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bulletin volume 73, no. 8

february 9, 2009

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Meet Israel’s new ambassador to Canada

By Michael Regenstreif Miriam Ziv arrived in Ottawa in midSeptember to begin a four-year term as Israel’s ambassador to Canada. A veteran diplomat and high-ranking official in Israel’s ministry of foreign affairs, she was quickly immersed in a busy schedule, here in the capital, and across the country.

The ambassador has already spoken at several Jewish community events in Ottawa, including the January 8 rally when hundreds packed the Soloway Jewish Community Centre to express their solidarity with Israel during its recent war with Hamas in the Gaza Strip.

The ambassador was at home in Israel visiting her adult twin sons over the Christmas break when the war broke out. However, she quickly returned to Ottawa to represent Israel in Canada at that difficult time.

On January 21, after Israel had declared a ceasefire in Gaza, Ziv sat down with the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin at the Israeli Embassy

for an exclusive interview that had been arranged to introduce the new ambassador to Ottawa’s Jewish community. The interview appointment had been booked weeks before the war broke out, but, naturally, the war and reaction to it in Canada became one of the discussion topics.

“The government of Canada was very clear on the way it saw the situation,” she said, “and put the blame [for the war] on the terrorist organization Hamas and their rocket shelling on Israel.”

Israel, she said, was grateful for the support it received from the Conservative government, the Liberal opposition and the Bloc Québécois.

The NDP was the only party in Parliament not to voice its support for Israel in its battle to end the eight years of Hamas rocket bombardment on communities like Sderot.

“But there was a statement from the NDP near the end of the war that was better,” she added.

(Continued on page 2)

Ambassador Miriam Ziv in her office beside an aerial photo of Jerusalem.

(OJB Photo: Michael Regenstreif)

JFS lunch for the homeless, ‘it’s a mitzvah’

By Cynthia Nyman Engel In what organizers – and participants – hope will become an annual event, some 200 street people dug into a free hot kosher lunch hosted

by Jewish Family Services (JFS) on January 27 at Beth Shalom Synagogue.

The grateful guests came in from the bitter cold where volunteers served them a hearty repast of bean and barley soup, fresh garden salad, Moroccan beef kafta, baked potato and caramelized roasted carrots, brownie and shortbread cookie.

Local musicians performed live throughout.

Inadvertently, the Embassy of Israel was the catalyst for the event.

“The embassy was looking for a

way to promote itself,” explained JFS Executive Director Mark Zarecki. “They wanted to do something with food, but it didn’t work out. So, instead, it turned into an opportunity for JFS to do what we do really well, which is creating collaborative relationships with other groups in the city.”

And collaborate they did. JFS contacted other local agencies that work with the homeless – Shepherds of Good Hope, Salvation Army, The Mission, Centre 454 and Christ Church Cathedral – and asked them to disseminate information, advise the appropriate clientele, and lend a hand. The response was positive and immediate. The result was a win-win situation for all and the first-ever

united effort among all the agencies.

“It’s a really impressive partnership,” said Andrea Gardner, JFS assistant executive director. “The other organizations pitched right in. They got the word out. They worked sideby-side with our Jewish community volunteers to make the day a success.

It was a wonderful collaborative effort.

“And everything was donated,” she added. “Beth Shalom donated the room and was exceptionally supportive. Creative Kosher Catering’s David Smith donated his services. A local Jewish butcher donated the meat and a local Jewish grocer donated the fresh produce. Loblaws donated the beverages. The Ottawa Cit(Continued on page 2)

Rabbi Arnold Fine shares a moment with a man enjoying the JFS lunch for the homeless at Beth Shalom.

(Photo: Colleen Gray)

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Page 2 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009

Ottawa has Jewish homeless (Continued from page 1)

izen donated 250 newspapers that were warmly received.

It’s been an absolutely marvellous experience.”

Among those enjoying the meal was Chad, 19, who said he lived on the streets for four or five years. “Now I live in a shelter and work with Operation Go Home,” he said. Chad is currently a father-in-waiting: his girlfriend is due to give birth to their child in a few months.

