The cover illustration of the fall issue of The Canadian Jewish News Magazine seems to reflect a growing debate in the Jewish community over Israel/Palestine, long repressed by establishment Jewish organizations, and now bubbling to the surface. It drew hundreds of responses from its readers – some positive and some negative. Read more…
Jewish families get together every year for Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish New Year. The earth shaking events in Israel/Palestine over the last year have provoked intense discussions among Canadian Jews about Judaism and their relation to Israel, according to the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Hamutal Dotan.
This prompted Dotan to put a very unusual drawing on the cover of the magazine. The image depicted a family gathered for a traditional meal, with different family members reflecting different political views including, controversially, a young woman wearing a keffiyeh!! The cover got a lot of feedback, positive and negative.
“The image depicted a fictional Jewish family gathered for Rosh Hashanah”, explained Dotan in a follow up article.
“This family included a matronly woman in an apron wearing a yellow ribbon in support of bringing the hostages home; a young girl with a dog tag necklace in support of the Israel Defense Forces; two bearded men in a heated discussion; someone looking at footage of an explosion posted to Instagram on their smartphone; one woman clutching her forehead in apparent disappointment or frustration; and, most controversially, a young woman sporting a keffiyeh and watermelon earrings—a symbol of Palestinian solidarity.”
Canadian Jewish News editor-in-chief Hamutal Dotan joined Rabbi Avi Finegold and Phoebe Maltz Bovy for a robust discussion of the logic behind the drawing, including what Judaism has to say about Zion as a historic homeland for Jewish people, and the new political climate that’s arisen since Oct. 7.
The establishment Jewish organizations would have Canadians believe that, apart from a small radical fringe, Canadian Jews overwhelmingly line up behind Israel. But those who support human rights for Palestinians might take heart from the CJN’s cover and the thoughtful discussion about it which shows that the Jewish community is more divided than it might appear from the outside.
Canada Talks Israel Palestine (CTIP) is the weekly newsletter of Peter Larson, Chair of the Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine (OFIP). It aims to promote a serious discussion in Canada about Canada’s response to the complicated and emotional Israel/Palestine issue with a focus on the truth, clear analysis and human rights for all. Readers with different points of view are invited to make comment.
Want to learn more about us? Go to Ottawa Forum on Israel/Palestine.ca
Canada Talks Israel/Palestine 
The mass killings and horror perpetrated by the IDF couldn’t do it, but the rising tide of humanitarian perspective among many young Jews may finally be doing it. it’s about time.