Toronto Sun columnist Sue-Anne Levy captured the spirit of the event: "As my wife, Denise Alexander, and I marched with our Israeli flags, we were anything but vilified, as QuAIA [Queers Against Israeli Apartheid] has endeavoured to do with Israel and what their supporters deem the pro-Jewish lobby. We were cheered and greeted with high-fives by many of those on the sidelines.

"By contrast, QuAIA and its free speech, anti-Israel members did not seem to get much support from the crowd as they appeared with the Free Speech Coalition and their friends from CUPE and the CAW."

Click here to read the entire column by Sue-Anne Levy. The video below will also give you a taste of the event:

We will be marching with Kulanu because we support the progress that the LGBT community has made, and recognize that there is still more to accomplish. We will be carrying the flags of Canada and Israel because we love and support both these countries.

We will be marching with Kulanu because there may be voices in the Parade that malign the state of Israel, but our voice should be stronger.

We will be marching with Kulanu because we believe that the organization’s name – “all of us” – includes us all. Come and join us on July 4. Show your support for the LGBT community, the Jewish community, and Israel.

March details:

1. Visit the Kulanu Toronto booth before the march (between 10-12pm) to purchase a Pride T-shirt. Booth located just north of Wellesley on the west side of Church.
    
2. All marchers to then line up for the march at the corner of Bloor and Jarvis, Section F9, by 12:15pm. Look for the Israeli flags and Kulanu Toronto banner. Make sure to bring hats, water bottles, sunscreen, and your Jewish pride and enthusiasm
    
3. The march starts officially at 2pm and ends at approximately 4pm.
    
4. Kulanu Toronto is excited to have a DJ leading their marching contingent this year! Come sing and dance to Hebrew music as we parade down Church Street!

Pride details will also be posted at www.kulanutoronto.ca .

For questions and to RSVP to march, please contact Kulanu Toronto’s executive director, Justine Apple, at kulanutoronto@gmail.com.

Come join all of us!

• Click here to take action! Send a letter to the Prime Minister Stephen Harper, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, NDP Leader Jack Layton, and Bloc Quebecois Leader Gilles Duceppe calling on them to ensure fairness for Israel, both in Canada and in the international arena.
   
•  Visit CJPAC online to track the response of Canada’s political parties as events continue to unfold.

Thank you for taking an active role in supporting our community and standing with Israel.
 

The reaction of the Canadian government, the Liberal party, the NDP (with the exception of Libby Davies), and the Bloc (with the exception of Maria Mourani) has been cautious to date, calling for a credible and independent inquiry and urging people not to rush to judgment. This reaction stands in contrast to that of the UN Human Rights Council, which has condemned Israel AND called for an international investigation – in effect, the "Goldstoning" of Israel.

Additional ships, notably the "Rachel Corrie", are now approaching the waters near Gaza, and we expect that there will be further coverage in the media in the coming days.

However, we note with satisfaction that the voluminous amount of video footage made available by the IDF in the hours following the boarding of the Mavi Marmara have provided incontrovertible evidence of the sequence of events. This material, as well as information regarding IHH – the Turkish group that sponsored the Mavi Marmara – and its links to international terrorism, has been widely disseminated through the internet and subsequently picked up by mainstream media.

The Canadian pro-Israel community is working together on a number of fronts, including government and media relations and public information. We take this opportunity to provide you with updated messaging, responding to the shift in public debate from the immediate question of the events of Monday morning to a broader discussion about the reasons for the arms blockade.

• A naval arms blockade is an absolutely necessary component of Israel's defensive strategy. Israel is in a state of conflict with Hamas, an internationally recognized terrorist organization with an ongoing history of unprovoked attacks on Israeli population centers. Hamas has attempted to smuggle significant amounts of Iranian munitions into Gaza by sea, most notably on a ship called the Karine A. Enabling these types of shipments would open the floodgates to Hamas procuring significantly more weapons with significantly greater reach, putting even more Israeli civilians in mortal danger.
   
• It is a simple rule of maritime law that when there is a blockade as a result of conflict, the party that has imposed a blockade can approach the ship in international waters once the ship indicates it plans to violate blockade. This is precisely what took place in this instance: the ship was warned to stop as it was approaching a blockaded area, and the crew refused to comply with the directives of the Israeli navy.
   
• The arms blockade of Gaza is targeted at specific dual-use materials that can be used for weapons and for other military purpose like the construction of reinforced bunkers and arms smuggling tunnels. This is done in order to reduce the danger to Israelis, and also reduces the danger to the residents of Gaza who are hostage to Hamas' well established technique of provoking military response by the IDF and cynically using the civilian population as human shields.
• The residents of Gaza are absolutely entitled to international aid. Nobody, including Israel, should be standing in the way of them receiving it; indeed, some 15,000 tons a week of aid is transferred by Israel to Gaza through land crossings after being screened for weaponry.
   
