[The following article was written on Nov 18, 2023 and first published on  the website of National News Watch  and is being reprinted here with the permission of the author https://www.nationalnewswatch.com/2023/11/18/why-israel-matters-to-jews/?]

As a kid, like so many Jews across the world, I can remember being told stories that were passed down through the generations about the persecution of our people over centuries. Passover seders reminded us of slavery in Egypt. Immigration stories, like that of my own ancestors, caused by the pogroms of Europe, taught us about the unpredictability of Jewish life. The Holocaust proved that we could be the primary victims of the cruelest forms of human evil.

In addition to these more notable events in history, everyday incidences of hate play out in society, including in the schoolyard, where people like my father were beaten up for being Jewish 50 years ago, or at Jewish homes, like in Winnipeg just last week, where shots were fired at a living room window. These events serve as reminders to us that the past is never far. The scars remain, and they are souvenirs we keep with us.

To be Jewish comes along with the perpetual need to remain vigilant and cognizant of the reality that the past, can indeed repeat itself.

Enter Israel. What Israel represents to Jews is survival. Israel represents hope. It represents unity, progress, and protection from the forces that for centuries have sought to wipe us from the earth.

When the existence of Israel itself is attacked, demonized, or threatened, as it was on Oct 7th and has been in recent weeks, in particular by extremists chanting, among other things, “from the river to the sea”, Jews everywhere feel threatened.

None of what is stated here should be interpreted as a suggestion that legitimate criticisms of Israel’s government are unjust, nor does it attempt in any way to paint every concern levied against Israel as antisemitic. These words however, are meant to highlight that there is an unbreakable bond between Jews around the world, and the State of Israel, and unfortunately, Jews around the world are paying the price for the way people feel about Israel.

For example, what does a Jewish Daycare or Jewish owned business have to do with Israel? Yet they are intentionally targeted by protestors and harassed. What does a Jewish school have to do with Israel? Yet its classrooms are forced to empty and evacuate because of bomb threats. What does a synagogue have to do with Israel? Still, its doors are littered with the remnants of explosive devices in Canadian cities. Where are the calls for those actions to end by those who say this isn’t about antisemitism?

Jewish values are strongly aligned with the principles of democracy; prevalent among them; inclusivity, equality, and tolerance. Yes, in democracies, there are elements of society that differ from the norm and are separated by varying degrees on the political spectrum. In that regard, Israel is no different than any other country.

Israel is a democracy. The only one in the region, too. When Israelis don’t agree with their government, they show it. Take for example the tens of thousands who recently protested Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s judicial reform policies, or the large numbers who despite their loyalty to their country, do not want him in charge now. They aren’t killed or jailed for publicly objecting to the policies of their government, as citizens of other countries in the region are.

It’s also a country where people have freedoms they do not enjoy in most nearby places. One of the groups that has been most vitriolic in its antisemitic rhetoric is called “Queers 4 Palestine”. The irony and hypocrisy of their views is overbearing. They come from a community, who if residing in Israel, would be celebrated, and free to be who they are, openly. If they lived under the rule of Hamas, who they claim to be nothing less than legitimate “freedom fighters”, they would be killed in public squares.

The hatred faced by Jewish people is all too often borne as a result of disagreements individuals have with the policies of the Israeli government.

It is not unreasonable for Jews to ask themselves why this conflict, more than any other in the world, garners the forms of hate and protest that it does, when similar conflicts exist many times over in the world, yet voices are silent. What’s the common denominator then? A reasonable person can rightly conclude that the difference is simply, that it involves Jews. This doesn’t mean what is happening in Gaza doesn’t demand the world’s attention. It does. The question is, why don’t we see Iranian or Russian business targeted as a result of the policies of their governments?

Jews should not be held accountable for the actions of Israel, whether you disagree with them or not. Just the same as Muslims should not be held accountable for the actions of Hamas.

There are Jews in my riding who are taking their mezuzahs, a religious symbol distinguishing a Jewish home, off of their doors, for fear they will be victims of violence. Parents are dropping their kids off at Jewish schools, going through the day filled with anxiety, because their child has told them they are scared of being kidnapped, while hostile actors in their own communities are shooting at homes, littering buildings with swastikas, and calling for uprisings.

For Jews, when Israel, the sanctuary of Jewish life, and symbol of the strength and will to persevere is attacked, so too are they.

Ben Carr is the Member of Parliament for Winnipeg South Centre