“J’y suis. Pour de Bon.”: Montreal Jewish Education and the Social Construcion of Diaspora Identity by Jamie Anne Read A thesis presented to the University of Waterloo in fulfilment of the thesis requirement for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy in Religious Studies Waterloo, Ontario, Canada, 2015 © Jamie Anne Read 2015 Author’s Declaration I hereby declare that I am the sole author of this thesis. This is a true copy of the thesis, including any required final revisions, as accepted by my examiners. I understand that my thesis may be made electronically available to the public. ii Abstract This work examines the meaning of the State of Israel in diaspora Jewish education in contemporary Montreal, Canada. It does so by asking three central questions: “Is there a common idea of the nation?” “How is the idea of the nation made compelling and transferred from one generation to the next in a diaspora context?” and “Does the local context of a given diaspora community affect how the idea of the nation is taught?” The first part of this study draws on Anthony Smith’s theory of ethnosymbolism to investigate how symbols and myths provide the cultural foundations necessary for the social construction of modern national consciousness. Particularly, it reveals the process through which the political myth of the State of Israel expanded on pre-modern religious narrative frameworks in order to elicit communal will and emotion and unify highly divergent Jewish communities around the idea of the nation. Taking Montreal Jewish day schools as a site of inquiry, the second dimension of this research analyzes how the process of nation building occurs in a diaspora setting. It investigates how specific elements common to nations - the myth of election, territorialisation, shared ethnohistory, and communal destiny - are interwoven and actively cultivated in Israel education curricula and programming developed for mainstream Montreal Jewish day schools. This case study reveals how the absence of territorialisation creates certain challenges when cultivating diaspora nationalism and highlights how Montreal Jewish educators systematically attempt to overcome those challenges. A final aspect of this work develops the idea that Jewish education is influenced by local social forces and that attachment to a national homeland increases when a diaspora community experiences social isolation. Specifically, it argues that fostering a common idea about the State of Israel in mainstream Montreal Jewish education is made possible due to the near institutional completeness of the Montreal Jewish community (Jedwab and Rosenberg 1992); isolation from other local communities, namely the francophone community of Quebec (Jedwab 2008); and intensive Hebrew language and Jewish Studies curricula and the placement of Israeli teachers in Jewish day schools. iii This study offers new insight into the affects of the socio-linguistic and local context on the process of diaspora identity formation in Jewish day schools. Equally, by emphasizing the foundational role religion holds in the social construction of national identity, this dissertation reveals how religion and nationalism can reinforce national cohesion in a diaspora context. iv Acknowledgements This work could not have occurred without the love, patience, and encouragement of many people in my life. First, I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my supervisor, Professor David Seljak, for your continuous support in helping me achieve this goal. I have truly appreciated and benefited from your clarity of thought, sound advice, and breadth of knowledge. I would also like to thank the members of my committee: Professor Jim Diamond, Professor Doris Jakobsh, and Dr. James Walker for your insightful suggestions, concrete criticisms and encouragement. My sincere thanks also goes to Dr. Morton Weinfeld, who opened the door for me, thank you for your guidance, kindness, and expertise in the field. I would equally like to acknowledge a few close friends and family without whom this project would never have come to completion. I want to thank Sharonne for your continuous support and willingness to understand; Kass, Nuria, James, Luba, and Astrid who helped me unscrambled my thoughts and polish ideas, who cooked for me, and babysat my children, and encouraged me to finish; to my parents, who supported me in innumerable ways; and to my children, Yossi and Eliya, for your joy, your patience, and our conversations. v To my parents – for listening To my children - for teaching me to listen vi Table of Contents Abstract iii Acknowledgements v Dedication vi Table of Contents vii Chapter One: Defining the Terrain: Israel Education in Montreal Jewish Day Schools 1 Questions 1 Rational 2 Idea of the