephen Lewis Foundation. The charitable organization raises funds to help people in Africa who have been affected by HIV/AIDS. Lewis is renowned for his passionate and brutally honest public speaking skills and has spoken at universities across the country. He comes from a politically charged background; his father was the federal leader for the New Democratic Party (NDP), and his wife is the well-known Canadian journalist Michelle Landsberg. Lewis’ son, a renowned broadcaster, Avi Lewis, is the husband of distinguished activist and author Naomi Klein. Among other award and honours, in 2005, Lewis was listed as one of the top 100 Heroes and Icons by Time Magazine.

On Thursday, November 30, CJPAC joined with the Liberal Parliamentarians for Israel and the Canada-Israel Committee for a reception to celebrate the community and friendship for the Liberal Leadership Convention. The event was held at Montreal’s Intercontinental Hotel and ran from 9 PM to midnight.
At the event were Liberal leadership candidates, including Stephane Dion and Bob Rae. Carolyn Bennett, Liza Frulla, and many other noteworthy Canadian members of Parliament made appearances. The initially predominantly-Jewish crowd became more diverse as the night progressed. Near the end of the evening, the suite was completely packed and representatives from Radio Canada were recording conversations between politicians and CJPAC members. Numerous Liberal delegates representing all top 4 leadership candidates also attended the event.

The Canadian Jewish community and Canada’s relationship with Israel were discussed by Gilles Duceppe, federal leader of the Bloc Quebecois, in a November 20th lecture etitled “Shared History, Shared Future.�? The event was organized by the Quebec-Israel Committee and the Canadian Jewish Political Affairs Committee. Duceppe spoke in French, but, like at the Elie Wiesel event in Montreal, simultaneous English translation was available.
Duceppe occasionally broke into English, such as in a witty line describing himself as “just a bloke who went Bloq.�? The Montreal CJPAC fellows were all present, and were invited to a VIP reception afterward.
Duceppe spoke against a backdrop of Israel, Canadian and Quebec flags, and mentioned the numerous Jewish Montrealers who have contributed to Quebec society, such as Leonard Cohen and Mordechai Richler. Duceppe emphasized his view that he recognizes Israel has a right to exist, but hopes for a peaceful coexistence with the Palestinians.
Duceppe concluded with an outline of his party’s view that Quebec should separate from Canada and be a separate nation. Following the presentation, 3 questions were asked of Duceppe, one requesting him to differentiate the Bloq’s economic policy from its similar provincial counterpart, the Parti Quebecois. Even though this question was not about the theme of the event, Duceppe gracefully responded. At the end of the event, Duceppe was presented with a kiddush cup as a gift from the organizers of the evening.

McGill’s Muslim Students Association’s (MSA) search for a permanent prayer space has been documented in the media. Ever since the MSA was evicted from a basement room in Peterson Hall in fall of 2004, the group has been trying to find a new permanent space, as they used this one since 2002.
Muslim students, who in 2005 numbered nearly 3,000 at McGill, pray five times a day for five minutes at intervals of approximately 2 or 3 hours. They require a prayer space that is on or near campus.
I spoke with Ayaz Hyder, who defines his role in the MSA as “president of the consultative body made up of elected members by MSA members.�?

How/when did you become involved with the association?
Involved last year in prayer space events such as sit-ins, letters to the admin, protests during homecoming. Have been involved with MSAs at Queen’s and McMaster, so naturally involved with it at McGill.

How have the efforts been going to secure a prayer space? What are the plans for the future of the MSA?
In a word, slow. Since filing a complaint with the QHRC (Quebec Human Rights Commission) we are in the queue awaiting a decision. QHRC is expected to go directly to mediation rather than conduct an investigation into the complaint. Currently we are working with the SSMU [Students’ Society of McGill University] in trying to find creative ways to use the current space in the Shatner building rather than bother with McGill admin-controlled space. SSMU execs Aaron [Donny-Clark] and Floh [Herra-Vega] have been very helpful in this process. Floh follows up with us whenever I see her on campus. We hope to have a temporary arrangement in place for next semester and a long-term but temporary solution for next year, until the QHRC issues its ruling on our complaint.
Future plans are to keep up the struggle no matter how long it takes by keeping up the pressure on the admin through pieces such as these, education campaigns, and working with the SSMU and other interested campus groups and organizations in order to have reasonable accommodation of religious needs at McGill.

I have not seen Muslim students praying around campus, as I did last year. Does this mean students are praying somewhere else, or has this just been an anomalous observation on my part?
We are currently praying in a damp work area of Morrice Hall (the Islamic Studies building). There is only sufficient space for 15 people, whereas over 50 people require a place to pray in congregation. These are the people who are able to make it to the congregational prayer at its specified time from the over 1,000 Muslim students, staff and faculty at McGill. This number does not include women which ranges from 20 to 30 at any one prayer.

I see on the MSA Web site students are encouraged to wear “green ribbons.” Who runs this green ribbon campaign? What do the ribbons symbolize?
We started this campaign last year in order to show our continued requests for a prayer space on campus (albeit not a permanent one, as the administration would have you believe). The green color is a light and peaceful color but I am not sure why it was picked last year.

McGill newspapers have compared the MSA’s desire for a prayer space to McGill’s Jewish organization, Hillel. Jewish students are all welcome at the Hillel house — a large, recently renovated building on Stanley Street that houses a restaurant, residences, and common spaces. What do you think of this comparison?
I used to live across the building and I have witnessed the renovations myself. Hillel House is more or less a cultural centre for students predominantly of the Jewish faith, but please correct me if this impression is incorrect. Muslim students are able to come into contact with each other at the weekly congregational prayers held every Friday and through weekly study circles and access to the MSA office in the Shatner building. Therefore, opportunities for getting to know each other and just chilling are aplenty for our members. A common prayer space (but not permanent) vs. the 20 different places people now pray on campus (stairwells, hallways, dark corners, etc.) is the primary goal for the existence of an MSA at McGill.
Prayer space is the reason why we exist but we make do without it given current circumstances. A setup such as Hillel House would not solve our problem because
i) we don’t require a large space (just a 12 x 12 foot space would do)
ii) small donation pool as compared to the established and mature Jewish community in Montreal, and
iii) not a sustainable solution given that MSA McGill is a campus organization run by volunteers, whereas Hillel’s restaurant and residences must employ a building manager at least (but please correct my assumptions).