BLUE BERETS
A RING OF HAZE encircles the late August cially a Jewish one, two feet higher in stature.null boonull, Branching Out: The Transformation
sun on this unexpectedly cool Sunday nullt’s hard to miss nullahan’s point when one of the Canadian Jewish Community, offers
morning at one of Toronto’s busiest Jew- considers that the nullrst Jew to nullght for this a cooler tanullenull in nullorld nullar nullnull, nullonlynull nullnull.null
ish cemeteries. Mourners and well-wishers land was the nullrst one to settle here. Aaron percent of Jewish men of military age were
hurry to and amble from this day’s death nullart came from nullritain as a member of nullen- tanullen into the nullanadian armed forces, com-
rituals, stopping to wash hands, wipe away eral Jeffrey Amherst’s staff and marched into pared to nullnull.null percent of nullall nullanadian men.null
a tear, adjust a bounulluet, or search for small Montreal in nullnullnullnull. Sir Alexander Schomberg nullnullerall numbers, he argued, do not support
rocnull to place atop tombstones. captained the ship that brought reinforce- a Jewish military tradition in this country.
At the north end of Mount Sinai Memo- ments to nulluebec nullity for the battle of the nullo one disputes the war’s grim nullnal tollnull
rial nullarnull, a different rite is tanulling place. nulln nulllains of Abraham the year before. nullnullnull nullanadian Jewish soldiers, sailors and air-
folding chairs, representatinulles of federal, nullstimating how many Jews in nullanada men nullilled or presumed dead, nullnullnull wounded,
pronullincial and municipal gonullernments join sernulled in nullorld nullar null is difnullcult because of nullnull tanullen as nullrisoners of nullar, nullnullnull decorated,
stern-loonulling ofnullcials from law enforcement issues onuller citinullenship, but the standard num- and nullnullnull buried with Stars of nullanullid on granulles
agencies, apple-cheenulled cadets and emissar- ber is between null,nullnullnull and null,nullnullnull. nullne post-war scattered in more than nullnullnull cemeteries.
ies from nullarious consulates and diplomatic analysis by the nullanadian Jewish nullongress
missions. The tone is somber and respectful, nullnullJnullnull found that nullat least nullnull.null percent of
but not sad. nullere, at the nullanadian Jewish all Jewish males in nullanada who were nullritish
nullar nulleterans’ nullenotaph, about nullnullnull mem- subjects and onuller nullnull sernulled in the nullanadian
bers of the nulloyal nullanadian nullegion’s all-Jew- nullxpeditionary nullorce, in comparison with nullnull
ish nulleneral nullingate nullranch nullo. nullnullnull hanulle percent among males of all origins of similar
come to marnull their nullnullth anninullersary and to age.null Two-hundred Jewish soldiers from nullan-
pay annual homage to their brethren who ada were nullilled in the nullreat nullar, including
fell in nullanada’s nullnullth century wars. There’s no two direct descendants of Aaron nullart.
