Advocacy Continues at Holy Blossom

Advocacy Continues at Holy Blossom

Recently Holy Blossom Temple was honoured to welcome MP Anthony Housefather, the newly appointed special adviser to the federal government on Jewish community relations and antisemitism. MP Housefather spoke candidly with our advocacy committee and rabbis and over 150 members of our community about his work fighting anti-Zionism inside his party, building bridges and alliances that will help protect the Jewish community, and the cooperation with Deborah Lyons, the Special Envoy on Combatting Antisemitism. If you would like to watch the recording of this program, you can request access to the private video by emailing Kate Wooten at [email protected].   

This week, Canadian Women Against Antisemitism has shared a petition to be sent to Premier Doug Ford and the new Minister of Education, Jill Dunlop. In it, they are requesting that the Province ensure that the private opinions of teachers, and teachers’ unions, regarding the war between Israel and Hamas not be shared in primary and elementary classrooms. “Our schools are not obliged to provide a forum for advocacy for any issue,” they write, reiterating that partisan politics are to be kept entirely out of the classroom. If you agree you can read, and sign the petition, here.  

Also, CIJA has provided a security update for the Toronto Police Services Board. You can watch a detailed video and read the comprehensive FAQ here. Included are tools and ways for residents of Toronto to share feedback with the Police and the Police Board. We are incredibly grateful for the support we have received from our officers over the course of the last 10 months; submissions through this portal will only help to keep that relationship strong.   

Finally, we want to reiterate that your voice does matter. Several weeks ago, we shared CIJA’s criticism about the recently appointed head of the Canadian Human Rights Commission, Birju Dattani. Pressure from concerned Canadians has led to Mr. Dattani resigning from his position. You can read CIJA’s response here. Thank you for your activism and advocacy!  

Am Yisrael Chai!