Israel shouldn’t be a political football
Despite public and private appeals to call off the event, the Jewish Defence League (JDL) went ahead with its unfortunate decision to picket a Liberal fundraiser at the Toronto home of pharmaceutical magnate and Jewish philanthropist Barry Sherman. Before the Aug. 26 protest, Sherman was viciously...
Four ‘Jewish’ battleground ridings to watch
It’s no secret that Jewish voters have apparently shifted from being largely supportive of the Liberal party to heartily supporting the Conservatives in what seems like majority numbers, due largely to the party’s full-throated support for Israel under Prime Minister Stephen Harper (and to a much...
Let’s cut the Jewish indignation in Parliament
What’s next? A discussion of the weekly Torah portion? Or maybe a daily page of Talmud study? Perhaps morning and evening prayers? It seems that debate in Canada’s House of Commons has had a decidedly Jewish tone to it lately. There are an estimated 315,000 Jews in...
Free advice for the federal Liberal party
Well, well, well: it appears that Bob Rae has decided not to run for the federal Liberal leadership after all, despite rampant speculation over the past year that he would if the party let him. This has to be a relief for people who’d like to...
More lessons from Alberta’s surprise election result
Political junky that I am, I can’t get enough of the analysis being generated in the aftermath of the Alberta election, which saw Premier Alison Redord and the Progressive Conservatives defy virtually all the polls to beat Danielle Smith and her Wildrose Alliance party. It’s truly...
Of wilted wild roses and elbows to the back of the head
Alberta, it turns out, isn’t the out and out redneck haven that some of us easterners might have thought it was. And it looks like Alberta’s Progressive Conservative dynasty will live to fight another day. I was going to write about how Premier Alison Redford and...
Attacking public sector workers is a bad idea
During economic downturns, people have a tendency to turn on one another. We blame victims and eat our own. I’ve been alive long enough to have seen it more than once before. It’s wrong, but I get it. The urge to help one’s fellow human during...