Sunday, October 30, 2005
Culture clash Jewish, francophone communities wary
Tucked among the pricey wine, sushi and art boutiques lining Bernard Ave. in Outremont is a no-frills synagogue whose facade could easily be mistaken for that of a rundown apartment building.
Last week, during the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah, ultra-Orthodox men stood in the doorway of Congregation Machzikei Torah, pouring celebratory shots of scotch.
A few doors down the street, francophones sipped lattes at Cafe Republique and pored over Le Devoir.
So live the two solitudes of this borough of 26,000 people - often separate, uncommunicative and suspicious.
Borough mayoral candidate Christine Hernandez wants to change that by bridging the gap between the two communities before the situation deteriorates.
"Right now it's indifference and passive aggressiveness," she said in an interview.
Hernandez is in a four-way race for the mayoralty against incumbent Stephane Harbour, who has the support of the Hasidic population; Vision Montreal candidate and political rookie Frederick Churchill; and independent retiree Claude Gladu.
Issues in this tony, highly educated borough include how an expansion of the Universite de Montreal onto nearby rail yards will affect traffic, a controversial $6.6-million community centre, and safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.
But there's also an underlying perception that the current administration lets the Hasidic community off lightly when it comes to respecting bylaws about parking, noise and garbage.
Hernandez, who with her husband, borough council candidate Paul-Guy Duhamel, started the Oser Outremont (Outremont Dares) party, said she was aware of the tension before the campaign, but after going door-to-door, she became worried.
Many voters, she said, prefaced their comments with, "I'm not anti-Semitic, but ..." then proceeded to complain about the air conditioners in the synagogues and study halls of the large Hasidic families, who generally keep to themselves.
Churchill also blames Harbour's administration for the simmering tension. "They're fuelling it by not applying the rules equally," he said. "This can be cleaned up by people who improve communication."
The face of Outremont - home to the francophone intelligentsia as well as Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay - is changing rapidly. Young families are replacing the elderly and the Jewish population, now at 25 per cent of the total, is growing by five per cent a year.
"When a francophone sells his house, it's usually a Jew that buys it," said Alex Wertzberger, from the Coalition of Outremont Hasidic Organizations.
"I've seen Outremont change from where there were just a minute number of Hasidic families to now we're close to a small majority, especially in Claude Ryan district."
Wertzberger, who has lived in the neighbourhood for 55 years, disagrees there's visible friction between the two communities. But he blames independent council candidate Celine Forget, who lost her seat in 2001 by 42 votes, for stirring the pot.
"She's trying to create an issue but it's not going to work because we won't be drawn into it," he said.
He said Forget is angry that Jews aren't penalized for leaving their cars in no-parking areas during high holidays. (Orthodox Jews are forbidden to drive on those days). Forget said she just wants to see the bylaws applied to everyone.
Most candidates notice that young voters, who tend to think more globally, are concerned about the environment. Churchill said he would like to see the small borough - one of the few that didn't garner enough signatures to hold a referendum on demerging - become the site of pilot projects, like composting, hybrid vehicles and bike paths, that, if successful, could spread to the rest of the city.
Hernandez, who helped found Tremblay's Montreal Island Citizens Union, said that while she still believes in him, she's disappointed with Harbour, who she said has failed to act on 1998 studies about bicycle paths.
"Cyclists no longer go on the streets because it's too dangerous, so they go on the sidewalks and end up fighting with pedestrians," she said.
She's also critical of a $6.6-million community centre conceived by Harbour that could have been a "green" building but isn't. Churchill feels the same way. "It's the most energy-consuming building you could ever think of," he said. "It's the biggest white elephant I've ever seen."
Also a concern are future traffic headaches that the expansion of the U de M would bring.
Harbour, the city executive committee member responsible for urban planning, criticized Churchill for raising the traffic spectre before the studies are even complete.
As for the idea of composting, Harbour warns that could create more problems, like luring raccoons from the nearby mountain.
