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o friday dec 27 2002 the economist suntribune faith agency helm jew musks findfaiih by shlomit kriger special to the liberal matchmaker match maker make me a match but finding some one who fits the average seven- page criteria for an ideal mate is difficult he or she can have the looks the humour the outra geous family that throws toga parties but theres a catch here he or she is not jewish while judaism does not forbid the marriage of interfaith cou ples it is generally frowned upon thats where jewish match makers can help subdue the but terflies mali wassermari has been matchmaking jewish singles pro fessionally for more than 10 years and operates her business from her thornhill home the busi ness helps support her family of nine children none of whom want her to set them up i feel like i am helping god and doing a mitzvah an obliga tion she said matchmaking is like parting the red sea clients tell mrs wasserman what they want in a partner and she flips through her large binder full of names and photos of clients to find someone who she thinks could be the one a date is arranged if both clients are up for it and they report back to her to say if they are interested in pursuing the relationship further costs vary between different matchmakers but the typical amount is 1000 like all matchmakers mrs wasserman finds out everything she can about her eager clients including their life goals hobbies personality who their family members are and what they do for a living this information stays confidential she says shell only work with those serious about finding someone to marry i tell my clients to always give someone a second chance she said if they are still not interest ed then i find someone else for them to meet mrs wasserman began her career in israel while working as a gym teacher in a high school her students would ask her if she knew anyone she could set them up with and she decided it could become a success for her she now has clients from around the world and the phone bills add up to a business on their own she has made five successful matches so far this year most of her clients are 18 or 19 years old see todays page 21 ron cbillag standing up to pc scrooges at least one good thing has come of all this yuletide politi cal correctness gone haywire over the past few weeks members of minority religions have come to the defence of christians whal a nice twist the other side all this pc wooly- headedness has betrayed intolerance toward christians who after all form the majority in this country item at gap inc youthful employ ees were discouraged by their bosses from wishing shoppers a merry christmas lest they offend non- christians or nonbelievers callers to local radio talk shows happily identify ing themselves as muslims hindus and nonchristians of all stripes laced into the retailer describing the directive as ludicrous and going out of their way to hearten their christian neighbours by using the cword as often as possible amid all this mush allow me to say that as a nonchristian i dont mind being wished a merry christmas and im secure enough in my own traditions nol to be threatened by it i would even go sc far as to say that maybe were not saying merry christmas enough for surely christs message of peace love and goodwill is universal in appeal 01 should be after all how many non- christians or even atheists could possi bly be offended by the greetings inher ent cheer or for that matter by a well- sung carol or a tastefully decorated home those with too much time on their hands im guessing more dissonance is seen in commer cial establishments like the gap thai exploit the holiday with employees in santa claus caps all aimed at separat ing customers from more money in a free nation its particularly per turbing that christmas is under fire while it marks the birth of jesus it is also an amalgam of secular practices with which most canadians have no prob lem wmmmmmmmmwftm dr h h walji optometrist hons bsc msc od fios happy holidaysj happy new yearl to all our loyal patients we want to thank you very much for the privilege of taking care of you and your eyes over the past year we look forward to taking care of you and your loved ones and friends in 2003 from jan evans eye care practice manager on behalf of dr h walji andrea jolliffe pretesting assistant and alex duran dispensary assistant we send to our patients and to the entire community seasons greetings and best wishes for a healthy aittc happy new tear in the interest of your better eye jhealth from the practice of dr hh walji 6633 hwy 7 at ninth line 905471byes 3937 website dr waljicom email drwaljidrwaljicom 3 years in a row