Karl, 42, who hails from British Columbia, was enjoying a second helping. “I lived on the streets for 10 years,” he said. “I was one of the kids

who fell through the cracks in society.” Karl works in construction when he can find work. “If you don’t keep your head up in the life we live, you’re really in trouble.”

Both Peter and his partner, Kathy, are out of work. “We’re so grateful for this meal,” said Kathy. “The plight of people who live like we do is horrible. I know people who are so desperate they will shovel driveways for a cigarette.”

Jane Scharf, longtime community activist, recent mayoral candidate and onetime street person herself, was impressed. “It’s a very nice, very intimate event and the

music was a nice touch,” she said. “I think it’s a really good way to show respect and caring for the community that is disadvantaged. Sharing the wealth is what community development is all about.

“It does make a difference,” she added. “It makes people feel respected and their dignity supported.”

Gladys Zarecki’s Knoxdale Middle School class manned the soft drink table.

The children also brought hats, gloves and soap to be distributed to the homeless.

Former addict and street person Pete Cassidy is now the primary outreach worker

for the JFS StreetSmarts program. “Seeing to the street people is a 24/7 job,” he explained. “Just think what this event means to these people.

Too often they are made to feel they don’t belong. They become isolated from the community. When an agency does this, it lets them feel, for five minutes, that they belong.”

Rabbi Arnold Fine often accompanies Cassidy, serving as chaplain to all faiths.

“There are perhaps 50 Jewish people living on the street in Ottawa,” said Rabbi Fine.

“Today, two or three new ones introduced themselves and

About 200 street people came in from the cold January 27 for a kosher lunch.

(Photo: Colleen Gray)

told me it was the first kosher food they’d had in a very long time.”

Jack Shinder, JFS board chair, was delighted with the response to the event. “This is so good on so many levels and so good for the Jewish community,” he said. “I hope it

will turn into annual event.”

Andree Copeland, a local songwriter, musician and performer, summed it up perfectly. “Thank you,” said the aboriginal woman and former street person to the organizers.

“What you did here today, it’s a mitzvah.”

Israel and Canada to celebrate 60 years of diplomatic relations (Continued from page 1)

Ziv said the mainstream media in Canada had a much better understanding of the reasons for the war with Hamas in Gaza than they did in 2006 when Israel was at war with Hezbollah in Lebanon.

“There was some criticism on the proportionality [of Israel’s response to Hamas], but their understanding was good.”

The ambassador said she hoped the Palestinian Authority would be able to take the lead in the rebuilding and rehabilitation of Gaza. The peace process, she said, continues with the Palestinian Authority and pointed to the fact that there was relatively

little unrest on the West Bank during the war in Gaza as evidence that the ongoing process is bearing fruit.

Ziv’s ambassadorship to Canada is actually her second posting in this country. She joined Israel’s foreign ministry as a cadet in 1972, “and my first diplomatic post was as vice-consul in Toronto from 1974 to 1979.”

After Toronto, Ziv worked in the foreign ministry in Israel and started a family with her husband, Ariel Kinet, also an Israeli diplomat (now retired). Their sons, now in their mid-20s, are studying in Israel after completing their military service.

The family spent six years in Rome from 1991 to 1997

where Kinet was Israel’s number two diplomat and Ziv was number three. Her primary responsibility in Rome was Israel’s relationship with the Vatican.

“I was a member of the bilateral commission that negotiated our relationship with the Holy See. We signed the document establishing our relations at the end of ’93,” and she remained in charge of Israel’s relations with the Vatican until the family returned to Israel in 1997.

Ziv said she and her husband chose to remain in Israel over the next decade because of their sons.

“They were with us in Rome, but we came back to Israel when they were Bar

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Mitzvah. Then it was high school and military service and we didn’t want to leave the kids behind when they were in the army.”

In Israel, Ziv held several top-level appointments in the foreign ministry. Her first assignment on returning from Rome was supervising Israel’s economic relations with the Palestinians.

She was soon promoted to the rank of deputy director general in the ministry and spent the years 2001 to 2005 overseeing Israel’s relations with the various countries of Africa; work she describes as “very special” because of the unique relationships Israel has forged with many African nations.

