Feb. 25 2012
Richard Marceau's conversion to Judaism put him on an unusual journey to a new and quite different political awakening

It used to be that only my wife knew how unusual I was. I now hear it from others all the time. But I guess that's what happens when you convert to Judaism from Catholicism, from Bloc Québécois MP to Jewish community activist.

My journey has been an unlikely one - but no more unlikely than the story of the Jewish people. For a nation that survived thousands of years of persecution and endless flight, the establishment of the modern state of Israel in the ancestral land of the Jewish people less than 70 years ago is nothing less than extraordinary.

In many ways, my own spiritual journey began in Israel.

I first visited it in 2000, expecting to see little more than war, religion and tension. What I ended up discovering was something very different: a country defined not by conflict, but by cohesion, openness and liberalism. In the same streets where I saw the occasional soldier or Orthodox Israeli stood gay bars and peace activists. In short, I had discovered a vibrant, pluralistic democracy that, despite being in one of the world's most dangerous regions, upholds the same values that Canadians and Quebecers cherish.

Returning home, I quickly discerned the gap between impression and reality among mainstream Quebec society when it comes to the Middle East. Few knew the story of Israel, the sacrifices its people had made for peace, and the inspiring example of national self-determination that it set for all peoples. Perhaps this is only natural, given that 98 per cent of Quebec's Jewish community lives on the island of Montreal. For the majority of Quebecers who live elsewhere, interaction with Jews is limited or non-existent.

Where information is lacking, misinformation abounds. Many Quebecers see Quebec Jews as rich, unilingual anglophones - even as immigrants disconnected from the Quebec nation. Most Quebecers aren't aware that 20 per cent of the Quebec Jewish community lives below the poverty line, that French is the mother tongue of 25 per cent of Quebec Jews, and that two-thirds are fluent in French. And most would be surprised to hear that the Montreal Jewish community turns 250 years old in 2012, and that it has made (and continues to make) a very significant contribution to Quebec's development. Of course, that contribution would never be possible had Quebec not been an open, tolerant and welcoming place for Jews to live and prosper.

If Jews are largely abstract to most Quebecers, Israel is even more distant - and thus generalizations, half-truths and distortions are inevitable when it comes to the Middle East. I came home from Israel a committed Zionist, and decided to work in my own modest capacity to increase knowledge and understanding of Israel in Quebec. I have since strived to challenge the absolutist mentality that influences many observers of the conflict, and reject attempts to look at it as a zerosum game. Instead, I prefer to emphasize solutions that will secure a future for Israelis and Palestinians alike.

As someone who has always been committed to peace, I am entirely comfortable calling myself a pro-Palestinian Zionist. For me, being supportive of Israel doesn't come at the expense of support for the Palestinians' legitimate national aspirations.

Activism aside, I soon discovered that Israel had opened the door to much more than just a political awakening. Though raised in a practising Catholic family in the middleclass suburbs of Quebec City, I found that my faith had essentially lapsed. My need for purpose and spirituality, however, was very much alive. My wife, Lori, who is not particularly religious, is a proud Jew by birth. My trip to Israel, combined with her commitment to the Jewish people, connected me to a people, a nation and a faith that I grew to love.

I began exploring Judaism, and what I found - a faith that insisted on reason, debate, universal moral principles and peoplehood - led me to a new passion. In 2004, I converted through the Reform movement (and later through the Orthodox movement). Coming from a pure laine Quebec background, I knew I had bridged two worlds in joining the Jewish people. But I see no contradiction in the two. In fact, as a committed Jew, I am proud to contribute to Quebec society just as Quebec Jews have done for generations.

This is one of the reasons I wrote my recent book, A Quebec Jew: From Bloc Québécois MP to Jewish Activist - my own contribution on behalf of Jewry to Quebec (and broader Canadian) society. In so doing, I hope to provide a window into the extraordinary world of Israel and the Jewish people, through the lens of my own unusual journey.

If the book is a fraction as fascinating, moving and downright exciting as the experience itself was, it should make for a great read.

Richard Marceau is a lawyer who served as the Bloc Québécois MP for Charlesbourg from 1997 to 2006. He is currently senior counsel for the Centre for Israel and Jewish