On Passover, speak out against injustice | Farber

A reminder of the historical role that the Jewish community has played in social justice in Canada and elsewhere by Bernie Farber, who is particularly active on refugee as well as a wide array of other issues:

Has this vulnerable past been forgotten? Have we lost empathy for others who continue to face discrimination and require support? A core Jewish value, the directive to leave the world a better place “Tikun olam” seems today a faraway concept.

Today’s Jewish community understandably supports any government that stands behind Israel. Sadly it seems to have done so while suspending its historical connection to issues of social justice.

We understand the existential angst faced by Jews in the Diaspora. In our lifetime there was a wholesale attempted genocide committed against Jews that almost succeeded. We get the need to be supportive of a strong Jewish state.

However, we also know that any government’s support for Israel must not weaken who we are as a community – our belief in human and civil rights and our commitment to human dignity.

Governments need to do more than visit Israel, more than commemorate the Holocaust and more than speak at events in the Jewish community. Support for Israel ought not to blind us to those issues that cry out for our attention.

Today it seems the tent within the Jewish community has little room for voices that demand social change. And make no mistake, those voices exist.

On Passover, speak out against injustice | Toronto Star.