Make no apologies
Re: When will Ottawa apologize to the Jews? Bernie Farber, Comment, May 1
It’s unfortunate when Jews yearn for an apology for the St. Louis. I’m a child of survivors. My grandparents and much of my family were among the victims. No apology will resurrect the dead or compensate for the horrors of that genocide which had so many wilful partners. I will not feel better. Nor will any apologies compensate for the job our leaders and social justice warriors have shirked — the job of “never again.”
What do I want? I want to see my prime minister’s lips move as he condemns Iran for promoting another genocide, for massing tens of thousands of warriors near Israel’s borders, for preparing their arsenals for nuclear warfare in the Middle East and further. His wilful blindness to the lurking terror is nothing less than shocking. His willingness to engage the leading sponsor of terror is numbing. We need more Roméo Dallaire and less P.T. Barnum.
Gratuitous apologies don’t affect an immutable history. But words of condemnation might change the course and might reach the ears of those unaffected millennials. Joe Kislowicz, Thornhill, Ont.
As a Canadian Jew I have a different view of the Canadian government than Bernie Farber. My grandfather, like many other Jews, immigrated to Canada in the late 1800s. Many more Jews immigrated before the Second World War. Then, there was discrimination in jobs, education and social associations; and yet those Jews did well financially and made good lives for themselves and their families. So did the next generation. Both generations became good Canadian citizens, helped built our country and fought in our wars.
Yes, there was anti-Semitism, and turning away the MS St. Louis was a horrible thing to do. However, despite what Canada may have done wrong in relation to Jews, we must not forget that Canada has been a good place for Jews, and if Ottawa apologizes for its misdeeds, it should also take credit for being a refuge for Jews and a wonderful, if not perfect, place for them to live. Jonathan Usher, North York, Ont.