Editor’s note: The first article is by Zach Paikin [Liberal] and the response is by Ian Mann [Conservative]. Both of these articles have appeared in the Prince Arthur Herald.

Paikin: A Plea to Canada’s Jewish Community
by Zach Paikin, April 19, 2011, posted at princearthurherald.com

Last Tuesday night, I was over at a friend’s apartment watching the televised leaders’ debate. A Jewish student from McGill walks in to the flat with my friend’s roommate. He clearly doesn’t know very much about politics and says he wants to learn a bit more.

“Zach, are you voting Conservative?” he asks me.

“No, I’m voting Liberal,” I respond.

The Liberal Party's caucus is filled with tons of supporters of Israel, who support the Jewish state not because it's a Jewish cause but rather because it is a just cause.
His reply: “But isn’t Harper better for Israel?”

Now, there are two possibilities. Possibility number one is that he has read some of my Mid-East analyses online and assumes that the primary (or only) issue that factors into my voting decision is which party leader is “more pro-Israel.” Possibility number two, which I believe is more likely, is that too much of the Canadian Jewish community has become one-dimensional when it comes to politics.

Before continuing, let me set the record straight on Israel.

To read more, click here:
http://princearthurherald.com/archives/4949

Mann: Ignore Paikin’s Plea to the Jewish Community
by Ilan Mann, April 21st, 2011 posted at princearthurherald.com

Ilan Mann is a recent graduate of the Fine Arts & Cultural Studies program at York University and chairs the CJPAC Fellowship program, a national student fellowship for pro-Israel activists on Canadian campuses.

I take serious issue with Zach Paikin’s most recent piece in the Prince Arthur Herald, A Plea to Canada’s Jewish Community.

Full disclosure: Paikin is a long-time friend, some-time colleague of mine, for whom I have a deep, abiding respect. That said, he couldn’t be more wrong on this matter.

Knowing full well that the ballot question of “which party is better on the issues that matter to the Jewish community?” means certain defeat for his party, Paikin endeavors to rule the question out of bounds.

While I would happily address every one of the half-truths, smears, and willful omissions that Paikin employs to try to besmirch the Conservative Party’s outstanding record on support for the Jewish community and Israel, I have no intention of bogging down this response in minutia, and missing the forest for the trees.

Knowing full well that the ballot question of “which party is better on the issues that matter to the Jewish community?” means certain defeat for his party, Paikin endeavours to rule the question out of bounds.

To that end, he argues that Stephen Harper is employing “the politics of division” through his support for the Jewish community and Israel.

Mr. Paikin’s words have convinced me that it is not Stephen Harper who lacks respect for the Jewish community of Canada, but Paikin himself.

To read more, click here:
http://princearthurherald.com/archives/4995