He specifically brings up Ignatieff’s accu-
sation that Israel committed war crimes in Lebanon as “just one of the more breathtak- ing examples” that was “done for the sake of a single interview.” Furthermore, a generous segment of Lib-
eral supporters are already centre/centre- right voters when it comes to economic matters. It’s not much of a stretch for them to switch to a Conservative Party and prime minister cowed by a minority situation into a moderate brand of fiscal conservatism that more closely resembles the Jean Chrétien years than the Reform Party. Certainly, there will always be leſt of centre
Jewish voters whose social justice activism means they would vote NDP in every elec- tion if practical considerations didn’t make them vote Liberal for fear of a Tory win. Liz Martin-Landau, who lives in the St.
Paul’s riding where Liberal Carolyn Bennett is the MP, has always supported the NDP or the Liberals and would never dream of voting Conservative. “A lot of the Jewish community is short-
sighted,” she says. “I don’t think they are as sophisticated as they think they are. For a very intelligent religion, as I think we are generally, I think we’re pretty stupid in some respects.” Te 47-year old, self-described ardent
supporter of Israel, says that the Conserva- tives are so far away from Jewish values – the values that Mock equates with Liberal values – that hearing a crowd of Jews giving Harper a standing ovation a few years ago during a pro-Israel rally made her ill. “People perceive Harper is good for Israel
and that’s all they care about and they don’t even look at the other issues, the social issues, the economic issues,” adds Martin-Landau. In recent elections, she’s noticed an in-
creasing number of Conservative signs where she lives in Cedarvale and in nearby Forest Hill. “I think Harper definitely uses Israel as a
wedge issue to get the Jewish vote,” she says. Nonetheless, not all leſt-of-centre Jewish
voters see it that way. Rabbi Roy Tanenbaum bristles when asked if voting for the Conser- vatives equates abandoning his passion for social justice. Te Toronto rabbi, who used to vote
NDP or Liberal, says the Tory position on Israel was what initially led him to investi- gate their other positions. He liked what he saw and decided to stick around for dessert. He says Canada’s “leſt” no longer has the
monopoly on social justice it once had. He ticks off a dozen or so “social justice
measures” that he feels the Conservatives are front and centre on, including skills training to get people off social assistance; weaning people off of drugs instead of safe injection sites; linking immigration to values; paying for the protection of communities at risk from terrorism; and providing public funds
for all religious schools. “I was previously happy with the way [the
Liberals and the NDP] were representing my thinking on how to go about this [but] in certain instances, I have already switched to the Conservatives,” he says. “I believe leadership should be dedicated to making society bud, blossom and bear fruit.”
fn Dan Verbin is a freelance writer in Toronto.
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