OPINION: La Presse and Manufactured Outrage

By Howie Silbiger

La Presse ran a multi-day dossier this week about Jewish schools inviting Israeli speakers, including people who served in the Israeli army. It was written in the tone of surprised revelation, as though something unexpected had been uncovered inside Montreal classrooms.

In reality, however, there was no surprise and no revelation.

Jewish schools have been inviting Israelis to speak for decades. Many Israelis served in the army because, in Israel, it is mandatory. That is not ideology. That is structure. So, when a Jewish school invites an Israeli educator, activist, or community figure, the odds are that person once wore a uniform. Treating it as scandal material requires pretending not to understand how Israeli society works.

What makes this feel dishonest is not the fact that La Presse asked questions. Questions are fair in a free society where schools rely on public funding to survive. The problem lies in the framing that suggests something inappropriate is happening simply because Jewish schools are openly connected to Israel.

Jewish schools in Montreal teach Hebrew. They teach Jewish history. They teach about Israel. They celebrate Israeli independence. They bring in Israelis. This did not begin on October 7^th, it did not begin last year, nor did it quietly evolve. It has been a visible and unapologetic part of Jewish education for generations.

So why package it now as an alarming development?

Because, currently, Israel is polarizing. Because war is brutal. Because current Quebec and Canadian culutre dictate that anything that supports Israel is evil.

In 2023 Israeli flags were torn down and burned to ash outside Hebrew Foundation School in Dollard des Ormeaux. This destructive act wasn’t a policy debate, it was terrorism, meant to strike fear into the Jewish community, particularly the parents who send their kids to the school. Of course, the perpetrators, who were caught fairly quickly, did not get charged with terrorism, hardly anyone does in Canada, even when they violently attack the Jewish community with political intentions. The perpetrators in the attack walked away with a slight rap on the wrist. The continued Canadian policy, which dates back decades, that violent attacks on the Jewish community are not terrorism, but somehow legitimate political expression, has left the Jewish community extremely nervous.

So, when La Presse places a spotlight on Jewish schools for maintaining visible ties to Israel, it does not land as an abstract policy discussion. It lands on a community that has already experienced numerous major attacks and very little neighbour or governmental support.

Not to mention the uncomfortable double standard embedded in all of this. Schools connected to other national communities maintain cultural and educational ties to their heritage countries without triggering multi-part newspaper investigations. How ridiculous would it be to write a multi-day dossier on an Italian or Greek school bringing in cultural speakers who may, at one time, have served in their countries armies? But when the country you’re connected to is Israel, when you do what everyone else does, it becomes multi-day newspaper dossier material.

If the issue is public funding, then let’s debate the policy of publicly funding private religious schools. If someone believes that the model is flawed, then say so and present your argument fairly.  Don’t insult our intelligence by singling out Jewish schools during a moment of geopolitical tension and pretend that it is a coincidence.

There is, however, a deeper issue at play. Quebeckers are comfortable with Jews as a religious minority,  but become less comfortable when Jews are visibly and unapologetically connected to Israel. That tension surfaces most clearly when Israel is in the headlines.

Jewish schools are not going to dilute their connection with Israel because it makes people uneasy. Israel is not a temporary accessory in Jewish education. It is central to how Jewish history and identity are taught.

La Presse may believe it was exposing something wild and new, but what it really did was expose how quickly Jewish identity becomes controversial when it intersects with global politics.

Howie Silbiger is the host of the Howie Silbiger Show on Truetalkradoio.com and Political Hitman on Israelnewstalkradio.com. He is the Editor-in-Chief of The Montreal Jewish News