Nation 13 Organization of the Dissertation 14 Chapter Two: Ethnosymbolism and the Idea of the Nation 17 Summary 17 Theories of the Nation and Nationalism 18 The Theory of Ethnosymbolism 24 Ethnosymbolism and the Nation of Israel 25 Zionism and the Jewish Symbolic Discourse 28 The Idea of the Land of Israel over la Longue Durée 33 Diasporic Nationalism 44 Chapter Three: Education and the Jewish Community of Quebec: A Brief History 51 Summary 51 Part One: Introduction: The Montreal Jewish Community Today 51 Place of Montreal Jews in Quebec Society 51 The Place of Education in the Jewish Community 51 Education and the Social Construction of Jewish Identity 53 Part Two: History: The Creation of the Jewish School System in Quebec 54 Origins: Jewish Presence from New France to Confederation 55 19th Century Immigration and Jewish Montreal 56 vii Early 20th Century 1900-1930s 59 Jewish Day Schools and Jewish Students in Protestant Schools 61 WWII and the Post-War Period 67 1960s and the Quiet Revolution: Restructuring the Political Myth of Quebec 70 Jewish Parallel Institutions 76 French Jews in English Schools 80 1976-1995: Parti Quebecois and the French Language 82 Quebec’s Second Referendum 84 Part Three: 1995 to the Present 84 Restructuring the School Boards 85 Deconfessionalizing the Schools 85 Ethics and Religious Culture (ERC) and History and Citizenship Education 86 Part Four: Where We Are Now: The Jewish Community in Montreal Today 90 Place of Montreal Jews in Quebec Society 91 The Place of Education in the Jewish Community 93 Jewish Education and the Social Construction of Identity 96 Conclusions 98 Chapter Four: Methodology 101 Summary 101 Introduction 101 Curricula Analysis 103 Semi-Structured and Open-Ended Interviews 106 Chapter Five: Hebrew Language, Biblical Symbols, and the Idea of the Nation 109 Summary 109 Introduction: Teaching Hebrew Language Takes More Than Words 109 The Curriculum 112 TaL AM: An Overview 114 Grade One: Jewish Time and Jewish Holidays 119 Grade Two: The Living Map of Israel 131 viii Grade Three: Declaration of Independence 141 Grade Four: Israel Independence Day (Yom Ha’Aztmaut) 147 Grade Five: The Flag 151 Teaching Israel in Montreal Jewish Day Schools 154 Israelis in the Classroom 155 Conclusions 166 Chapter Six: Israel Experience and Israel Advocacy in Montreal Jewish High Schools 169 Summary 170 Introduction: Securing a Jewish Identity: The High School Years 170 The Social Construction of Jewish Identity through Identification with Israel 173 Hebrew Language and Jewish Studies 175 School Twinning 178 “Heavy on Israel” 182 Israel Experience 183 Shlichim in the Classroom 190 Israel Advocacy in Montreal Jewish High Schools 193 Broken Peace: The Idea of the Nation 200 “Bible Surfing”: Legitimating the Idea of the Nation 206 The Dilemma 207 The New Anti-Semitism 210 Violence, War, and Terrorism 211 Challenges to the Social Construction of Jewish Identity through Identification with Israel 217 Armchair Zionists 218 Israeli Expatriates and Shlichim 220 Making Aliyah 223 Competing Forms of Identity Construction 227 Conclusions 229 ix Chapter Seven: Conclusion 235 Rooted in the Diaspora 235 Ethnosymbolism and Diaspora Nationalism 235 The Role of Religion in Diaspora Identity Construction 237 Limitations on the Social Construction of Diasporic Idendity 239 Originality 243 The Idea of Israel in Montreal Jewish Education 252 New Avenues of Research 255 References 258 x Chapter 1: Defining the Terrain: Israel Education in Montreal Jewish Day Schools In our preoccupation with “systems” we tend to lose sight of the fact that political systems are made and unmade by people, and that the focus of our attention should therefore be on education, on changing human beings who, in the final analysis, will change the systems. (Horowitz 1979:26) Questions A glance at the Montreal Jewish Federation building on Cote Sainte Catherine Street and the flags billowing in the wind in front of it, offers insight into the place of Israel in Montreal diaspora Jewish identity. To the right of the entrance stand three flag poles bearing the flags of Canada, Quebec, and Montreal. To the left of the entrance is a single flagpole bearing the flag of the State of Israel. The placement of these state symbols reflects the story of Jewish immigration, integration, and identity into the province of Quebec and the nation of Canada as both part of, and apart from, the local, provincial, and federal communities. To most people who regularly enter and exit the building this symbolic separation, which places Canada, Quebec and Montreal on one side, and Israel on the other, is largely unnoticed. Ambivalence toward national symbols is often connected to passive dismissal, neutrality, or non-recognition. When state symbols - the main expression