The chassidic community is “mobilizing for war” in anticipation of the Outremont borough referendum on Nov. 20 that will decide the fate of a bylaw that would prohibit new places of worship from opening on Bernard Avenue.
“Everybody who could, has registered,” said community leader Alex Werzberger. “People are really being pushed to get out and vote, that every vote counts. Posters are up in all the synagogues, bakeries, everywhere.
“The mood is that we have been pushed too far… There is no other place in the world where synagogues are banned.”
This referendum was forced largely by the Chassidim mobilizing to get the exact number of signatures – 367 – on a registry opened by the borough on Sept. 8.
Although this long-running controversy has focused on the chassidic community’s opposition to the bylaw, they are not the only Jewish residents with an opinion on the issue.
READ: OUTREMONT PLACES OF WORSHIP REFERENDUM SET FOR NOV. 20
Jim Torczyner, a social work professor at McGill University and founder of the McGill Middle East peace program, who lives on Bernard, has been watching developments with concern. He regrets that he will be unable to vote because he is in Israel.
“I love the neighbourhood. I have not seen any real tension in this diverse community in the 16 years I have lived here,” said Torczyner, a native New Yorker.
“I have also seen no reason to restrict the construction of any place of worship. Bernard looks like the Upper West Side, and you will find plenty of churches and a few synagogues on Broadway. I believe there is a small minority of hard-core bigots who dislike the Chassidim.”
But it’s not totally one-sided.
Torczyner, who has long been involved in grassroots organizing and intercultural projects (he also founded Project Genesis), suggests, “We should help the Chassidim to build bridges in this community. There are things they can do which they are not doing…”
One of the first is to stop “double parking their vans in the middle of the street. They could promote tolerance by this one act.”
Referendum voting takes place at the Centre d’éducation des adultes Outremont, 500 Dollard Blvd.
The question on the ballot will be: “Approuvez-vous le Règlement AO-320-B qui a pour objet d’interdire l’usage ‘culte et religion’ dans la zone C-2, qui comprend l’Avenue Bernard?”
READ: OUTREMONT AND CHASSIDIM AT ODDS OVER PLACES OF WORSHIP RESTRICTION
Adult Canadian citizens living in the immediate zone, as well as contiguous zones (one of which extends into the neighbouring Plateau Mont Royal borough) are eligible to vote, as well as non-residents who are owners of a property or business in that zone. They must have been living in Quebec for at least six months as of Aug. 1 this year.
Revisions to the list of eligible voters closed on Nov. 6. Advance voting took place on Nov. 13.
Borough Mayor Marie Cinq-Mars announced on Nov. 8 that she will not be seeking re-election next year.
“Outremont will, in the course of the next few years, be facing numerous challenges and will benefit from the experience and dedication of engaged and dynamic people,” she told the media.
Cinq-Mars was first elected as borough mayor in a 2007 byelection, and re-elected in 2012. She was first elected a councillor in 1999 in what was then the City of Outremont.
Werzberger thinks she made the announcement now – a full year ahead of the election – because she thinks the ‘no’ side will win the referendum.
“She’s afraid she will be beaten badly. Otherwise, what’s the rush?”
Cinq-Mars has frequently been in conflict with the Chassidim on other issues, which they feel curtail the full expression of their religion, including the length of time sukkot can be up and the use of mini-buses to transport children on Purim.
For any questions on the referendum process, contact the borough secretariat at 514-495-6280 or email [email protected].