A shadow worker with undeniable qualities, Bochra Manaï has more difficulty with light. The commissioner for the fight against racism and systemic discrimination of the City of Montreal seems incapable of understanding the betrayal felt by the Jewish community in the face of the public expression of its deep pro-Palestinian sympathies. In doing so, she offers a twisted interpretation of her duty of reserve.
Peacemakers are cut from a rare cloth. They must be able to manage conflictual and emotional relationships by putting their ego aside. That we occasionally find them on the ground, antennas and hearts open, as here, is not surprising, it is even essential.
In her skin-deep letter, Bochra Manaï poses “as a citizen and as a human” who only believes “in peace and justice”. The “duty of humanity” in which the commissioner cloaks herself to justify her recent positions is not incompatible with the neutrality of her duty of reserve. It even takes on a certain nobility: where justice decides directly, commissioners like Mme Manaï are busy building bridges and weaving the social fabric on the ground.
The problem is that, from this duty of humanity, Bochra Manaï made, through his unilateral choices, an exercise of intimate conviction. While everyone was looking for her to calm heated minds, the commissioner took up the cause of the Palestinian community on social networks and in the streets without ever saying a word about the outbreak of anti-Semitism in Montreal or publicly recognizing the suffering of the Jewish community. She forgot her mission to bring people together.
We do not expect the same thing from a commissioner as from a citizen. This position, even if it is not public, comes with a well-defined duty of confidentiality. It is even he who, in part, gives Mme Manaï has free rein to act in depth. Peace is knitted and maintained at the cost of continuous work of openness to others. All the others.
Transformed into a one-dimensional momentum, his duty of humanity collapsed like a house of cards. We are grateful to Valérie Plante for sending Mme Manaï to meet all the communities affected by the conflict, which she is committed to doing. It is far from won. There is much more than a “bond of trust to be strengthened” between Montrealers and their commissioner, as the City put it euphemistically.
In the minds of many Montrealers, the Jewish community in particular, this bond is not only diminished, it is broken. The least we could do would be to take note. In January 2021, Mme Manaï took office in the turmoil of unfortunate amalgamations between Bill 21 and the racism of Quebecers. Without disqualifying Mme Manaï, his refusal to mend his ways or to delay his words had raised his “challenge a notch”, we wrote then.
It took time for trust to build between Montrealers and their commissioner. This new episode takes us back to square one. The bond of trust will be hard to repair. It’s not impossible.
It will take treasures of welcome, listening and self-sacrifice, three qualities which were lacking in Mme Manaï in this file. The City will have to follow its steps closely to ensure that it quickly regains the legitimacy and moral authority necessary to fulfill its role and bring Montrealers together. Otherwise, we will have to conclude that this position is perhaps no longer cut out for her.