On El Al flight to Toronto, passengers are awakened towards the end of the long flight with a boring breakfast that always reminds me of army meals. While chewing the greasy El Al omelet, I started a polite conversation with the woman sitting next to me.
Her name was Sigal Barak, and she was on her way back to Toronto after a working visit to Israel. Sigal told me about her job: giving advice and assistance to Israelis wanting to immigrate to Canada. My curiosity was immediately piqued.
According to Sigal, in recent years the number of Israelis immigrating to Canada has increased significantly, to the tune of hundreds of families a year. Most of the immigrants are in their 30s and 40s and they come mainly from the center of the country and further south; very few are from the Galilee.
"Why are the numbers increasing?" I wondered. "After all, Israel hasn't had a significant war in recent years, and our economic situation isn't that bad, compared with the rest of the world."
"I think there are three main reasons," she said. "The general feeling of insecurity, the fear of a nuclear Iran, and - witness the social protests and the call for social justice - financial difficulties and the resulting frustration and bitterness. Many of the Israelis who are going to Canada just feel that their country doesn't take proper care of its people." "Moving to another country isn't an easy thing to do," continued Sigal. "You need to be very strongly motivated. When I'm in Israel meeting families who are considering moving to Canada, I hear things like, 'For the price of a used car in Israel, I could buy a new car in Canada and still have money left over.' I hear the hopelessness and frustration that impels parents with children to take the drastic step of uprooting their families."
The communities that Israelis find the most attractive are Toronto in the east and Vancouver in the west. But Israelis also go to smaller Canadian communities, many of which actively recruit Israelis, particularly immigrants from the FSU who originally moved to Israel but are willing to leave it for the "promised land" of Canada. These smaller communities, such as Halifax in the Maritimes, are aging and in danger of disappearing entirely as their young people move to the larger cities. They view the Israeli immigrants as vital new blood. Sometimes these newcomers are even needed to make up the minyan (prayer quorum) in the local synagogue.
So Canada has turned into the promised land of Israeli Jews. People who have never even visited Canada chose to move there because of its reputation as a country that takes good care of its citizens. In contrast to tiny Israel, there are vast spaces in Canada. If you were to drop Israel into the middle of one of Canada's forests, you would never find it again. The flourishing Toronto community, which has become one of the leading Jewish communities in North America, is a warm and friendly environment for Israelis. Sigal said, "You can walk around my neighborhood and get by talking only Hebrew."
About six months ago I visited my friend Mitch Bellman, President and CEO of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa. When I landed in Canada's capital, Mitch invited me to go with him to a meeting of the Ottawa city council. The meeting was to discuss objections to the proposal to name the new city archives and library after the former mayor, Charlotte Whitton, who in the late 1930s had lobbied to keep hundreds of Jewish orphans out of Canada. At the meeting I became a witness to a dark chapter in Canada's history, of which many Canadians are now deeply ashamed. Canada refused to open its gates to European Jews trying to escape their fate, as described in None is Too Many, the 1982 book by Irving Abella and Harold Troper. The book's title was the response of a Canadian immigration agent who had been asked how many Jews should be allowed in Canada after the war.
Truth to tell, apart from the harsh winter weather, Canada is a very good place to live, with pleasant people, natural beauty, and a flourishing economy. I love Canada and Canadians. Nevertheless, it is heartbreaking to think that in less than seven decades we have the absurd situation in which Canada, a country that slammed its doors in the face of Jews fleeing the Holocaust, has turned into the promised land of Israelis.
Sagi Melamed lives with his family in the community of Hoshaya in the Galilee. He serves as Vice President of External Affairs at the Max Stern Yezreel Valley College, and as Chief Instructor (4th Dan) of the Hoshaya Karate Club. Sagi received his Masters degree from Harvard University in Middle Eastern Studies with a specialty in Conflict Resolution. He can be contacted at: melamed.sagi@gmail.com.
November 2011
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the east and Vancouver in the west. But Israelis also go to smaller Canadian communities, many of which actively recruit Israelis, particularly immigrants from the FSU who originally moved to Israel but are willing to leave it for the "promised land" of Canada. These smaller communities, such as Halifax in the Maritimes, are aging and in danger of disappearing entirely as their young people move to the larger cities. They view the Israeli immigrants as vital new blood. Sometimes these newcomers are even needed to make up the minyan (prayer quorum) in the local synagogue. 
