Shabbat Message - July 9, 2021

 

This message has 677 words and will take a little more than 3 minutes to read.

 

This month it will be four years since we hired Daniel Heydenrich-Davis as our director of community security. It seemed an opportune time to convene a meeting with a group of donors who lead the way in supporting community security, and have supported the need for a director of security from the beginning.

Our Community Security Advisory Committee, chaired by Bernard Pinsky, recognized the need for a dedicated individual who could elevate the culture of security within our community, build and maintain strong relationships with local law enforcement, and be a leader when there are threats to the safety of our community. In 2016 we made security the focus of the Annual Campaign, not knowing what would happen six months later: just as we were in the process of hiring Daniel, two bomb threats were directed at the JCC. Four years on, we can look back on many accomplishments, as well as the work that still needs to be done.  

The scope of our community security work has become increasingly complex.

With the escalating tensions in Israel this past May and the rise of antisemitic incidents across the country, Daniel has been there for our community, liaising with local law enforcement, ensuring community buildings are secure, and training volunteers to respond effectively.  

As part of this security briefing, we heard from three of our partner agencies: Schara Tzedeck, Jewish Family Services, and Vancouver Talmud Torah. They each recounted compelling experiences about the work that Daniel has done to maintain the safety and security of their students, employees, and congregants, as well as  their buildings. We are incredibly grateful to our donors for supporting this work over the past several years.

Like you, we are deeply concerned by the spike in antisemitism.

Over the past two months, we have seen a wave of antisemitism sweep across the country. This is why we joined our advocacy agent, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, in calling on the Canadian government to convene an Emergency Summit on Antisemitism.

Thousands of people joined us in calling for the summit, and because of our collective voice, the government listened, and for that we are grateful.

CIJA is convening a Canada-wide Jewish Community Town Hall on July 14.

We want to hear your perspective so we can share it with our elected representatives at the summit on July 21, which makes this town hall very timely. I hope you will join me in registering for it here.

The summit was proposed by CIJA during a meeting with the Prime Minister’s Office, and CIJA has asked that it focus on three key areas:

Physical security, education, and a new advisory body reporting directly to the prime minister.

With regard to physical security, the summit must address pro-active measures to keep the community safe, empower the community to assume a greater role in ensuring safety, and bring together officials from all levels of government.

Education is the most constructive approach to diminishing hate, and that goes beyond the classroom to the online world, including social media.

Some aspects of antisemitism find parallels within other religious and ethno-cultural communities. A diverse advisory body would focus on mitigating aggravated risks to specific communities and address how tension between various communities can be reduced.

“Judaism is the only civilization whose golden age is in the future…”

Although Lord Rabbi Jonathan Sacks z’l was referencing the messianic age, it applies to our outlook here, too.

“At the heart of Judaism,” he wrote, “is a belief so fundamental to Western civilization that we take it for granted, yet it is anything but self-evident… We are what we choose to be. Society is what we choose to make it. The future is open. There is nothing inevitable in the affairs of humankind.”

All you have to do is use your voice, and together we can create the future in which we want to live. Register here and I’ll see you at the town hall.

Shabbat shalom.

 

Ezra S. Shanken
Chief Executive Officer