Looking at maps

Prof. Mira Sucharov finds it “difficult to know where to begin” in explaining Israel’s “military occupation over millions of Palestinians.” What I actually find most difficult is to understand her rationale and the faulty analogies she derives from ignoring key facts (“Why is the Green Line not on our schools’ maps?” May 7).

First, the reality is that Israel’s borders do “span from the Mediterranean Sea to the Jordan River.” This reality, established by our historical connection to the Land of Israel, confirmed in the Mandate for Palestine in 1922 and reiterated in the Israel-Jordan Peace Treaty of 1994, has unfortunately been blurred – if not totally forgotten – since the advent of the Oslo peace process and the emergence of a putative and hitherto unheard of Palestinian state.

Second, with regard to maps, we are not “doing the same thing [with our maps] we accuse our adversaries of doing.” We are doing exactly the opposite: we are correcting a baseless fallacy and replacing it with a fully justified depiction of a reality recognized in international law 95 years ago.

Third, by referring to the “occupation,” Sucharov falls into the trap planted by the Palestinians and their supporters, without realizing that in all logic, the whole of Israel would be viewed as equally occupied, because no one can make a rational distinction between territory acquired in 1967 and those acquired in 1948, both in response to Arab aggression.

No wonder then, that J Street, Rabbi Rick Jacobs’ Union for Reform Judaism and Yachad – all ostensibly claiming to be “pro-Israel, pro-peace” groups – identify themselves more with the fake Palestinian narrative than with established Jewish territorial rights. That Sucharov supports the initiatives promoted by these groups is really difficult to understand. 

Salomon Benzimra
Toronto

Funding for schools 

Canada is a secular country, and the idea of supporting the Jewish separate schools with public money is outdated. 

If it could be done politically, I would eliminate support for the Catholic school system in Ontario, but that would not be pursued by any political leaders.

I agree the Jewish separate schools need help, but it should come from within the Jewish community. 

I am a secular Jew but the protection of  Jewish identity is also important to me, and I would help with a donation in this regard. Maybe there are others who feel the same way. UJA Federation of Greater Toronto could act as the distributor of the funds, but it must be money designated for this purpose by the donors.

Murray Rubin
Toronto

French immigrants welcome

Whether it is boisterous singing emanating from sukkahs, sections of streets being closed down for dancing with the Torah on Simchat Torah, the scent of chametz being burned before Passover, or a lively party in the park for Lag b’Omer, we are a comfortable and proud community of Diaspora Jews. Moreover, we are comfortable displaying our Jewishness in areas of Montreal in which few Jews reside as well. 

This comfort is not grounded in naiveté. Multiculturalism and religious freedom are core values of Canadian society, in opposition to the often oppressively applied concept of secularism. 

I acknowledge that these values require a different balance in different places of the world. I am eternally grateful for having been born into a society in which the emphasis can be put on multiculturalism and religious freedom and their entrenchment into law have resulted in a peaceful and welcoming society. 

Accordingly, I am extending my own invitation to the Jewish community in France. Quebec’s immigration policy is most open to individuals who are fluent in French. In fact, the quotas imposed on the number of applications that the Quebec government will receive for consideration under the investor class or the entrepreneur class do not apply to prospective immigrants who can demonstrate advanced intermediate knowledge of French.

Furthermore, Montreal has an extensive network of Jewish organizations that help in the integration of new Jewish immigrants. We are here to welcome your friends and relatives, our brothers and sisters, with open arms.

Andrew Brownstein
Montreal