• The Government of Canada has so far been very careful not to call for the "Goldstoning" of Israel, instead calling on Israel to undertake its own inquiry that would meet the standards of impartiality and transparency. Israel has effectively conducted such inquiries in the past.
   
• As was the case in the Iranian uprising last Spring, the internet has been a critical vector for sharing information on this situation, and has driven the mainstream media in a significant way. Activists are making a huge difference by sharing source material. A list of useful links appears below:
  • Canada-Israel Committee: http://www.cicweb.ca/

  • IDF's Youtube Channel: http://www.youtube.com/user/idfnadesk

  • StandWithUs: http://www.flotillafacts.com/

  • Israel Ministry of Foreign Affairs: http://www.mfa.gov.il/MFA

“Did you hear the news? Guess who’s coming to town.” The buzz surrounding Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s upcoming visit to Canada has been the focus of much animated conversation throughout the Jewish community.

Why is that? After all, the vast majority of those caught up in the excitement are not privy to the specific agenda that will dominate the bilateral discussions during this brief, official visit. Indeed, even the upward of 20,000 participants in the UJA Walk with Israel in Toronto who will greet and be addressed by the Israeli premier will not have an opportunity to engage directly with him. Yet the excitement prevails, not just in Toronto, but also across the country. What is it about this cameo appearance that prompts such an emotional reaction among Canadian Jews?

In truth, as welcome as “Bibi’s” visit is, the passionate and heartfelt reaction expressed by the pro-Israel community is related to something larger than the force of one individual’s personality. It is about something much more fundamental. It is about Israel, and it is about Israel and Canada. In many respects, the Canada-Israel relationship has served as a zeitgeist of the Jewish condition in Canada – how “safe” we feel, the extent to which we as a community are accepted as a valued contributor to Canadian society, and the legitimacy attached to our collective narrative.

Nowhere is that reality check more acutely evident than within the political sector. Canada’s relationship with Israel, its policies toward the Jewish state, its pronouncements on the conflict, the positions Canada adopts within the myriad of international forums, and the level of bilateral co-operation – taken together, all of these things have served as an essential scorecard for Jews regarding their place within this great country. So on the eve of Netanyahu’s visit, it is not out of place for us to ask ourselves: how are we doing? Have we made progress? Is it “safe”?

The short answer is “yes.” Despite all of the difficult challenges out there, the Canada-Israel bilateral relationship is stronger, more vital and promising than at any time in the 60 years since we first established formal diplomatic relations. Canada was instrumental in facilitating the rebirth of the Jewish state, and in all the subsequent decades, successive Canadian governments have nurtured the friendship and helped it grow in depth and scope. The milestones are many and they chronicle the maturation of a relationship that has evolved into a complex, multi-layered kinship that speaks to mutual strategic interests, shared values, synergistic economic growth and common aspirations for ourselves and the family of nations.

Yet for all that has been achieved –  the space agency agreements and the trade missions, the joint projects in the developing world and the health-care partnerships, the co-operative efforts of the two Supreme Courts and the academic exchanges – often, what has had the most enduring impact are the words. The words of praise and criticism. The words of support and those of isolation. The words of understanding and the words of indifference, and sometimes, the absence of any words.

We have all learned that, unlike the childhood rhyme, words do have power. They can hurt and harm as well as comfort and heal. They can also validate or undermine, and as we cast an eye back to an assessment of the bilateral relationship, we discover that more often than not, the words of Canadian political actors have served to validate Israel and Canadian Jewish support for Israel rather than contribute to Israel’s isolation within the international community.

Ironically, even though polls suggest that politicians are not held in the greatest of esteem, their words and the opinions they articulate carry substantial weight. In a way, politicians have served as the ultimate “third party validators” – providing a “hechsher” of sorts for Israel’s supporters in Canada.

Perhaps the most important pronouncement came from then-prime minister Brian Mulroney during the most intense period of the first Palestinian intifadah, when he confronted the canard of “dual loyalties” and proclaimed that Canadian Jewish support for and love of Israel complement their commitment to and pride in Canada. It was a seminal moment in the Canadian Jewish experience and has coloured the public policy debate ever since. It provided a new context in which to understand the historic address by then-Israeli president, Chaim Herzog, to a joint session of Parliament. A survivor who had rebuilt his shattered life in Canada after the Holocaust – my father – sat in the gallery during that address. More than 20 years later, he still regards that event as the highlight of his life: a Jew who received sanctuary in Canada, sitting in the Canadian icon of freedom and democracy, listening to the president of the Jewish state share words with Canadian parliamentarians.

