Search JTA's historical archive dating back to 1923

Canadian Zionists Hold Meeting

September 18, 1973
See Original Daily Bulletin From This Date
Advertisement

“If the price of becoming better Canadians means becoming less Jewish, I think that Canada is not ready for the Jews,” a leading Canadian Zionist said yesterday. Speaking at a two-day seminar of the Canadian Zionist Federation National Executive, Irwin Cotler, professor of law at Ogsdale Law School, added “One must be a Jew for the Jews and not a Jew for the gentiles.”

He said that the Canadian government is treating Israel and the whole Middle East with mild, contempt. “The Canadian government will be in accord with the state of Israel as long as the Canadian national interest concur,” Cotler asserted. “When against the national interest they will begin to disengage themselves.”

Cotler also warned that intermarriage, especially among educated Jews, has become dangerous. He urged the CZF to “Zionize” the Canadian Jew “by creating a process of self-determination which means building Israel and being rebuilt by the State of Israel.”

Recommended from JTA

Advertisement