A Note on Perspective
According to the Zohar, the foundational text of Kabbalah, the Hebrew month of Tamuz invites us to shift our outlook by seeing through darkness and transforming pain into healing. But that doesn’t happen on its own. It requires effort. Tamuz encourages us to view our lacks and frustrations as signals rather than punishments, guiding us toward wholeness. Just as thirst reminds us to seek water, our emotional struggles call us to engage in introspection and repair.
Blessings for a Chodesh Tov Umevorach: May this month help us see differently and heal deeply.
Just as Tamuz calls us to look at what’s missing within, I began to notice a different kind of absence, one that lives in the soundscape of public life.
From Jerusalem to Montreal, CBC Is Always On, But Something’s Missing
Perspective matters, not just in our personal lives, but in public life too. No matter where I am—Jerusalem or Montreal—the CBC is my constant companion. I listen obsessively. Friends tease me about it.
Why? Because I enjoy it. The quality of the interviewers and the diversity of topics—geopolitics, culture, and social issues—keep me engaged. I don’t care for sports, but otherwise, it’s excellent. CBC fits anywhere in my day: over breakfast, while washing dishes, even as I fall asleep. During the pandemic, when isolation hit hard, it was a lifeline.
But as a psychoanalytic psychotherapist trained to listen with a “third ear”—to hear what’s said and what’s left unsaid—I began hearing a silence I couldn’t ignore.
The Silence of a Once Present Voice
For decades, CBC programming reflected Canadian pluralism. It wasn’t unusual to hear Jewish names and perspectives—Barbara Frum, Eleanor Wachtel, Sandra Rabinovitch. Jewish humour, ideas, and dilemmas appeared naturally in the cultural mix.
Not anymore.
In recent years, as CBC rightly amplified Indigenous, Black, Asian, and Muslim voices, Jewish representation faded, quietly, almost invisibly. This isn’t about resenting inclusion; I’ve learned a great deal from those voices. But I can’t ignore how Jewish perspectives have nearly vanished from the conversation.
Where Did We Go?
There was a time when Jewish voices were woven into Canada’s media landscape. Now, they’re almost gone. And it’s not just the CBC; this shift is reflected across mainstream outlets. Jewish humour, intellectual traditions, and historical insights that once helped shape the national narrative appear to have disappeared. It feels as if we’ve been ghosted, erased.
Even before October 7, 2023, I wrote to CBC leadership about this gap. They responded graciously and encouraged me to pitch my programming ideas. I began developing a podcast on Jewish women’s contributions to Canadian culture, starting with two remarkable Montrealers:
- Gaby Ohrbach, a longtime dance teacher with Les Grands Ballets Canadiens and now a jewelry artist.
- Gina Roitman, acclaimed writer and documentary producer (My Mother, the Nazi Midwife and Me aired on CBC).
Both embody the richness of Jewish life in Canada, stories that rarely appear on CBC airwaves today. (Update: This project remains in development, and I hope to share more soon.)
I’m not alone in noticing this void. Writer Debbi Weiss put it starkly in her essay, The Cancellation of Jewish Voices:
“Jewish culture has apparently been cancelled and, worse, we’re supposed to believe we somehow earned this invalidation.”
Why Does It Matter?
Excluding Jewish voices leaves a hole in Canada’s cultural narrative. Judaism has shaped Western ethics, law, and moral thought for millennia. Our foundational texts introduced concepts that underpin human rights:
- Equality of all people: “Why does the Torah begin with Adam and Eve? So no one can say, ‘My family is better than yours.'”
- Care for the vulnerable: Repeated commands to protect the widow, orphan, and stranger.
- The right to rest: Shabbat guarantees universal rest—servants and even animals.
- Truth-telling: “Do not bear false witness” sustains justice and public trust.
- Environmental stewardship: “If you destroy the earth, there is no one after you to repair it.”
These values, so essential to democratic life, have deep roots in Jewish tradition. When CBC discussions of human rights overlook this perspective, something essential is lost. It’s like the old story of the blind men and the elephant, each grasps part of reality, but the full picture remains unseen.
The Bigger Question: CBC and the Middle East
Then there’s the issue of CBC’s coverage of Israel and the Middle East. Is it balanced? Is it informed? Many observers, including Honest Reporting and journalists like Melanie Phillips, argue otherwise. CBC frequently relies on Associated Press and UN sources while overlooking credible Israeli voices and Jewish news outlets (like JNS or IDSF). Statistics from Hamas-run agencies often lead broadcasts, reinforcing narratives of Israeli “genocide”, a claim repeatedly debunked.
Bias matters because CBC isn’t just local radio. Its global reach via podcasts and streaming means it’s framing influences how Canada and the world understand critical conflicts. When the public broadcaster ignores perspectives rooted in Jewish history and ethics, it narrows, not broadens, public understanding. (I explore this issue in more detail in this blog.)
Why Memory Matters
This is not about privileging one tradition over another. It’s about completeness and historical honesty. Jewish contributions to ethics, literature, and law are not marginal; they’re foundational. Erasing them impoverishes everyone.
As Rabbi Jonathan Sacks wrote, there is no Hebrew word for “history,” only the commandment to remember (Zachor). Memory isn’t nostalgia; it’s responsibility. And responsibility demands that we speak up when a vital voice is silenced in the national conversation.
For my part, I’m launching a podcast to bring Jewish perspectives back into dialogue, critiquing media narratives and sharing stories worth hearing, with the help of my friend and teacher, Rabbi Professor Asher Jacobson. It’s my small way of re-entering the conversation. I’ll keep you posted.
As Hemingway titled his famous novel, borrowing from John Donne, “The Bell Tolls for thee.” Today, it tolls for all of us. Will CBC listen?
References & Further Reading
- Honest Reporting. Website
- Weiss, D. The Cancellation of Jewish Voices. Substack
- Lockdown University Lectures. Website
- Phillips, M. Commentary and Analysis. Melanie Phillips Substack