The embarrassment continues

Wednesday's strong column in the National Post by Laura Rosen Cohen about the Canadian Jewish Congress -- and their pathological obsession with censorship of thought crimes -- elicited this response from the CJC's figurehead presidents. It can only be called embarrassing.

The most odious line in the CJC's reply is this:

Ms. Cohen’s listing of tuition, camp and synagogue fees among the community’s top priorities is as outrageous as it is false and plays into the hands of those who would stereotype our community.

But those are huge issues in the community. Perhaps not for every single Jew; but in terms of Jewish communal life and Jewish continuity, access to Jewish schools is very important -- and, thanks to the Liberal government in Ontario, most Jews in Canada pay twice for schooling: once to the public system they don't use, through their taxes, and then again directly to private Jewish day schools. It's just plain weird for the CJC to call that concern "outrageous". And that it "would stereotype our community"? So Jews can't complain that they pay double for schooling, because the CJC is worried that Jews will look cheap? And these are the community's advocates?

I wonder if Bulka and Abitbol, who signed the CJC's Op-Ed, actually read it. Because two smart men like that probably wouldn't have actually said the following:

Issues such as securing the release of Israel’s kidnapped soldiers are beyond the mandate of CJC, but our community is blessed with other organizations that have worked assiduously on such matters.

And what to make of Cohen’s egregious criticism of CJC’s advocacy on Darfur, on the basis that the territory is bereft of Jews?

So advocating for the release of kidnapped Jews is "beyond the mandate of CJC", but not the CJC's odd focus on Darfur, Sudan?

Cohen's critique hurt the CJC's reputation. But the CJC's own response hurt themselves far more.

UPDATE: Here's Jonathan Kay's evisceration of Warren Kinsella's obsession with fighting against Canada's half-dozen or so neo-Nazis. But every word Kay writes can be applied to the CJC. Moreso; Kinsella only speaks for himself and does so with his own resources. The CJC does the same thing, but claims to do so in the name of all Canadian Jews, and uses community money to do it.