THE TAPETHORNHILL BEGIN


Tat said, Levine points to anecdotal evi-


dence of the impact of a changing landscape in the Tornhill area. More Orthodox and ultra-Orthodox, socially conservative Jews – potential Conservative voters who, for in- stance, send their kids to day school and like the Conservative stance on funding for pri- vate religious schools – are moving in. Con- versely, more liberal Jews are moving out. Whatever the exact reason, political new-


comer Kent handedly beat Kadis by a wide 10 per cent margin. What’s more, it wasn’t just limited to Tornhill. Elliott Frankl, who was a candidate in the


KAREN MOCK MP Candidate, Thornhill POLITICAL AFFILIATION Liberal Party of Canada


FAMILY


Husband, Dr. David Mock; married for 42 years. He is a professor and dean of the Faculty of Dentistry at UofT Two sons: Daniel, musician, and Steven, lecturer at the


University of Waterloo


EDUCATION PhD in Applied Psychology from UofT Psychologist and teacher at UofT, Ryerson University


and York University


CAREER HIGHLIGHTS Former executive director and CEO of the Canadian Race Relations Foundation Former national director of the League for Human Rights


of B’nai Brith Canada Chaired the National Advisory Committee to the Secretary


of State and Canadian Secretariat for the UN World Conference Against Racism in Durban, South Africa


PEACE IN THE MIDDLE EAST “Canada can help ensure peace in Israel. Having been involved in Durban, I saw first hand how being present at the table can help protect Israel from those who vilify it. Liberals and Conservatives have the same goal — a secure and lasting peace in the Middle East. That means the ability to set up the infrastructure that Israel needs. Jews don’t want a country that doesn’t uphold our Jewish values. We need a more educated community to understand the range of support for Israel that exists in the Liberal party.


ANTI-SEMITISM IN CANADA “Anti-Semitism is the longest hatred. I’m not going to go overboard and say that anti-Semitism is rampant in Canada, because it isn’t. Jews for the most part feel free to practice their Judaism freely here. It’s more of a subtle mentality amongst people that is the problem. It sometimes seems that there are spikes of increased incidents, when in actuality anti-Semitism has never gone away.”


Photography by credit


fall municipal election for Vaughan’s Ward 4, which incorporates heavily Jewish neigh- bourhoods, like Lebovic Campus and Torn- hill Woods, is quick to note that in 2008, Con- servative Rochelle Wilner nearly defeated popular Liberal MP Ken Dryden in Toronto’s York Centre, losing by about 2,000 votes. In comparison, in the 2006 election, Dryden beat his Conservative opponent Michael Mostyn, a director of government relations for B’nai Brith, by a heſty 22 per cent margin. York Centre had long been considered


one of the safest Liberal seats in Toronto, with the Liberals only losing there twice since its creation in 1953, usually winning with impressive numbers. But in the last federal election, historic Jew-


ish voting patterns began an unraveling that has yet to settle. Te near victory by Wilner, a former B’nai Brith president, was a bit unusual given the Conservatives lack of support – and dearth of seats – in Canada’s largest cities. Except when you take a look at the com-


position of York Centre. Te riding runs right through the heart of Jewish Bathurst Street, from Wilson Avenue in the south to Steeles Avenue in the north. It’s about as Jew- ish as it gets, outside of Tornhill and Irwin Cotler’s Montreal riding of Mont Royal. Frankl, 39, grew up in Willowdale as a


staunch Liberal and recalls helping out Jim Peterson’s campaign in the 1980s. He says he noticed political allegiances beginning to sway by the 2006 election. In 2008, a lot of Liberal Jews he knew voted Conservative for the first time. He also credits the Con- servative’s steadfast support for Israel as the primary reason for their inroads. However, he doesn’t think it’s too late for the Liberals to win back the community’s respect. “I do think people are sort of right in the


middle,” he says. “Tey’re not sure which way to go. Te Liberals are making a real ef- fort to win the riding [of Tornhill] back so


it could go either way in the next election.” Levine agrees: “Te next short-term


forces could reinforce recent moves from the Liberal Party or bring Jewish votes back to the Liberals.” Looking back over the past several


years, it sure seems like GTA’s Jewish com- munity is in love with Tory blue, but many times political love can be just as fleeting as romantic love. Mock says she has seen it all before. For her, history repeats itself in 30-year cycles. If the Liberal candidate for Tornhill is


quick to bring up the 1979 federal election in which Progressive Conservative leader Joe Clark assured the community of his intention to move Canada’s embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, it’s only because Mock says it represents a cogent example of how Jewish voters were spurned the last time Israel was made an election issue. With today’s endless stream of minority


governments, the parties are in constant campaign mode. “Emotional issues” like Israel are always in play. Over a late August lunch at the packed


Tornhill location of the Pickle Barrel in the Promenade Mall, Mock is realistic about her chances. Te candidate seems resigned to the fact that as of now, the climate is such that re-taking the riding from the amicable and charismatic Kent will be an uphill battle, even for a staunchly pro-Israel Jewish Liberal with impeccable credentials such as herself. Just the kind of candidate who would have


won with landslide numbers in Tornhill in the past. Unfortunately for Mock, this is not the past. For one, she is not exactly afforded the


rock-star reception by the community that Kent gets everywhere he goes these days. Witness the mob around him at last year’s Walk With Israel. When the Liberal Express tour rolled into a Tornhill park last summer, a small group gathered around Ignatieff, with Mock mostly relegated to the sidelines. At the Pickle Barrel, no one pays her spe-


cial attention. She’s treated just the same as any other hungry noontime eater. It’s hard to tell if she is even recognized. Tis wouldn’t be unusual for a new can-


didate, but in a situation where an election writ could literally be dropped at any mo- ment, Mock has been holding local events for months now: a summit featuring Justin Trudeau and the tour stop barbeque with Ignatieff, leading the way. Mock, an educational psychologist and


Winter 2011 friday night 27


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