Mark Freiman

CJC 29th Plenary – Toronto ON

As part of my orientation for my new role, Bernie gently reminded me that I would be expected to say a few words today.

I asked him what he thought my topic should be and he answered, “You know, just the usual stuff – what your plans are and how you would like to be remembered at the end of your term.”

I felt a little like I was being asked to set my own take-home exam, but set out to give it a try.

At first, I confess, I had considerable trouble with the assignment, because to me it seemed both too easy and too difficult. Too difficult because it feels more than a bit presumptuous for me to stand here on my first day in office and define my own mandate. And too easy, because in fact it is the mandate of Congress that will define my role:

My goal by definition is to advance the mandate and goals of the Canadian Jewish community’s premier advocacy organization in whatever ways I am asked and am able.

I would be very happy to make that my promise of performance and to be remembered for how I kept that promise.

But that didn’t seem like much of a speech.

So I thought about it a while and in the end I was able to come up with some more detailed goals for myself and my performance as National President.

These are goals and standards I want to adopt for myself, but they also inevitably reflect my vision of Congress, its role and its future.

At the outset, I should warn you that this is not a set of up to date “performance metrics” from the 21st Century world of Human Resources.

It’s actually a series of observations from some 2,000 years ago.

Given the date, the author of the observations was not, of course a management consultant or self-help guru.

They are rather, observations of Raban Shimon ben Gamliel, and they are to be found in the first chapter of Pirkei Avot, a Tractate of the Mishnah, whose title is often translated as The Ethics of the Fathers.

Raban Shimon is recorded as making a number of notable observations. I would like to adopt three as my performance standards. Let me cite them all to you and then I’ll discuss them a bit one by one.

The translations are my own. (taken from Pirkei Avot I: 17-18)

1) (Hebrew text) “I have spent all my days growing up among sages and I have never found anything better for a person than silence”

2) (Hebrew text) “It is not the ‘midrash,’ the study of a problem, that is the key, but rather the ‘ma’aseh,’ the action taken to address it.”

And

3) (Hebrew text) “The world is established on three principles: on truth, on the rule of law and on peace.’

Let me take these observations one by one.

“I have spent all my days growing up among the Sages and I never found anything better for a person than silence.”

This may seem like a peculiar motto to be adopted by someone who in his day job purports to be an advocate and perhaps even more peculiar in the context of an organization that is itself devoted to advocacy.

And no, Bernie, you can exhale; I’m not suggesting that Congress should go silent on the issues of the day or let up on its advocacy.

On the contrary. It is my goal that Congress will continue to serve as the premier voice of advocacy on behalf of the Canadian Jewish community and its interests.

But here’s the thing about effective advocacy – at least in my experience: it starts with the patient assembly of pertinent information and that is a task that requires above all effective listening.

And the truth is, that while you’re talking it’s very hard for you simultaneously to be listening.

The other thing about the discipline of silence is that when you do speak, your voice is noted and is listened to.

Raban Shimon ben Gamliel practiced the discipline of silence, not because he felt there was nothing to say. He became head of the Sanhedrin in Roman days, just before the destruction of the Second Temple. He was counted on to deal with problems and issues of the highest import. But because he spent his days growing up among the Sages, before he would speak, he understood the prudence of listening to what others had to say.

The Jewish community of Canada faces many contemporary challenges, including a difficult economic environment that will force difficult and potentially painful choices as to priorities. Difficult as they may be, none are in any way comparable to the existential challenges faced by Raban Shimon, so his approach to problem solving commends itself to me all the more.

Raban Shimon was silent so that he could listen to Sages.

Today we talk about good decision making being predicated on broad consultation with diverse inputs from stakeholders and experts.

The underlying thought is pretty similar, but Raban Shimon’s articulation is far more elegant and eloquent.

As for myself, I look forward over the next couple of years and especially in the initial stages of my term, to doing a lot of listening and exercising the discipline of paying attention rather than demanding attention.

One of the great strengths of Canadian Jewish Congress over the 90 years of its proud history has been its inclusiveness and therefore its diversity. It represents all facets of the community. It is politically diverse and geographically diverse. It spans the spectrum of religious observance from the most secular to the most devout. That same diversity is reflected on the incoming slate of Officers and Directors, though inevitably not to such a degree of perfection that there is no room for improvement.

It is my goal to listen attentively to the Board and benefit from its wisdom and experience. But I also recognize the national dimension of CJC’s mandate will require travelling to visit our Jewish communities across the country – et cela comprend bien sûr le Québec et la communauté juive francophone – so as to be sure that all those diverse voices are listened to and their concerns and priorities are understood.

In addition to diversity, CJC is blessed with experience and expertise unparalleled within the community. Throughout its 90 years it has had the benefit of volunteers and leaders willing to share their wisdom and knowledge for the benefit of k’lall Israel. Many have already come forward with kind offers of assistance and support, starting with our outgoing co-presidents and extending outward from there. They are our contemporary equivalent of the wise men in whose midst Raban Shimon ben Gamliel grew up. I intend to accept those offers with gratitude and listen carefully to their advice and good counsel.

I also know that I can rely on the knowledge, dedication and professionalism of the permanent staff of CJC. I have had uniformly positive experiences working with this dedicated and talented team over the last few years on numerous specific projects. I am keenly aware of how much more they have to teach me and of how important it is for me to learn. As you all saw earlier today, when our CEO, Bernie Farber speaks, even the Prime Minister pays attention. So will I.

