For my first CJN column of 2015, I’ll be dealing with something I wrote about in 2014.  

A strange way to start the new year? Yes, but I wanted to set the record straight on a piece that was unfortunately misinterpreted. It’s a rare occurrence when I need to issue a mea culpa, but this is one of those moments.

Briefly, I wrote a column in November about the Jewish political shift from the Liberals to the Tories in the 2011 federal election. To be provocative, I attempted to show that this phenomenon may have some historical roots. 

I brought up the example of the “first Jewish Liberal-Conservative,” Henry Nathan, Jr. The B.C. Liberal MP was the first Jew ever elected to the House of Commons. At the same time, he strongly supported Sir John A. Macdonald and the Conservatives – or, as they used to be called, the Liberal-Conservatives. 

Nathan had valid personal and political reasons for siding with Canada’s first prime minister. Even so, I still wrote, “Did this political shift suddenly occur with the [Stephen] Harper Tories, or has it been going on since Macdonald’s time? You decide.”

For the record, I was just trying to have some fun. I’ve written extensively about Canadian politics, and the history of Canadian conservatism, for nearly 20 years. This includes comparisons of Red Tories and Blue Tories, fiscal conservatives and social conservatives, right-leaning political parties, and every Tory PM from Macdonald to Harper. 

Hence, I know that Nathan was never a Tory. I know that the Macdonald Conservatives were politically and ideologically different from the Harper Tories. As well, I know – and have even mentioned it in this publication – that the Jewish political shift to the Tories can be primarily traced to the 2011 federal election.

So, what happened? I assumed readers would understand I was being edgy and provocative. Some people did, thank goodness. Others didn’t.  

In particular, it was Bernie Farber’s rebuttal column that caught my eye. 

It may surprise some people, but I’ve always liked and respected Farber. While it’s true that his political and economic views are “radically different” than mine (no arguments there, Bernie!), he provides an alternative perspective on various issues. I’ve always been pleased to read his work, and the fact that I rarely agree with him is rather trivial in the grand scheme of things.  

Farber has also been a strong defender of the Canadian Jewish community and was the last CEO of the now-defunct Canadian Jewish Congress. He, along with Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs CEO Shimon Fogel, recently retired B’nai Brith CEO Frank Dimant and newly appointed B’nai Brith CEO Michael Mostyn (who, as fate would have it, is a cousin of mine), all deserve respect. They’ve earned it. 

That being said, when Farber wrote about my “rather fantastical theory that Jews have been moving into the political Conservative fold gradually, as opposed to in what most pundits have agreed has been a major and sudden shift of allegiance,” I was stunned. When someone who has read my work for years misinterprets my position, I know I’ve done something wrong.  

In many ways, it’s my own doing. I tend to be a serious writer and thinker, mixing in the occasional lighthearted and/or dark comedic line or paragraph. I may have a sense of humour, but I’m definitely not a comedian.

More to the point, all I needed to do was add a small reference to show that I was teasing. It’s a rookie mistake to assume that an audience is in on the joke. I’m not a rookie, and have the grey hair and war wounds to prove it. Hence, I should have known better.  

Could I have swept this entire matter under the rug? Easily, but that’s not my style. 

So, I’m sorry. I’ll be more clear in the future. And that’s no joke.