All of Us? Marginalizing Dissent in Toronto's Jewish Community

Mainstream Jewish institutions like the Canadian Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs and B'nai Brith Canada largely communicate the impression of community-wide support for Israeli government policies and actions to the broader society. When Jewish individuals and groups in Toronto who do not uniformly support Israeli government policy and actions attempt to make their voices heard as Jews they can encounter discursive techniques used by institutions and more broadly to marginalize their points of view. These discursive techniques are not limited to Jewish institutions or to the Jewish community, but, rather, can be characteristic of some processes that serve to 'naturalize' specific ideas and marginalize others. I use elements of Critical Discourse Analysis to explore recent public communications reflecting responses to dissenting Toronto Jews and narratives to identify some of these discursive techniques. I also explore how aspects of selected mainstream Jewish Canadian histories can serve to marginalize present-day dissent.