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=8e7227d6-377f-4687-a2a0-11a0817295f6
Tucked among the pricey wine, sushi and art boutiques lining Bernard Ave. in Outremont is a no-frills synagogue whose facade could easily be mistaken for that of a rundown apartment building.
Last week, during the Jewish holiday Simchat Torah, ultra-Orthodox men stood in the doorway of Congregation Machzikei Torah, pouring celebratory shots of scotch.
A few doors down the street, francophones sipped lattes at Cafe Republique and pored over Le Devoir.
So live the two solitudes of this borough of 26,000 people - often separate, uncommunicative and suspicious.
Borough mayoral candidate Christine Hernandez wants to change that by bridging the gap between the two communities before the situation deteriorates.
"Right now it's indifference and passive aggressiveness," she said in an interview.
Hernandez is in a four-way race for the mayoralty against incumbent Stephane Harbour, who has the support of the Hasidic population; Vision Montreal candidate and political rookie Frederick Churchill; and independent retiree Claude Gladu.
Issues in this tony, highly educated borough include how an expansion of the Universite de Montreal onto nearby rail yards will affect traffic, a controversial $6.6-million community centre, and safety for bicyclists and pedestrians.
But there's also an underlying perception that the current administration lets the Hasidic community off lightly when it comes to respecting bylaws about parking, noise and garbage.
Hernandez, who with her husband, borough council candidate Paul-Guy Duhamel, started the Oser Outremont (Outremont Dares) party, said she was aware of the tension before the campaign, but after going door-to-door, she became worried.
Many voters, she said, prefaced their comments with, "I'm not anti-Semitic, but ..." then proceeded to complain about the air conditioners in the synagogues and study halls of the large Hasidic families, who generally keep to themselves.
Churchill also blames Harbour's administration for the simmering tension. "They're fuelling it by not applying the rules equally," he said. "This can be cleaned up by people who improve communication."
The face of Outremont - home to the francophone intelligentsia as well as Montreal Mayor Gerald Tremblay - is changing rapidly. Young families are replacing the elderly and the Jewish population, now at 25 per cent of the total, is growing by five per cent a year.
"When a francophone sells his house, it's usually a Jew that buys it," said Alex Wertzberger, from the Coalition of Outremont Hasidic Organizations.
"I've seen Outremont change from where there were just a minute number of Hasidic families to now we're close to a small majority, especially in Claude Ryan district."
Wertzberger, who has lived in the neighbourhood for 55 years, disagrees there's visible friction between the two communities. But he blames independent council candidate Celine Forget, who lost her seat in 2001 by 42 votes, for stirring the pot.
"She's trying to create an issue but it's not going to work because we won't be drawn into it," he said.
He said Forget is angry that Jews aren't penalized for leaving their cars in no-parking areas during high holidays. (Orthodox Jews are forbidden to drive on those days). Forget said she just wants to see the bylaws applied to everyone.
Most candidates notice that young voters, who tend to think more globally, are concerned about the environment. Churchill said he would like to see the small borough - one of the few that didn't garner enough signatures to hold a referendum on demerging - become the site of pilot projects, like composting, hybrid vehicles and bike paths, that, if successful, could spread to the rest of the city.
Hernandez, who helped found Tremblay's Montreal Island Citizens Union, said that while she still believes in him, she's disappointed with Harbour, who she said has failed to act on 1998 studies about bicycle paths.
"Cyclists no longer go on the streets because it's too dangerous, so they go on the sidewalks and end up fighting with pedestrians," she said.
She's also critical of a $6.6-million community centre conceived by Harbour that could have been a "green" building but isn't. Churchill feels the same way. "It's the most energy-consuming building you could ever think of," he said. "It's the biggest white elephant I've ever seen."
Also a concern are future traffic headaches that the expansion of the U de M would bring.
Harbour, the city executive committee member responsible for urban planning, criticized Churchill for raising the traffic spectre before the studies are even complete.
As for the idea of composting, Harbour warns that could create more problems, like luring raccoons from the nearby mountain.
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=8e7227d6-377f-4687-a2a0-11a0817295f6
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