Friday, January 9

I don’t want to lose you from the get-go, but I’m going to mention Torah for a moment, so stay with me. In this week’s Torah portion, we begin reading the book of Exodus.  We open in Egypt, where the Children of Israel have been living since the time of Joseph, when Joseph was essentially helping Pharoah run the country. The very first paragraph of Exodus says, “A new king arose over Egypt who did not know Joseph.”  Suddenly, after generations of living in peace in Egypt, everything changed for the Jewish people because of one leader.  Spoiler: They end up as slaves for hundreds of years.

Now, let’s talk about New York and Toronto.

When I moved to New York in the 1980s, we had a Jewish mayor, the lovable Ed Koch. While not particularly religious, Ed Koch was clearly a Jewish type – from the inflections in his speech and little Yiddish words that he threw into casual conversation to his unwavering support of Israel. Before Koch, there was Abraham Beame, who was the first openly Jewish mayor of New York, going so far as to put a mezuzah on the door frame of Gracie Mansion, the official mayoral residence. Fiorello LaGuardia (for whom the airport is named) was Jewish through his mother, although he did not identify as a Jewish mayor. His leadership, however, was recognized as Jewish, as he worked to bridge different communities and promote inclusivity. All of this was, as they say, good for the Jews.

Here in Toronto, we’ve had Nathan Phillips who made history as our first Jewish mayor. Known often as the “Mayor of All the People”, Nathan Phillips had enormous commitment to inclusivity for all Torontonians, cutting intolerance and discrimination at its roots. Again, for us, he simply made it better for the Jews. Following him, Toronto’s Jewish mayors included Phil Givens and Mel Lastman, both of whom continued the Nathan Phillips legacy of inclusivity, and helping shape Toronto into one of the most diverse cities in the world.  When I moved to Toronto, I fell in love with its Jewish community and reveled in how easy it was to live as a Jew here.

Today: Olivia Chow. Zohran Mamdani. We all know what Chow has allowed to happen to Toronto’s Jewish community since October 7th. And Mamdani?  Last week, on his very first day as mayor of New York City, here’s what this gem of a guy did (and we know WHY he did it. I just don’t know how he justified it):
1. He revoked NYC’s use of the IHRA definition of antisemitism. Without a definition, it becomes nearly impossible to label a hate-crime against Jews as antisemitism or anti-Zionism. Antisemites are now free to wreak havoc.
2. He got rid of NYC’s anti-BDS executive order. It’s completely acceptable now for New York businesses to avoid purchasing Israeli products or engage with Israeli institutions (Boycott); it’s encouraged for NYC universities and other institutions to withdraw investments from companies that support Israel (Divestment); it’s absolutely okay to advocate for imposing sanctions on Israel (Sanctions).
3. He removed the police protections that were implemented this year after Jewish institutions were targeted, making it no longer illegal to protest outside synagogues. (And Jewish Torontonians know from personal experience just how dangerous that is for us.)
4. He got rid of NYC-Israel economic cooperation initiatives. No more formal ties between Israeli-American business and communities.

This was on his FIRST DAY. Actions that will make it easier to target and persecute Jews in New York. Legally. Can anyone here say “1930’s Germany”?

With all of this, do you know what alarms me the most?  A quote from Shabbos Kestenbaum, the brilliant Harvard student-turned-activist who sued Harvard for failing to protect Jewish and Israeli students from antisemitic harassment and discrimination. Here’s what he said this week: The New York Jewish Community is under attack by Islamists and Leftists, now led by the new mayor. We cannot let New York become a London or Toronto.  

The world is watching, but this is not the recognition that Nathan Phillips, Mel Lastman, Phil Givens, or any of us would ever have looked for. What happened to being known as a cosmopolitan, multi-cultural city, a city of arts and tech, diversity, acceptance, inclusion, and, well, kind Canadians? Can we possibly turn this around? It’s looking bleak and it’s up to us to speak up before it’s too late. In both New York and Toronto, there’s a new Pharoah in town. 
 

Am Yisrael Chai!