WINNIPEG – Let’s stop pretending.
When the editor of the local Shtetl paper whines that the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s “unconditional support for Israel” alienates Jews like him who don’t “fully support Israel,” he’s not asking for inclusion; he’s demanding surrender. He wants the Federation to soften its spine, to dilute its Zionism, to turn the beating heart of our Jewish community into a forum for appeasement.
Sorry — not happening.
He says Jews who don’t “line up in total support of Israel” feel marginalized. You bet they do. They feel marginalized because they are, and because they should be. When Jews are butchered in their homes, raped in their shelters, and kidnapped from their beds, the dividing line isn’t subtle. You either stand with Israel, or you stand with those who justify the murderers. There is no third option.
After October 7th, there is no moral fog left. The light of truth burned it away.
The Jewish Federation’s mission is clear: to support Jewish life, protect Jewish safety, and stand with the Jewish state. That’s what Jewish Federations were created for. The moment a Federation wavers on its support for Israel, it stops being a Jewish Federation and becomes just another hollow nonprofit with a Hebrew logo.
Those who mutter that they “support the Israeli people, but not the government” should try that line in Israel itself. Israelis argue and vote and protest, that’s democracy. But they do it under fire, united in their belief that their country must live. In the Diaspora, some prefer to sit comfortably at keyboards and pass judgment from afar, equating moral clarity with extremism.
If you can’t stand with Israel now, there’s a place for you. It’s called Independent Jewish Voices (IJV). It’s the clubhouse for those who confuse universalism with self-loathing, who lend legitimacy to anti-Israel propaganda while pretending it’s “dissent.” That’s your space. Go there.
But do not expect the Federation, or the mainstream Jewish community, to hand you a megaphone. Our institutions have enough work defending Jews from hate without subsidizing those who question our right to exist.
Let’s be brutally honest: people who attack the Federation for standing with Israel aren’t trying to be heard; they’re trying to be heeded. They don’t want a voice within the tent; they want to move the tent. And the rest of us are saying no.
The Federation’s “unconditional support for Israel” isn’t the problem. It’s the moral anchor keeping this community steady in a storm of lies. And we should be proud of it.
To the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg, stand firm.
To the Jewish community, stay proud.
To those who “don’t fully support Israel,” your space already exists. It’s called IJV.
And to everyone else: pick a side. Because after October 7th, neutrality is complicity.
The opinions and facts presented in this article are those of the author, and neither TheJ.Ca nor its partners assume any responsibility for them.