Rabbi Howard Morrison

I am a spoiled person raised outside of Boston, Mass. On my street were mostly Jews and Asians. I attended Yeshiva day school followed by Boston University before attending rabbinical school. I had many non-Jewish friends from part time jobs and the neighborhood. I do not remember any overt forms of prejudice in my formative years. What I do remember is the following incident:

As a rabbinical student, I also served in the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a chaplain. In Chaplain school, Summer of 1984, a faculty member, A Catholic chaplain asked me to remove my Kippa because it was not an official part of my uniform. At the time, the issue of Kippa in uniform was being debated in the Supreme Court. Only after my incident, the Court ruled that "Unobtrusive headgear" was permissible. Thus, I would wear a black or dark blue kippa with my blue uniform.

I will never forget that it was among multi-faith clergy that I felt attacked for my faith and heritage. I learned never to take anything for granted; that prejudice, bigotry, whatever word you choose, can happen anywhere.

Fast forward, I came to Toronto in the Summer of 2000. Called a multi-cultural society, I did not feel it that greatly. For example, attempts at clergy dialogue in this riding have been attempted with partial success at best. In the aftermath of October 7th, the little interaction I had with Christian and Muslim clergy has dropped completely. Even before any military response from Israel; in the days following October 7th, I received not a single call of comfort or sympathy for me or the Jewish community from any of my non-Jewish colleagues. I am not alone in this regard. Many rabbis and members of my community have received little or no support. I would call that "Angst #1."

I am reminded of the Passover Haggadah, "In every generation there are those who rise against us." We Jews know that anti-Semitism, the hatred for Jews being Jews, is nothing new. We Jews know that anti-Zionism is another term for anti-Semitism. Judaism is linked with the right of Jews to live in our historic ancestral homeland called Israel. 

I am reminded of the Prophet Bilam's words, "Behold there is a people that dwells apart, not recognized by the nations."

What I do know is that the majority of Jews in Israel, Canada, and around the world have become more united after October 7. The political divide in Israel over judicial reform has paused. If Sinat Chinam, baseless hatred among Jews, led to the destruction of the Second Temple, I believe that Sinat Chinam was eroding our people before October 7th. 

Since that time, I am in pain, I cry, I pray - For those who were brutally slain on October 7th, for their families, for the hostages - the ones rescued, the ones in captivity, and for their families. I pray for the wellbeing of IDF, police, and security heroes. I mourn for those who have lost their lives in acts of kiddush hashem, martyrdom. I cry and pray for our fellow Jews around the world who have suffered at the hands of Jew-hatred. I believe that evil against Jews has always been present, but the reactions of the world since October 7^th have made it easier to get away with harassing Jews, young and old, on the streets, in schools, on campuses, at work, and even in governments.

I am thankful for the bold and clear voice of some non-Jews who understand that we are not dealing with competing narratives but with moral clarity of right vs wrong, good vs evil, light vs dark. They include but are not limited to Douglas Murray, Natasha Hausdorff, Dr. Phil, and Bill Maher.

I am in angst that when Israel suffered the equivalent of many 9/11's on one day, Israel is not accorded the same right to defend itself by going after the perpetrators. And while I lament for anyone who has died in the last eight months, I blame Hamas and its supporters for it all.

I had the chance to go on 3–4-day solidarity missions to Israel in the early months. I chose not to do so because I wanted to go with my synagogue family. In mid-May, 21 of us went for nine days with three objectives in mind.

1. To help out -  by working in fields, preparing food, and even tying tzizit knots.

2. To bear witness and visit impacted sites - the Nova Festival grounds, the site of burned out and destroyed automobiles, homes and neighborhoods where innocent people lost their lives in safe houses and other places.

3. To hear from people who were directly touched, such as Rachel Goldberg-Polin, whose son Hersh is still a hostage; By the Vital's, huband and wife, whose daughter was murdered on a Kibbutz.

Last - I urge us to be careful, but not afraid. while I believe in covering my head everywhere, I cannot believe that in parts of Toronto and Vaughan, I choose to wear a cap over my Kippa, because of safety and security concerns.

I urge us to be pro-active and not give up or be passive. I commend 50,000 of us who walked with Israel. I commend those who have fought against the APR policy in the Toronto District School Board I commend those who stand with Israel every Sunday at Sheppard and Bathurst. I commend those who are working in business, university, government, and more to speak truth against falsehood.

Am Yisrael Chai!
Rabbi Howard Morrison