Standing up for Russia’s gays

Author: Adam Goldenberg
Source: Macleans
Published: July 26, 2013

Adam Goldenberg, a Kirby Simon Human Rights Fellow at Yale Law School, a former Liberal speechwriter, and a contributor to CBC News: The National, compares Russia of today to Germany of pre-World War 2 and calls to boycotting the Sochi Olympics

Every Jew in the Diaspora has heard the warning: Canada is among the safest places on Earth to be Jewish, and so are the United States and Britain, but that is exactly what our grandparents said about Germany in the 1920s. Israel is necessary, not only as a homeland, but also as a refuge of last resort. Israel, we tell ourselves, must always be there, in case the worst happens again—a collective insurance policy against history repeating.
For most of the last half-century, this insecurity has had two sides. One has been steadfast support for Israel’s survival, if not always for the policies of its government. The other has been activism for universal human rights. If others are safe, we tell ourselves, then perhaps we will be too.
Hence, in the 1970s and 1980s, the Canadian Jewish Congress was a prominent force behind the drafting of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms. Jewish groups lobbied successfully for the protections of the Canadian Human Rights Act. The congress was a leading voice for indigenous rights and LGBT equality in Canada, and for the prevention of genocide around the world.
But the congress ceased to exist in 2011, when it was replaced by a new umbrella organization called the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, or CIJA. Canadian Jewish advocacy for Darfur, for LGBT rights, for indigenous peoples and for the elimination of poverty all but ended immediately. In its final year, the congress’ entire senior leadership marched in Toronto’s Pride parade. CIJA’s brass has not showed up since.
Canada, whose constant improvement had always been central to the congress’ mission, has now even vanished from its successor’s name. Yes, individual Jewish Canadians continue to advance the causes that have long defined our community, but the institutions that represent us have now adopted a singular, narrow focus: Israel, right or wrong. As Canada’s political parties have come to see Jews as single-issue voters, our self-appointed leaders have seemed determined to act the part.
Read the full story on Maclean’s