There have been other words, too. Then-opposition leader Jean Chrétien called the Canada-Israel Committee at 1 a.m. on the night the first scuds rained down on Israel during the First Gulf War in 1991, expressing his distress and pledging, even in opposition, that Canada would always be a source of support for her sister democracy in the Middle East. Following in the footsteps of his predecessor, Mulroney, who established the extraordinarily successful high-tech partnership between Israel and Canada, Chrétien made good on his word and established a free trade agreement with Israel – the first between Canada and any country outside North America.

Many have been the politicians who have added their words of support and solidarity – too many to chronicle here. Leaving aside the much-valued contribution of Jewish parliamentarians over the years, a few bear particular mention, because they speak to crucial dimensions of the relationship or special aspects of our experience:

• Current Treasury Board President and former Canadian Alliance leader Stockwell Day, whose purity of support for Israel reassured Jews about a new political phenomenon that was entirely foreign to their experience.

• Liberal MP Joe Volpe, who cut short a trip to China during the worst days of the second intifadah in order to stand in solidarity with Canadian Jews confronting the violence that had erupted in the Middle East and had spread unprecedented and vitriolic hatred to Canada.

• Bloc Québécois leader Lucien Bouchard and his successor, Gilles Duceppe, whose words of understanding and friendship forever dispelled the myth that support for Israel was inimical to passionate Quebecers.

• Former prime minister Paul Martin, who publicly enshrined the idea of shared values between Canada and Israel, along with his foreign minister, Pierre Pettigrew, who validated our fears about the Iranian regime and who served as the first western politician to draw a linkage between Iran’s nuclear program and its threats to annihilate the Jewish state.

• Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff, who eloquently but unequivocally stripped Israeli Apartheid Week promoters of any credibility in his public condemnation of that toxic, anti-Israel initiative.

• And the courageous members of the NDP caucus, individuals such as Deputy Leader Thomas Mulcair, who have consistently challenged the radical element that has sought to capture the soul of their party.

All of these words and the many, many other people they represent have been welcome. The validation and friendship they stand for are cherished reminders of our place in Canada.

But of all the words spoken in 60-plus years, none have been so needed or so valued as those articulated by the current government. In Israel’s darkest hours, Prime Minister Stephen Harper offered comfort and courageous leadership. In a time of political correctness gone wildly awry, his ministers have consistently chosen integrity over expediency. This government has established a new benchmark for the bilateral relationship, one that established Canada as a true ally rather than a “fair-weather friend,” and in a fundamental way, one that has captured the essence of all the good words spoken over the last 60 years.

It is a good time for a visit. It is a good time to celebrate the nature of the Canada-Israel friendship – both for what it is and what it promises to be.

Shimon Koffler Fogel is CEO of the Canada-Israel Committee.

A report on the MEC AGM

by Dan Schloss, Canada-Israel Committee Pacific Region Manager, Advocacy

I made sure to get to the Mountain Equipment Co-op (MEC) AGM about two hours ahead of the start time. To my delight, there were already a handful of pro-Israel activists there to greet me. Over the next 45 minutes before the doors opened for the AGM, we were joined by about 40 more pro-Israel activists, with others coming in once the doors opened.

There was an unspoken feeling of anxiety. We were unsure what to expect, and worried that anti-Israel activists would try to further their agenda. I saw someone with a flier that said “choose peace not war,” and, going outside, I saw two "activists" handing out pamphlets on behalf of the “Boycott Israeli Apartheid Campaign.” But after watching them for a few minutes, I realized the vast majority of passers-by were completely disinterested. Back inside the AGM, I noted that these two activists were curiously absent, leading me to believe that they weren’t even members!

At the AGM, the newly elected (or re-elected) board of directors were introduced. A total of 32,728 people voted this year, up 700 from last year. Lucy O’Driscoll recieved the most votes by a wide margin. She was followed in votes by the re-elected Chris McNeill. The third director elected was Margie Parikh, who edged out Bill Gibson by 13 votes (9,237 for Parikh; 9,224 for Gibson). This was the lone unfortunate event of the evening. Gibson is a fair-minded and vocal opponent of boycotting any country (including Israel), as well as somebody who has long been involved with MEC’s governance and a one-time CEO of the co-op.

Finally came the results of the five special resolutions. These resolutions are extremely important to us  as they effectively prevent the board and the co-op’s governance structure from being commandeered by special interest groups. The results were overwhelmingly positive: they all passed with an average of 89% of the electorate voting in favour.

The meeting wrapped up with questions and comments from the audience. There were three speakers lined up, and we all sat with baited breath.

The first speaker, a long-time MEC member and former director, was very happy that the special resolutions passed. He noted that in past AGMs, all kinds of resolutions would be brought forward and debated, many of them political in nature and having nothing to do with the governing of MEC.

The next speaker commended MEC for being a pioneer and mentor in the Canadian co-op community by instituting a fantastic and responsible ethical sourcing policy.

