Brian Stephenson🌻
9K posts
@BAStephenson60
Somewhat retired educator, lawyer, economist, socialpreneur, Prediction is hope or fear. Understand. Support what should happen. Oppose what shouldn’t. He/him
Prevents the strong fives, the moon pall, the marthambles, and the black jaunders.
Monday, I attended a speech by Prime Minister Carney on antisemitism. As one of only 150 people in the room, I felt honoured. I agreed with what he said but felt some points were missing. I wrote those thoughts down immediately afterward in an initial comment on Facebook and Twitter, and the reaction shocked me. On one hand, I have antisemites saying (or hinting) that Jews deserve antisemitism because of Israel’s actions. On the other, I have people calling me a self-hating Jew and, in one case, calling my office to harass my staff. I have written controversial comments before, but I have never seen such a vicious response from both directions. The worst part is that I do not even consider what Mark Carney said or my initial take to be controversial. I’ve now had more time to process the speech and reaction, so I think it would be helpful to give more detail about what I meant and where I think this needs to go for the sake of all Canadians. First, I continue to agree with what Mark Carney said. Antisemitism is a scourge that needs to be fought. Jews do not deserve to be harassed, intimidated or attacked for the actions of Israel. The Carney government has implemented many policies that are helpful to the Jewish community, even if some have not been. Mark Carney believes what he said and wants to help Jewish Canadians. I know there are concerns about the membership of the new Council on Rights, Equality and Inclusion, but you cannot discount the entire process because you do not like Omar Alghabra. I have always found him open to discussion even though I disagree with him on the Middle East. I am not prepared to judge the council before we see what it has to say, and I am glad it will start with antisemitism. Second, to be frank, I minimized where I disagreed. I was not sure whether I was right, so I kept it to myself. Reactions from Jewish friends and acquaintances, messages I received on social media, and commentary in traditional media have convinced me that my concern was warranted. By not discussing Israel and Zionism, Mark Carney left a gaping hole for too many people to walk through. Those who believe antisemitism should be blamed on Israel are able to attack Carney’s thesis without any portion of his speech responding to them. Meanwhile, those who believe Mark Carney helped cause this problem through his Palestine policy refuse to believe he is being honest. Both sides have latched on to the one issue he did not mention. This could have been avoided. I have written before about how the vast majority of Jewish Canadians view Israel. It comes from our history. Jews were expelled from our homeland 2,000 years ago. European Jews were never more than visitors, used as a trope by the church. We were regularly kicked out of countries, forced to convert, killed in pogroms, or pushed to emigrate until it finally led to the Holocaust. Jews outside Europe, mostly in Muslim countries, were second-class citizens but largely allowed to live Jewish lives until many were expelled after Israel’s creation. With a Jewish state, Jews finally have a place to be a majority, run their own government, strengthen their own military and defend their own citizens. Those of us who live outside Israel have traditionally been proud of it. Even now, when many, if not most of us, no longer support the Israeli government, we still believe in the promise of what Israel can be. However, while we disagree with the Israeli government, it is almost certainly not to the same extent as most Canadians. What Mark Carney needed to say is that Jews are allowed to feel that way. We are allowed to disagree with the federal government’s decision to recognize Palestine. We are allowed to believe that Israel had a right to invade Gaza after 1,200 people were murdered on October 7, 2023, even if many of us now agree Israel went too far. We were allowed to be hopeful when Israel and the United States attacked Iran, just as Mark Carney was. We are allowed to believe the Canadian government is wrong in its Middle Eastern policies. That is something Mark Carney needed to say. Carney also needed to tell the Jewish community why he disagrees with many opinions commonly held among Jews. He needed to explain that he thinks Canada has a role in pushing Israel back toward a two-state solution. He needed to explain that he thinks Netanyahu wants to deny Palestinians the right to continue living in their homeland. He needed to tell the Jewish community that even though he disagrees with us, he hears us and understands our point of view. Not only should Jews not be punished for the actions of Israel, but we should not be punished for holding a different opinion about Israel’s actions than the majority of Canadians. I am confident that Mark Carney believes these things to be true. The question is why he did not say them. I think I know. The Prime Minister started by telling us that he was not talking only to Jewish Canadians, but to all Canadians. If he had said the things I think he missed, perhaps the message would have been lost. Perhaps the average Canadian would have only heard the language about Israel and ignored the concerns about virulent antisemitism. Perhaps, instead of communicating that non-Jews need to be concerned about antisemitism, he would have only communicated that Jews support Israel. It might have made Canadian Jews feel better, but it also might have garbled the message. I can understand that theory, but I think it was wrong. I thought it was wrong when I heard the speech, but I gave the Prime Minister the benefit of the doubt and waited for the public response. In private discussions, I said I hoped this was part of a one-two punch where he would talk about Zionism in the future. That is still possible, but I worry it may be too late. It is now clear to me that no matter what Mark Carney said, Israel remained the subtext for most listeners. It was the topic people wanted to hear about and they filled in the blanks. By choosing to avoid it, Carney allowed listeners to hear what they wanted, interpret it as they wished, and override the message with their own narrative about this government and Israel. That matters because 99% of Canadians will never hear or read this speech. They will only know what others say about it, and outside mainstream media it is all about Israel. It would have been better if he had dealt with the topic head on. Despite those criticisms, I repeat that I agree with the parts the Prime Minister did say. He was very strong about combatting antisemitism and clear that he considers that fight a top priority. He missed the mark when it comes to Israel and its connection to Jewish life, but I view that as a strategic error more than anything. Do not throw out the baby with the bathwater. Mark Carney’s words as Prime Minister must not be ignored by Jews who are upset with his policies on Israel and Palestine. You do not have to vote for the man, but you do have to respect his role and be convincing instead of scolding. If anything, we need to hope that non-Jews heard his edict against antisemitism and understood it as intended. If it did not work, we need to encourage him to try again instead of scaring him off. Otherwise, what hope do we have in Canada? #cdnpoli
Seems like a terrible time to experiment with the terrible uncertainty of a process toward separatism. The world wants Canadian energy—and billions of dollars of investment could soon start flowing again - The Hub thehub.ca/2026/06/02/the…
Let's say you're a dairy farmer. You have 100 cows. Each year, about 5 cows die, and another 5 cows are born. Then, along comes a virus. Let's call it "cowvid"... 1/
Excellent closing comments from @ABDanielleSmith tonight: "Let us guard against the trap of using division and demonization tactics [...] Instead of attacking these loyal Albertans, let's work together to restore hope in their country again [...] Let's use the power of hope and persuasion and reject the language of division and demonization"
New rule: you can't call it a "pro Canada" speech when the speech includes a referendum on a referendum to leave Canada.
