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Published in Montreal’s “The Gazette”

Dissident Jews play an important role

Letter

Published: Wednesday, December 27, 2006

The six readers who wrote similar letters recently shouldn't be so quick to revile a group of six ultra-Orthodox Jewish participants in the controversial Holocaust conference in Tehran. The existence of dissidents and extremists in any social group is vital for its healthy development. It sounds paradoxical, but in this particular situation these people were the best ambassadors promoting a much needed tolerance in an unstable Middle East.

Yes, Iran's hard-line president used their presence to further his own politics, but at the same time, Muslim societies were able to see that even in "evil democracies" like Israel or the United States, opponents of "military solutions" and government policies can return home without fear of consequences.

These outraged authors seem to forget that, in the last 20 centuries, Jews were often marginalized as are some dissidents today. It hardened and formed them as potentially the best promoters of tolerance around the world. Labeling people who think differently as "insane" and declaring that they "don't speak for me, for my family or my community" becomes questionable.

Slawomir Poplawski

Montreal

© Author 2006

 Reference: http://www.canada.com/montrealgazette/news/letters/story.html?id=c35aa1c4-b2b8-4bfe-a706-a4faacb5b6b0

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