Raban Shimon ben Gamliel’s second observation was that at some point, the listening stops and even the talking stops and it is time to do:

“It is not the study of the problem that is key; it is the action taken to address it.”

Listening and gathering information are not ends in themselves. They are means toward better decision making and more effective action.

I am aware that ultimately the test will be pragmatic: how good were the decisions; how effective were the actions taken?

The proof of the ‘midrash’ is in the ‘ma’aseh.’

And that leads directly to the third point touched on by Raban Shimon ben Gamliel. What are the values and what are the goals toward which our efforts at Congress should be directed?

“The world is established on three principles: on truth, on the Rule of Law and on peace.”

To my mind these principles summarize the advocacy mandate and the advocacy goals of Canadian Jewish Congress.

1)tTruth

Congress stands up for truth and sets itself foursquare against the lie that is anti-Semitism.

It is resolute in denouncing anti-Semitism in its gross and gutter forms of international Jewish conspiracy theories and Holocaust denial, but it also bears witness against the pseudo-sophisticated forms that put old poison into new bottles labelled “anti-Zionism” or “deracialization” or “opposing Israeli apartheid” or even sometimes “anti-Globalization.”

It is my view that Congress must continue to stand up for truth and against these lies wherever and whenever they arise. While I understand the principled of division of labour in these areas, I also believe that Congress has a special role that it can play by virtue of the expertise of its staff and the intellectual reputation and academic standing of its members and volunteers. I believe that Congress is uniquely well situated to take on the intellectual bullies directly on their own turf and to expose this avant garde anti-Semitism for what it is, before it achieves any further legitimacy or seeps any deeper into mainstream academic discourse.

It of course goes without saying that in its advocacy for truth, Congress must continue itself to respect intellectual rigour and honesty.

2)tThe Rule of Law

Raban Shimon ben Gamliel’s second principle is usually translated as “justice”, but I think that a better translation is “the Rule of Law” since the Hebrew word “din” refers to the legal principles that embody justice and whose application allows for justice to be done.

One of the most important points of advocacy by which Canadian Jewish Congress fulfills its mandate is its insistence that freedom from discrimination is an enforceable human right; in other words that it is a principle of law and not just a sign of good manners.

Not everyone is aware that the very concept of an enforceable Human Rights Code had its genesis in Canada in the “Law and Social Action” subcommittee of Canadian Jewish Congress under the leadership of, among others, Bora Laskin.

The entrenchment of the human right of equality and freedom from discrimination as section 15 of the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, marked the passage of this right from a legal principle to an article of the Constitution, and thus a part of the basic law of Canada.

It is almost impossible to overestimate the importance of this crowning achievement of the vision of Bora Laskin and of Brian Dickson, who succeeded him as Chief Justice. What it means is that, as recognized today in the Prime Minister’s speech, all Canadians have a stake, an interest and an obligation to fight anti-Semitism as a particularly toxic form of discrimination. It also means, however, that the fight against discrimination is in no sense limited or capable of being limited to opposing anti-Semitism. And hence the commitment of Congress to support the right of all groups and all minorities to be free from discrimination and its principled stand on behalf of all victims of persecution.

This last point leads directly to the third principle upon which Raban Shimon ben Gamliel said the world was established, namely Peace.

3)tPeace

Peace means freedom from war and from violence, and thus the appropriateness of CJC’s involvement in efforts to protect the safety and security of Canadians and of our institutions against the threats of terrorism.

But peace also means living in harmony with one’s neighbours.

There is a straight, direct and appropriate line that connects facing down the lies of hate propaganda with supporting the fundamental entitlement of all to freedom from discrimination. That line then continues and extends to reaching out to other communities, other belief systems and other faiths so as to promote goodwill, understanding and peace.

From this principle there arise the important CJC outreach initiatives, including its efforts to refresh and renew its relationship with labour and the left, its tremendously important work with First Nations leadership and with Aboriginal communities and , not insignificantly, its work toward dialogue with Muslim leaders and organizations wherever willing interlocutors are to be found.

Let me bring all this back to a personal note.

For me these guiding principles on which Raban Shimon ben Gamliel says the world is established are not just ideas, they are a living concrete reality: they are not ‘midrash’ but ‘ma’aseh.’

Let me tell you how, by talking for a half minute about my family.

I am grateful and happy to be surrounded today by my family, by my brother Steve and my son Ben and my endlessly patient and supportive spouse, Kate Miriam and perhaps most importantly, by my dear mother, Esther. I mention them in part to share with you my pride in them and my deep gratitude for all their countless gestures of love and support, but also because I see in this family of mine a practical illustration of the principles I’ve been talking about.

Ich bin Eyropas a kind.

I am a first generation Canadian, born in postwar Europe to the only remaining survivors of two large prewar extended families. One day I will perhaps be permitted to recount in detail the story of my parents’ lives. For today it is enough to say that the first chapters of this story provide a detailed demonstration of the murderous consequences of the lies of anti-Semitism, of the disintegration of the Rule of Law and of contempt for the values of peace and harmony. They also demonstrate what happens when no one intervenes on the side of truth law and peace.

My wife, my brother and my son are yid’n fin Amerike, born on this continent.

Their lives and the Canadian chapters of my parents’ story are also a demonstration. They demonstrate what is possible when safety and security are protected by a working legal system; when all are given the right to compete; when success can be obtained on the basis of merit rather than genealogy; and when difference and diversity are accepted and even celebrated.

It is a demonstration that validates the observations of Raban Shimon ben Gamliel and that tells me that I have found appropriate performance standards for my next two years.