You do not enter Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom, rue Sherbrooke Ouest, as if you were entering a mill. Nor like in a church, for that matter. We must ring the bell, then submit our bags to be searched by the guards stationed behind the locked doors. Since the October 7 massacre in Israel, the deadly strikes in Gaza and the surge in tensions that followed, security has been increased at the venerable Westmount synagogue.
All places associated with the Jewish community in the Montreal region did the same thing. A few days ago, a daycare center even taught toddlers how to react in the event of an attack. Not out of an abundance of caution. After the Molotov cocktails against synagogues and the shootings against Jewish schools in the metropolis, the community has no choice but to prepare for the worst.
This is the norm, then, but it is no less frustrating for Lisa Grushcow, female rabbi of Temple Emanu-El-Beth Sholom. “It’s frustrating, because our doors have always been open,” she said.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Female Rabbi Lisa Grushcow
The synagogue has existed since 1882. It has always been a place of dialogue and welcome for people of all religions and from all backgrounds. So closing our doors is not what we want. That’s not who we are.
Female Rabbi Lisa Grushcow
Lisa Grushcow alone embodies this openness. Not only is she a female rabbi, which is quite rare, but she is also a lesbian and divorced. She professes a Reform, progressive and egalitarian Judaism. Before October 7, she demonstrated in the streets of Montreal against the reforms of Benjamin Netanyahu’s government, which endangered Israeli democracy.
After October 7, she took to the streets again, this time to support Israel, which had just suffered the worst massacre in its history, and to demand the return of the Gaza hostages. “You can disagree with policies, a government, leaders, but love a place. »
And Lisa Grushcow loves Israel with all her heart.
Imam Hassan Guillet joins us a little late; he turned into the streets of Westmount looking for parking. In the neighborhood, payment by plate is required. Lisa Grushcow offers to enter her registration number into her own online application. “That’s interfaith mutual aid: I help the imam avoid a fine! ”, she laughs.
Hassan Guillet also had to submit to security measures before entering the synagogue. He is well placed to understand these measures, having made himself known with a speech that went around the world, the day after the massacre at the great mosque in Quebec. He knows too well that, in our peaceful province, the worst can happen at any moment.
For two months, the Palestinian community in Montreal, he said, has oscillated between fear and anger. In the besieged Gaza Strip, it is a disaster. Civilians, exhausted, have nowhere to take refuge. The deaths number in the thousands. “I don’t think there is a Palestinian in Montreal who doesn’t have a family member or friend affected” by the relentless assault by the Israeli army.
The Jewish community also lives in anxiety, says Lisa Grushcow.
Everyone is worried about someone. I wake up every morning checking in on my family and friends. When I go to bed at night, it’s the last thing on my mind.
Female Rabbi Lisa Grushcow
It is easy to imagine that the imam and the female rabbi have diametrically opposed visions of the conflict tearing the Middle East apart. However, they agree on one thing: we need to talk. Be open, even if you don’t agree. Even if we are hurt and even if we are afraid. Because the worst thing to do, in these dirty times of war, is to retreat into one’s camp, covering one’s ears and closing one’s eyes very tightly to the suffering of others.
The danger, when we close ourselves off to others, is that we risk dehumanizing them and unfairly dragging them through the mud, warns Hassan Guillet. In Montreal, “when we participate in a demonstration, when we show solidarity with the people of Gaza, we immediately risk being labeled as anti-Semitism and supporting terrorism…”
Quebecers have lost their jobs over a Facebook post or a Palestinian scarf, he deplores. “Yes, there is anti-Semitism. Yes, there are people who applaud terrorism, this cannot be denied. But you really have to be careful not to demonize people. »
Hassan Guillet speaks from experience. He was a candidate in the 2019 federal election when the Jewish organization B’nai Brith unearthed some posts deemed anti-Semitic on his social media. The imam notably denounced the “apartheid regime in Israel”, in addition to welcoming the release of Raed Salah, a Palestinian religious leader accused by Israel of supporting terrorism.
Hassan Guillet was shown the door of the Liberal Party of Canada just as dryly. A shadow has fallen over Quebec’s star imam. For a time, he became untouchable.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
Imam Hassan Guillet
Once someone is said to be anti-Semitic, no one dares to talk to them anymore. That didn’t stop me. I continue my battle for dialogue.
Imam Hassan Guillet
The retired lawyer has given up politics, but continues his peace conferences, in addition to taking part in interreligious tables.
Lisa Grushcow has nothing against marches in support of the Palestinian people. Nothing against freedom of expression either – but there are limits. “There should be no space to promote hatred. As a Jew, if someone chants “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free,” what I hear is that there is no place for my people there. It reflects a desire to sweep it away. And it’s scary. »
In her youth, she was vice-president of the McGill University Student Association (AEUM). At the time, she was involved in all the battles: for the adoption of anti-racist policies, against all forms of discrimination, for gender equality and the inclusion of LGBTQ+…
Nearly 30 years later, Lisa Grushcow is saddened by the lack of nuance among student activists. The AEUM calls in particular on McGill University to cut all ties with individuals, companies or institutions “complicit in genocide, colonialism, apartheid and ethnic cleansing of Palestinians”.
The female rabbi regrets that such a complex issue is oversimplified. No one will make peace in the Middle East by posting angry memes on social media. On the other hand, students can make a real difference in easing tensions here, on Quebec campuses. To achieve this, they must open their minds and hearts. It takes as much humility as humanity.
This is not won on campus or elsewhere. For two months, many Montreal Jews have felt isolated, especially in progressive circles, confides Lisa Grushcow. “There are a lot of people we thought we were allies with that we lost. » The conflict has burned bridges, broken friendships.
However, it is not taking a position on this war to check on a colleague, to call a friend to tell them that we are thinking of them or to wish happy Hanukkah to a neighbor, points out the female rabbi . “If we could have a little more of that, that would be nice. It’s not much, but it would be a lot. »