Two speakers down, only one to go – a speaker that an Israel supporter was quite sure had spoken in favour of an Israel boycott last year. I was more nervous now than in all the weeks and months leading up to this point!

This speaker stated his concern over special resolution 3, which effectively gives the board a veto over resolutions which 75% of the board deem contrary to MEC’s best interests. To me, it was fairly obvious that he was concerned about anti-Israel motions being vetoed. The chair, Denise Lawson, was quick to remind him that 89% of the electorate acclaimed this motion, so it was entirely democratic and, in fact, desired by the vast majority of voters. And thus ended an evening that we can say was a huge success for the pro-Israel community.

April 15, 2010

Tonight, at 8:00 PM Israel time a siren will cut through the thoughts, actions and movements of every single Israeli, as memorial day for fallen soldiers commences.

For me, Memorial Day for Fallen Soldiers is a “civil Yom Kippur” as well.  A time to reflect deeply upon where we stand as people and as a nation.

Two weeks ago Miriam Peretz escorted her (second) son, Eliraz to his grave.  Maj. Eliraz Peretz, z”l, Deputy Commander of the Golani Brigade was killed in battle, 12 years after his older brother Lt. Uriel Peretz, was killed by a Hizbullah bomb in south Lebanon. Both brothers were in the Golani Brigade. Another son is currently serving in the same unit.

From the time of the death of her first son, Miriam knew what she was meant to do.  She went from school to school explaining the importance of the Israel Defense Force. Importance – not just in serving in the military, but in commanding and leading it.  She preaches it and she lives it.

Miriam Peretz is part if the myth of this country – a country where a small and brave nation fights for its right to live in peace “under his vine and under his fig tree”. Miriam does not come with complaints to God or to people. She does whatever she can to strengthen the Jewish people and nation.  Her son Eliraz, z”l was killed on the outskirts of Sderot, where there is no “Israeli occupation”. A front on which we fight for our right to a peaceful life, fighting both the Palestinian terrorists and the Goldstone Report.

Along with Eliraz, St.-Sgt. Maj. Ilan Sviatkovsky –-was killed. Ilan, a Russian immigrant, served as a fighter in the Barak battalion of the Golani Brigade out of true love for the Land of Israel. He was a young man, a new immigrant, who volunteered for combat service and served as a prime example of morals and responsibility.

And then we have Dr. Degani, the principle of the First Hebrew Gymnasia in Herzliya – who closes its doors to IDF officers who wish to expound the importance of serving and commanding in the Israel Defense Force. Degani explains that the military’s role is in borders and bases and not in schools !! and nobody beeps !!!

People like Eliraz and Ilan represent the better aspect of modern Israeli society.  A society that will shortly come to the point that it will have to clarify where it stands;

• with Miriam Peretz and what she represents
   
• or Dr. Degani – and what he represents.

This is the real and bitter conflict that confronts the Jewish people in our homeland and in our future.

Yossi

As part of its day-long Hockey Day in Canada programming, the CBC included a story on hockey in Israel and a live-feed interview with Sittler and Henderson.  The 6-minute segment aired just prior to the 6:00 news on Saturday and then again during the National.

Please view the segment at :

http://www.cbc.ca/video/#/Sports/Tim_Hortons_Hockey_Day_in_Canada/ID=1400344344

The flag walk display, to welcome the 2010 Winter Olympics to Vancouver, consists of flag decals from participating countries pasted on the sidewalks of the South Granville and Yaletown neighbourhoods in Vancouver.

On December 26, 2009, two  Israeli flag decals (there were five  in total) on the sidewalks in South Granville were defaced. An American flag decal was also defaced and temporarily removed, in an incident prior to the vandalism of the Israeli decals.

The South Granville Business Improvement Association (SGBIA) removed the decals from the sidewalk temporarily, but plans to have all decals replaced prior to the opening of the 2010 Winter Olympics. The Canada-Israel Committee Pacific Region is monitoring the situation closely and will keep you  aware of any changes to this information or any further developments.

Daniel Schloss
Pacific Region Manager, Advocacy
Tel:604-622-4242
E-mail: danschloss@cicweb.ca

Dr. Michael Elterman
Pacific Region Chairperson

Canada-Israel Committee extends good wishes to all who celebrate Christmas

Ottawa, Ontario
December 24, 2009

In holiday greetings to our Christian friends, Moshe Ronen, chair of the Canada-Israel Committee, said:

“At this holy time on the Christian calendar, we extend our good wishes to all who celebrate the birth of Jesus. We celebrate the gift of Christians, both within Israel and pilgrims from abroad, being able to visit the sites most sacred to them in the Holy Land. In that spirit, we call for a renewed sense of tolerance and mutual respect by all for all.”