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A Hasidic Exodus?

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The Montreal Gazette recently reported  that the Hasidic community in Outremont and Mile End is suffering from a housing shortage. In 2002, there were about 4,200 Hasidim in the neighbourhood; today there are more than 6,000. Rising property values mean that many new Hasidic families are finding themselves priced out of their own Montreal heartland. Apparently, the hunt is on to find a new neighbourhood with suitable and affordable housing.

If the Hasidic community does move on, it certainly wouldn’t be the first time a Jewish community has come and gone. The entire swath of city from Chinatown right up to Little Italy is littered with former synagogues that were abandoned when the original Jewish community moved west. But it wouldn’t be a good thing if the Hasidim leave.

First of all, a Hasidic exodus would be a disaster for Park Avenue’s economy. Hasidic Jews make up more than 25 percent of Outremont’s population, and even they have their own Yiddish bookstores and kosher eateries, they still rely on non-Hasidic businesses for everything else, like drugs, hardware, stationery and fresh fruits and vegetables. Most of those shops are on Park Avenue; imagine the impact if they lost a quarter of their business.

If the Hasidim left, Mile End and Outremont be far less lively and down-to-earth. What would replace all of the Hasidic fishmongers, shoe stores, chocolate shops, jewellers and supermarkets? Who would make up for the constant foot traffic generated by a community of people that almost never leave the neighbourhood? They’d likely be replaced by affluent professionals who work elsewhere and don’t spend much running errands on foot.

There’s also the question of tolerance. By living in such a compact, high-density and ethnically mixed neighbourhood, the Hasidim come into regular contact with non-Hasidim, which causes some friction but also some mutual understanding. (I doubt I would know anything about Hasidic Judaism if I hadn’t spent so many years living on Park Avenue.) The Hasidic community might be insular, but it would be even more cut off from the rest of the world if it moved to a self-sufficient colony like Kiryas Joel.

Unlike Brooklyn, Montreal hasn’t been any serious conflict between Hasidim and non-Hasidim; the biggest problem has to do with parking, minor zoning violations and Outremont borough councillors who don’t like the looks of sukkot. So let’s hope the Hasidic Jews stick around for awhile, if only because they play such a big part in making Park Avenue, Mile End and Outremont the places they are.

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