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April 29, 2011
Jewish candidates talk
Ahi and Levine are running for the Liberals.
BASYA LAYE
Two Jewish candidates are running for office locally in the upcoming May 2 federal election. Candidates on the Liberal party slate, both Roma Ahi and Ben Levine are running against strongly entrenched opponents, and both say they will offer their constituents a fresh perspective and bring new energy to their respective ridings of Vancouver East and Prince George-Peace River.
Ahi moved to Vancouver just last year. Her decision to run is an opportunity for her and voters “to be a part of the change” that has been happening over the past few years in the Vancouver East riding she now calls home.
Ahi describes her heritage as Israeli, Persian, Polish and Scottish and, though she was born in Canada, according to her candidate homepage, Ahi was raised by her mother and grew up “traveling the world,” developing her dedication to the arts and, it seems, a sense of duty.
“My mother was born in Haifa, Israel, and raised on a kibbutz in Netanya. Times were tough,” Ahi told the Independent in an e-mail interview. “My grandmother was a piano teacher who tried to make ends meet but suffered a nervous breakdown. It was thanks to my great-aunt, who, once arrived in Canada, searched for her sister and brought my mom, grandmother and aunt to Canada.
“Having the family support, my mother was able to start school [and] my grandmother began to teach piano again. My grandmother passed away when my mom was in her twenties – although I never had a chance to meet her, my mother named me after my grandmother to honor her legacy,” she said.
After studying commercial photography at the Brookes Institute in California, Ahi went on to earn a certificate in digital and interactive media in Toronto. She then spent several years in the publishing and broadcast media world, working directly with arts-related corporations.
As a newcomer to Vancouver, Ahi said her impressions of the city and of her Vancouver East riding are positive and she believes her Liberal candidacy offers an alternate viewpoint on the needs and desires of the fast-growing district.
Running opposite longstanding Vancouver East MP Libby Davies in a riding over which her opponent seems to have a stronghold is not for the faint of heart. An outspoken member of Parliament for the New Democratic party, Davies made big news in the Jewish community, when she told a blogger last June that Israel has been “occupying” Palestinian territories “since 1948,” describing it as the “longest occupation in the world,” and she is a vocal supporter of the boycott, divestment and sanctions movement against Israel and Israelis. While not addressing Davies’ comments, Ahi told the Independent that she hopes to distinguish herself from her opponent and to attract voters.
Though she has differences with Davies, Ahi said, “I respect everything Libby Davies has done for the community. We share a common voice to many of the issues in the riding, but it’s time that Vancouver East has a seat at the table of government. I am putting myself out there, providing a real voice to issues such as affordable housing, education, child care, better senior pensions, environmental sustainability and family reunification.” In her opinion, the Liberal party best reflects her “values and policies.”
Ahi moved here for love, and she hasn’t looked back. “I moved 5,000 kilometres to start a life with my significant other but, aside from that, Vancouver is one of the most amazing cities I have ever lived in. Having traveled all over the world, I feel it has pockets of all my favorite cities combined into one. I can have my feet in the sand, looking at a mountain with a sea of trees behind me – who could ask for anything more? The [Vancouver East] riding is in transition,” she said, and any person or area in transition needs “an active listener, someone who can directly relate to the issues and have compassion to the real story. Over 6,500 people moved into this riding in the last two years (according to Elections Canada). I like them; the wonderful people of Vancouver East have shown me nothing but kindness and support.”
For her part, the motivation to run “was simple – I want to be part of the change. I am enjoying the experience. It’s hard work, but the tremendous team of volunteers on our campaign has inspired me.”
The primary thing is to do, she added, is to “get out and vote, no matter who you support. Secondly, considering all the changes and issues that are going on in the world, where people are dying to support democratic change, I would encourage [readers] to come out and volunteer on a campaign.”
Ahi said her connection to her family is strong and that running for office is a way to forge a path for future generations. “As a 33-year-old woman, who takes care of her mother, family tradition and values are important. I hope to one day have children and provide a good chance for them – expose them to diversity in cultures, democracy and freedom of choice – that’s why I love Canada! I have faith in the electorate to make the choice which best meets their needs. For our part, we are running a real campaign where every vote counts and, even if we only win by one vote, the result is the same,” she said.
Levine’s riding is also a long way from the city where he spent his childhood and youth. Levine is the Liberal candidate in the Prince George-Peace River riding in the northeast of the province. Running for office as a Liberal in Prince George-Peace River is an uphill battle. The riding covers a large swath of land up against the border with Alberta, and it’s a territory that has typically voted some version of Conservative since the early 1970s. As well, Levine told the Independent that he can appreciate how unusual it is for a Canadian Jew to be running for political office in a largely rural riding.
“Few Jewish people run for office in Canada, and even fewer in rural ridings and I thought it might be nice to share my reasons for running with Jewish youth so they might consider it themselves, now or in the future,” he said of his reason for talking to the Independent.
“I was born in Vancouver in 1970, on the border between Oakridge and Kerrisdale,” he said in an e-mail. “I went to Sir William Osler Elementary School and Eric Hamber Secondary School. I studied at UBC and graduated from law school at the University of Victoria in 2001. My grandparents, Dr. Morris and Ruby Levine, lived on Hudson Street, a few blocks from where I grew up. My grandfather was a physician, poet and teacher, and imbued in me an interest in people, history and ideas. My father, Sefton Levine, was a well-known lawyer in town and always encouraged active debate in our home. The neighborhood I grew up in was multi-racial and tolerant and, from an outsider’s viewpoint, bucolic. I certainly feel I was blessed to grow up where I did.”
Levine moved to Prince George in 2001. “I opened up a law firm here and have come to love this community. I am married to Lily and, together, we have one daughter, Hannah, aged seven. After living here for 10 years, I realized that all the false stereotypes about rural communities that exist in large cities are generated mostly by ignorance; the issues that matter to people in both rural and urban centres actually differ very little.”
This is particularly true of the stereotype that rural people are less tolerant and possibly less friendly toward Jews. “Let me assure you, people in Prince George are open, dynamic, tolerant and decent,” Levine said. “Any antisemitism that exists is no worse than any other community [in which] I’ve lived in Canada, and I’ve lived in a few. Prince George is beautiful, filled with wild, open spaces and has two major rivers running through it. It is home to a thousands-year-old aboriginal people, the Carrier-Sekani, is peaceful and has unlimited potential.”
His reasons for running for office are simple, he said. “Prince George has been very good to me, and I decided that part of my obligation to my community and my family was to contribute something back.
“We are all very lucky to be Canadian. Our country is tolerant, diverse, progressive, open, compassionate and free. We have a lot to be proud of. But it is not enough to be proud. We all have a civic duty to ensure it remains that way. This duty is now more important than ever, as the Conservatives are undermining our valued tradition of good government, a tradition that has allowed us to become the envy of the world.”
Far from being a hindrance, Levine said, it’s partly his Judaism that motivates his sense of civic duty. “I am very proud of my Jewish heritage and the values it instilled in me, such as tolerance, intellectual curiosity and a keen awareness of the importance of history. My goal is to now use those values and share their power with our wider civil society. I hope [your readers] consider doing the same.”
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