Anti-Semitism
Relations between Jews and non-Jews in Cornwall were on the whole very good. Houses occupied or owned by Jews were dispersed among all districts. Although Sheila Whitzman remembered that one woman refused to rent a house to her mother because she felt that Jewish cooking smelled bad. However, for the most part there was no difficulty renting from non-Jews or getting jobs. More than this, Jews and non-Jews interacted socially and invited each other to their events.
If there was discrimination in Cornwall, it tended to be by the English-speaking citizens directed towards the predominantly working-class French community. Cornwall's Jews got along with both groups and some had stores on the French side of town. However, some evidence of longstanding anti-Jewish attitudes emerged from time to time. One young woman who worked for Sheila Whitzman's mother once slapped Sheila and her sister and called them "dirty Jews." When she was fired, the young woman went to stay at a neighbouring priest's home. She told the priest that she had been dismissed for asking for time off to go to church. Rather than accepting this story, the priest came to Mrs. Kastner's store. He stated his belief that the story was untrue and politely requested to know the facts of the matter.
Christian citizens of Cornwall have shown an interest in knowing more about Jews. Mark Goldhamer and Joyce Miller stated that they regularly received invitations to talk about Jewish life to school groups. Their talks were invariably received with interest and enthusiasm. One man who demonstrated exceptional sensitivity to Jewish life was Bishop Eugene Laroque. Laroque was the first president of the Liaison Committee between the Canadian Council of Churches, the Canadian Jewish Congress and the Conference of Catholic Bishops of Canada. Bishop Laroque liked to come to synagogue on Yom Kippur. He even suggested to his parishioners that they fast in solidarity with the Jews. In an unusual and moving gesture, Bishop Laroque presented Cornwall's Jewish community with a letter acknowledging and apologizing for the Church's past wrongs and looking forward to a better future.