shortage of stooped bacnulls, hearing aids and nullut it was nullorld nullar nullnull that nullrst showed
wisps of grey hair peenulling out from blue be- nullanadian Jews answering the call of pa-
rets adorned with the Star of nullanullid. nullut one triotism well out of proportion to their
thing is certainnull when it’s the turn of the nullet- numbers. The war, of course, had special
erans to lay wreaths before the marnuller, their signinullcance for Jews the world onuller. The
salutes are still crisp and snappy. nullanulli scourge was threatening to end Juda-
The Jewish response to calamity is to re- ism forenuller, a good enough reason to sign
member, and few do that better collectinullely up, one would thinnull. Just under nullnull,nullnullnull Jew-
than Jewish war nulleterans, who combine ap- ish nullanadians nullolunteered to sernulle in nullorld
preciation and deference, of course, but also nullar nullnull. nullased on the nullnullnullnull census, this would
a palpable pride at the sheer lenullels at which indicate that one in nullnull of nullanada’s total Jew-
Jews sernulled their country in times of connullict. ish population sernulled. nullurther parsing based nullnullen war-time nullrime Minister Macnullennullie
nullembers of the Royal
To Jewish nullanadians of a certain age, it’s on the number of Jewish males in the draft’s nulling, not exactly a philo-Semite, toonull notice
Canadian Legion
an old canard but one that still stingsnull Jews age group renulleal that nullnullirtually one-half of of the Jewish contribution. nulln a glowing nullnullnullnull
nulleneral Wingate
did not nullht, their loyalties lay elsewhere, those eligible were in uniformnullnull enthused the letter to nullJnull, which had assembled a boonulllet
nullranch nullnullnull stand
they were cowards, they left the heanull lift - late nullabbi Stuart nullosenberg of Toronto in his
at attention during
of Jewish war fatalities, nulling noted that Jews
ing to others. The nullmain misconceptionnull two-nullolume study The Jewish Community in
last Augustnulls Annual
nullfought not only for freedom but for surnullinullal.
among the population, generally, is nullthat Canada nullnullnullnullnullnull.
Remembrance Parade
The contribution of the Jews of nullanada bears
we sat on our asses and let enulleryone else Another estimate has found that in nullnullnullnull,
null nullemorial nullervice at
elonulluent testimony to the manner in which
pull our weight for us,null bluntly states Jacnull Jews accounted for null.null percent of the popu-
nulltnull nullinai Cemetery
they met the double threat the war presented.null
nullahan, a nulleteran of the nulloyal nullanadian Air lation, but null.null per cent of enlistment in the These days nullnd the Jewish nullar nulleterans
nullorce and the former nullational nullommand- Armed nullorces - the highest ratio of any
Rightnull nullurray Jacobs,
of nullanada not as cohesinulle as they once were.
er of the Jewish nullar nulleterans of nullanada. comparable ethnic group. Still another, and nullnull, nullresident of There’s no longer a national structurenull the or-
o null one fought our battles,null he adds with enullen sunnier nulliew, came from retired Maj.- Wingate nullranch nullnullnull ganinullation exists in a series of cross-nullanada
bite. nullnulle fought our own battles.null nullen. nullewis Macnullennullie, who told the nullnullnullnull nullposts.null The membership is no more than
There’s just a hint of pinullue in nullahan’s nulloice. groundbreanulling for a Jewish war memorial Previous nullagenull Jacnull nullnullnull nationally, and at an anullerage age of nullnull,
nullt’s plain this issue has come up before. nullnullell,null in Toronto that after one eliminates those
Cahan, a veteran of
it is dwindling at a rate no one wants to ac-
says the hale nullnull-year-old, who speanulls on the too young, too old or unnullt to sernulle from
the Royal Canadian Air
nullnowledge openly. nullith about nullnullnull members,
subject publicly and often, nullnull cite nullgures and the roughly nullnull,nullnullnull Jewish males in nullanada
Force and the former
the Toronto nullost is the largest. The others, in
statistics not to bore people but to startle at the time, the nullgure is closer to two out of
nullational Commander
Atlantic nullanada, Montreal, nullttawa, nullindsor,
people. And null guarantee you null null manulle this enullery three eligible Jews who nullolunteered
of the Jewish War
nullinnipeg, nullalgary and nullancounuller, nullary from
challenge enullen though null’nulle been resting for to nullght. nullnullow that’s a number,null Macnullennullie
nulleterans of Canada
nullibrant to barely actinulle.
the past year null null will come and address any au- said, to stirring applause. nulln a brighter note, nullnullnullnull marnulled the
dience you hanulle and they will walnull out, espe- nullistorian nullerald Tulchinsnully, in his nullnullnullnull nullnullth anninullersary of the nullnullnull-member nulloyal
28 friday night January/February 2010 Photos by nullony nullihonull
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