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If Canada and Israel are at War, Who Gets My Support? Challenges of Competing Diaspora Loyalties: Marshall Sklare Award Lecture

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Abstract

This paper seeks to examine the issue of competing loyalties for diaspora Jews, using Canadian Jews as a case study. The Jewish case has become marginal in the study of diasporas and transnational ties. This is particularly the case where we find real or perceived political conflict, which Jews have encountered historically as the charge of dual loyalty. The history of anti-Semitism, notably after the Enlightenment, and debates about Zionism were precursors of this current dilemma for Jews, and indeed other diasporic minorities. Interviews with Canadian Jewish leaders, and a review of the case of a prominent Canadian Jewish politician, illustrate that the tensions of status insecurity continue to be found even in a highly successful and integrated Jewish community such as that in Canada.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Morton Weinfeld

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  1. Morton Weinfeld
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Correspondence to Morton Weinfeld.

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Randal Schnoor and Jacqueline Wilson assisted in the research for the paper. Elements of this paper were presented at a panel discussion for Oyfn Veg (On the Road): A Symposium on Canadian Jewish Studies in Honour of Professor Gerald Tulchinsky, University of Toronto, Nov. 17, 2013. Some portions of the text are drawn from a treatment of this topic published earlier (Weinfeld 2011–12). In addition, I should note that Irwin Cotler, Canadian law professor, Jewish leader, and politician, whose career is analyzed later in this paper, is a personal friend.

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Weinfeld, M. If Canada and Israel are at War, Who Gets My Support? Challenges of Competing Diaspora Loyalties: Marshall Sklare Award Lecture. Cont Jewry 34, 167–187 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12397-014-9126-x

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