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September 4, 2009
Standing united against hate
Community vigil honors those killed at gay youth centre.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
The Monday night vigil on the Vancouver Art Gallery steps was not just to honor Nir Katz, 26, and Liz Tarbushi, 16, who were murdered in the Aug. 1 attack on the gay youth centre in Tel Aviv. It was a stand against hate.
Organized by Vancouver Hillel and the fraternity Alpha Epsilon Pi, Beta Chi chapter, the evening's service drew about 100 people. For an event about tolerance, the location could not have been better, as the diversity of the crowd was remarkable. In addition to those who gathered specifically for the vigil, a group of people who seemed quite at home on the gallery's North Plaza steps moved themselves and their belongings to one side, sharing their space so the service could proceed. As well, several tourists from various countries paused from their sightseeing to witness the memorial, which began with a moving piece played by Carmel Tanaka on violin and Dr. Nancy Mackin on piano. Tanaka was Katz's cousin and friend, and she shared some memories with the crowd, as well as words from Katz's mother, sister and cousin.
"When I first heard of my cousin's murder, on top of being in grief, I felt useless being here in Vancouver – feeling unable to take action," said Tanaka. "But after hearing of the rallies being set up around the world in Tel Aviv, Haifa, Berlin, Boston and New York, I realized I could be pro-active, even in my mourning, and with the help of Pat Johnson from Vancouver Hillel, I can say that – as of tonight – we all just added Vancouver to that very list."
Tanaka's message, as well as that of Katz's other family members, was that Katz lived his life with compassion, helping young people accept themselves and others as they are. "My call to you now," wrote his mother, Ayala Katz, "is to take the seed of love and caring, grow it in your hearts, continue to foster its growth and bring it with you into the future!"
"No one should ever have to live in fear of who they are – no matter if they're gay or straight," said Tanaka.
Rabbi Philip Bregman of Temple Sholom Synagogue and head of the Rabbinical Association of Vancouver opened the service. Of the shooting at the youth centre, he said, "this is not how humans need to act," not through violence, but through discourse. "As humans, we can and we must do better," he said.
Or Shalom Rabbi Laura Duhan Kaplan spoke about the "senseless crime of hate" that had taken place, but stressed that the work that Katz and Tarbushi did – caring for youth of all sexual orientations – would continue. She said that, in Judaism, there is the belief that defaming a person is akin to killing them and that, in the case of a hate crime, this is literally so: one person speaks against another and someone else picks up a weapon. She praised Vancouver Hillel and Alpha Epsilon Pi for speaking out against hate.
The fraternity's chapter president, Jonathan Lerner, could not attend the service, but his contribution was read by Matt Lockyer. He said that for anyone to be free, all must be free, and he urged people to carry on Katz's legacy and "turn our grief into action." After the vigil, he said, we must not let the candles go out, but rather we must stand out against intolerance everywhere.
The service included the marking of Shloshim (the end of the 30-day mourning period following the death) and the memorial prayer El Male Rachamim, chanted by Kaplan, music from Schindler's List, played by Tanaka and Mackin, and the Mourner's Kaddish, recited by Bregman, who concluded, "May we leave with hope of peace for tomorrow. Erev tov."
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