On Thursday May 8^th Israel celebrated the 60^th anniversary of its re-birth --- and what a celebration it was. There were parties and ceremonies right across this country, but none was bigger than the event at Ricoh Coliseum in downtown Toronto. More than 7,000 people came out to say "Happy Birthday Israel" and at the top of that guest list was Prime Minister Stephen Harper.

It was through the efforts of Canadian Jewish Congress, and especially Director of Public Policy Stephen Adler, that the Prime Minister was encouraged to make time in his busy schedule to share this important moment with the Jewish community.  It was also an opportunity for CJC Chief Executive Officer Bernie M. Farber to meet with the Prime Minister where they discussed the vital role that Canadian Jewish Congress has played, and continues to play, in building a better Canada.

In an evening that was dedicated to showcasing the accomplishments of the state of Israel, the undeniable highlight of the evening was the Prime Minister's speech where he expressed Canada's unrelenting and unwavering support of Israel. His message was clear:

"Unfortunately, Israel at 60 remains a country under threat - threatened by those groups and regimes who deny to this day its right to exist. Our government believes that those who threaten Israel also threaten Canada, because as the last world war showed, hate-fuelled bigotry against some is ultimately a threat to us all, and must be resisted wherever it may lurk. We have stood with Israel even when it has not been popular to do so, and we will continue to stand with Israel, just as I have always said we would."

It goes without saying the Prime Minister received a well deserved and lengthy standing ovation afterward. We are proud to join him, and all Canadians, in wishing Israel a very happy birthday with many more to come.

Rabbi Reuven Bulka (CJC Co-president) and Bernie Farber (CJC CEO)and Mark Freiman (CJC Board member) at the National Post Editorial Meeting. Photos courtesy of National Post

As previously noted in a past editorial, CJC takes the position that hate provisions within human rights legislation are part of a necessary "fence of protection" needed for vulnerable minorities as a shield against those who would cause them harm. The Post was adamant that such provisions constitute an unnecessary infringement on free speech.

While opponents in a debate may be passionate in terms of their respective positions, such passion ought not to descend into shrill personal attacks. Sadly, some editorials and columns emanating from the National Post did just that in our view. The harshness of that debate led in no small measure to the agreement that a meeting was necessary.

The good news is that even with the most passionately held positions, common ground can often be found, and such was the case in this matter. Honest and frank discourse between both delegations moved the yardsticks. A willingness to listen on both sides led to a mid-point where both CJC and the Post agreed that, with proper changes, anti-hate laws can work.

For its part, CJC committed to have its legal committee develop recommendations for changes to human rights law that would make it fairer. The Post acknowledged that such changes would go a long way in mitigating its concerns. In the end, we both came to the realization that coming together cooperatively is far better than attacking from afar.

Israel Apartheid Week activities, which touched a handful of campuses, were offset by positive pro-Israel programming and messaging that targeted strategic audiences, and yielded many encouraging results.

The challenges we faced did not overshadow tremendous successes. Indeed, ten different Israel-related speakers traveled to campuses over the course of the year to educate communities on issues such as Zionism, conflict resolution, Israel beyond the conflict, and Israeli democracy and pluralism.

The Canadian Federation of Jewish Students (CFJS) co-sponsored the Save a Child's Heart tour as part of its Small Campus, Big Heart campaign. This, along with other campus efforts, raised the $10,000 necessary to afford a life-saving heart surgery.

Ishmael Beah, a former child soldier and best-selling author, toured under the SHOUT (Students Helping Others Understand Tolerance) banner. This is a group founded by non-Jewish student leaders who traveled to Poland in 2005 on the National Jewish Campus Life (NJCL) March of Remembrance and Hope to learn about the Holocaust. Last December, the first group of MRH alumni traveled to Israel to enhance their understanding of Jewish history.

In fact, a total of 42 non-Jewish student leaders from across the country traveled to Israel for a week-long educational experience. This was followed by an inaugural reunion that saw close to half of the alumni who traveled to Israel with us in the past five years dedicate a full weekend to learning more about Israel. They also formed the Israel Alumni Association and arranged a December advocacy trip for Jewish student leaders to enhance their Israel knowledge and skills, as well as a February Jewish identity/social action trip to Cuba. The aforementioned activities are just a few of the many initiatives spearheaded by NJCL over the last year to complement the work of local Hillels.

Ambassador Pinkas

UJA Federation of Hamilton advanced its Israel advocacy agenda with the recent one-day visit by Ambassador Alon Pinkas.  Pinkas was primarily responsible for a major shift in hasbara policy during his term of service as Israeli Consul General to New York at the time of the September 11th attacks. Pinkas has also served as chief-of-staff to Foreign Ministers Shalom Ben-Ami and David Levy as well as foreign policy advisor to Prime Minister Ehud Barak.

