MONTREAL - A top official at Federation CJA says he’s puzzled as to why the French-language daily newspaper La Presse ran a front-page story about a meeting between Mario Dumont and prominent Jews that occurred on the eve of the provincial budget vote.

“We’re not quite sure why this is a story,” Bram Freedman, the federation’s chief operating officer and director of external relations, said of last Thursday’s article about the meeting with the Action démocratique du Québec (ADQ) leader. “Jewish Quebecers, like all Quebecers, have the right to meet with their political representatives.”

Headlined, “Mario Dumont is courted by the Jewish community,” the piece described a two-hour-long evening meeting on May 31 between “about a dozen” of the Jewish community’s “most influential leaders” and Dumont at the Westmount home of retired Senator Leo Kolber, a storied figure for his past fundraising on behalf of the Quebec and federal Liberal parties.

It was Kolber, La Presse reported, who invited Dumont to his home. However, the only other Jewish attendee identified in the story was Steven Cummings, a former president of Federation CJA (the story erroneously refers to federation as the “Canadian Jewish Alliance”).

Because of its high-profile, above-the-fold placement and language, the articled also seemed to reinforce notions that the Jewish community is wealthy and powerful. The second paragraph, for example, described Kolber as “richissime” (fabulously rich), and the Jewish community as “puissante,” or powerful.

Dumont said later the meeting was not a secret and some reporters were aware of it.

Freedman said the organized Jewish community would react officially if it felt public reaction to the story makes it necessary.

“We will be monitoring talk shows, and we will follow up if follow-up is needed,” he said. He stressed that the “meeting did not involve the organized Jewish community.”

The substance of the article, though, did not appear to be particularly revelatory.

It suggested that the Jewish community has grown increasingly disenchanted with the Liberal Party under Jean Charest for taking the community’s support for granted. It said it would no longer “put all its eggs into one basket” and would consider allying itself with another party under the right conditions.

The article made specific references to the bid in 2005 by Charest – later withdrawn after media-fuelled public outcry – to increase government funding to Jewish day schools, and it cited Jewish community disappointment at D’Arcy McGee MNA Lawrence Bergman losing his post as revenue minister in a cabinet shuffle after the recent provincial election.

The story further quoted unnamed “Liberal sources” as saying that during the meeting, Dumont was given “assurances” that the Jewish community would provide an “important level” of financial support for the ADQ in exchange for the Jewish General Hospital (JGH) being recognized as a “university hospital.” (This also appears to be erroneous, since the JGH has long been affiliated with McGill University.)

Dumont said in the La Presse story that the hospital’s status was discussed, but the issue of financial support of the ADQ was never broached.

Steven Slimovitch, legal counsel for B’nai Brith League for Human Rights, said that while there are “negative connotations” linked to perceptions of how ethnic communities engage in political financing, “everyone does it.”

Aside from broad suggestions and the use of unnamed sources, however, the article didn’t appear to offer any real evidence that Montreal Jews were about to abandon the Liberals in any significant numbers.

Victor Goldbloom, a former Liberal cabinet member who is now president of Canadian Jewish Congress, Quebec region, reportedly said it is “normal practice” for the Jewish community to meet with political leaders. And Jack Jedwab, CJC’s former director, was quoted as saying that the Jewish community has not forgotten Dumont siding with the “Yes” side before the 1995 referendum vote.

The following day, in an editorial cartoon in La Presse, Dumont was portrayed in chassidic garb, saying that next week he expected to be courted by the “nude cyclists” in the Plateau, a reference to a recent protest that actually took place against the overuse of gas-powered vehicles.

Charest for his part, accused Dumont of misleading Quebecers by being absent during crucial budget negotiations in Quebec City. The budget passed June 1.

Slimovitch said that in substance, the La Presse article accurately portrayed the fact the Jewish community “can go elsewhere” other than the Liberals if it decides to.

“As long as they can go to a non-separatist party,” Jewish Quebecers will be satisfied, Slimovitch said.

Slimovitch declined to comment “one way or the other” on whether he felt the story’s front-page placement reinforced a certain perception of the Jewish community.

A call to Philippe Cantin, La Presse’s associate editor, was not returned by The CJN’s deadline.