UJA Federation of Hamilton has worked diligently to develop cordial working relationships with local media. That work is reflected in the change to editorial policies - where once one could find a headline such as "Israelis Target Pregnant Arab Women"in the pages of the local paper, today Israeli diplomats are welcomed into the editorial board room.

Taking advantage of carefully cultivated relationships with local media, UJA Federation was able to arrange extensive interviews for Mr. Pinkas on CHTV Hamilton and with the Hamilton Spectator. The interviews covered issues as broad as root causes of the conflict, the strategic challenge of a nuclear armed Iran and the dilemma posed by the growing Arab population situated west of the Jordan river.

Following his encounter with CHTV, Ambassador Pinkas then spent 90 minutes in a highly spirited exchange with the Editorial Board of the Hamilton Spectator. In addition to the material covered in the TV interview, the ambassador provided detailed analysis of the current political situation inside Israel as well as his opinion on the American Presidential election.

The Hamilton Spectator has no foreign correspondents and is entirely dependent on wire services for its coverage of the Middle East. Recognizing its lack of direct access and direct experience, the editorial board has come to appreciate the opportunity to engage

Middle East experts as we have been able to make them available. CHTV feels much the same way.

For the second year in a row, Calgary Jewish Community Council invited leaders of various faith and ethnic communities, as well as local politicians, to come together to celebrate a  Passover seder with members of the Jewish community.

The event was a resounding success. There were 120 participants representing Christian, Muslim, Hindu, First Nations, Chinese, and Turkish communities. CJCC Executive Director Lance Davis conducted the seder, while many of the guests participated by reading sections of the haggadah. At every table, lively and stimulating discussion took place among participants from varied backgrounds on the overall themes of the seder.

At the end of the four-hour program, no one was anxious to leave - and many of our guests asked to be invited again next year.

Mr. Lamine Foura, reporter, Mr. Abdelghani Dades, editor-in-chief of Atlas Montreal, Mr. Morad El Hattab

The passion that always accompanies any debate over reasonable accommodation and the place of cultural and religious minorities in Quebec reflects the urgency of promoting dialogue as a way of devising a new social contract.

It is from this perspective that CJC, QR President Dr. Victor Goldbloom met with the Minister of Immigration and Cultural Communities, Ms. Yolande James, to discuss the challenges facing Quebec society. Recognizing that ignorance of the other is more often than not at the root of negative stereotypes and prejudice, Dr. Goldbloom has also undertaken a province-wide speaking tour to reach out to Quebecers living in regions where contact with the Jewish community is limited or nonexistent.  To date, Dr. Goldbloom has spoken to prominent members of the Société Nationale des Québécois et Québécoise, the largest nationalist organization in the province, in Drummondville, St. Jean and, most recently, Quebec City. His speeches focus on the common values shared by the Jewish community and francophone Quebecers and our deep roots in Quebec that go back centuries.

Greater social cohesion, tolerance and openness to diversity are central to the discussion of things that divide and unite us as Quebecers. As such, Canadian Jewish Congress, Quebec Region, organized a working lunch between Jewish leaders and the president and deputies of the official opposition. The event underscored the Jewish community's civic and political participation in Quebec society. One of the underlying intentions of the meeting was to demonstrate that the Jewish community is non-partisan and attentive to all political debate and open to the positions taken by all parties.

Finally, CJC, QR, in collaboration with the Communauté sépharade unifiée du Québec (CSUQ), hosted a conference by Maurad el-Hattab, a prominent moderate French Muslim, writer and philosopher. Mr. El-Hattab is an ardent supporter of French secularism and the Israeli-Palestinian peace process. During his address he stressed the internal contradictions in the Arab-Muslim world and the need to promote the separation of church and state in Muslim countries as the sine qua non to peace in the Middle East.

 

 

John Tory, Leader of the Ontario PC Party and Len Rudner, CJC Director Ontario Region

 

 

 

 

Rabbi Reuven Bulka, CJC Co-president, Sylvain Abitbal, CJC Co-president, Honourable Jack Layton, Leader of the NDP, Elizabeth Wolfe, CJC Secretary-Treasurer, Eric Vernon, CJC Director of Government Relations and Bernie M. Farber

 

 

 

Benjamin Netanyahu, Leader of the Opposition - Knesset and Sylvain Abitbol

 

 

 

 

 

 

Stephen Adler, CJC Ontario Director of Public Policy and Honourable Stéphane Dion, Leader of the Official Opposition

 

 

Bernie M. Farber, Sally Szuster, Public and Media Relations, UJA Federation, Chief Bill Blair, Toronto Police Service and Len Rudner

  

Honourable Chuck Strahl, Minister of Indian Affairs and Northern Development, Wendy Lampert, CJC Director of Community Relations

 

 

 

Len Rudner and Susan Kadis, MPP Thornhill