Her next assignment was as deputy director general for strategic affairs, a job that included taking charge of such portfolios as Iran, arms control and counter-terrorism.

Iran remains one of Israel’s major concerns, not only because of its efforts to acquire nuclear capability and the threat that poses to Israel and the international com-

munity, but also because it is the major benefactor of the two main terrorist threats on Israel’s borders: Hezbollah in Lebanon and Hamas in Gaza.

“When we talk about Iran and the prospects for stopping their nuclear program, we always said that all options are on the table,” said Ziv. “That’s a very generic statement, but we are putting all of our diplomatic efforts into convincing the international community to exert economic pressure on Iran; to create a situation where Iran will have to stop its enrichment program and, eventually, also stop the program.”

Diplomatic travels on the Iran dossier brought Ziv to many foreign capitals. “We went all over. I was here in Ottawa in September, 2007.”

With a new American administration taking over in Washington, Ziv pointed out that President Barack Obama has been very clear on the issue: Iran cannot be allowed to achieve nuclear capability. Congressional leaders in the U.S. – Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives – also hold that position.

Turning to her priorities as ambassador to Canada, Ziv said that, while Israel and Canada have excellent relations, “we’d still like to see how we can expand on what we have. There is a lot going on in [such areas as] trade, innovation, the environment and biotechnology.

There’s a lot to exchange, a lot to work on together, not only

with government, but also with universities.”

Ziv said maintaining contact with the federal government remains a priority, also with the opposition parties.

She also spoke about expanding relations with the provinces. “We’ve signed a very good trade agreement with Quebec. I would like to do the same with other provinces as well.”

This year marks the 60th anniversary of Israel’s relations with Canada, which recognized the State of Israel on May 11, 1949 and Ziv said she wants to celebrate those 60 years of good relations throughout the year.

“Canada is one of our best friends in the world. There’s a special history that goes back to ’47, when Canada supported the partition resolution that brought about the State of Israel.”

Celebrations, she hopes, will take place across Canada and could include university seminars and cultural events to honour the shared values of the Israeli and Canadian peoples.

Ziv added she’s looking forward to collaborating with the Jewish community in Ottawa, and with other communities across the country, on these celebrations over the course of the year.

“We’ve been dealing with the Gaza crisis and I’m hoping that we can soon get back to normal, go on the road and talk to the various Jewish communities in Canada.”

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 – Page 3

Page 4 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009

Leo Adler visits Ottawa campuses to discuss recent war with Hamas

By Liana Shlien “Mutual recognition of the other’s right to exist” is a requirement for peace, according to Leo Adler. “Wars are nasty, wars are terrible, but they occur when one refuses to recognize the legitimacy of the other.”

Adler, director of national affairs for the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies, spoke January 20, at Carleton University, about whether Israel’s recent war with Hamas in Gaza was justified.

“When Hamas was elected, they made it very clear that their goal wasn’t simply to end an occupation in Gaza or even the West Bank. It was to make sure that there would be no Israel,” he said, stating that rocket attacks aimed at Israeli schools and community centres increased after Hamas seized power in Gaza from the Palestinian Authority.

Adler noted Hamas’s strategic decisions to place rocket launchers, training bases and weapons facilities close to civilian homes, schools, hospitals and mosques.

“It could not be said that the citizens of Gaza were unaware of these placements.”

Adler pointed out that Israel warned the Palestinians in Gaza via leaflets, telephone calls and radio announcements in advance of attacks in the recent war, but “not once has Hamas ever given advance warning of any of their attacks.”

He also said Hamas chose to spend international

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Leo Adler of the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Center for Holocaust Studies discusses Israel’s recent war with Hamas in Gaza at Carleton University.

(OJB Photo: Liana Shlien

aid money on armaments instead of medical supplies.

“Ultimately, it is Hamas that controls the distribution of what aid does come in and they use it as a form of control.”

Adler lamented that, throughout Israel’s history, “the Palestinians have missed every opportunity to come out ahead, and that is the real tragedy. They are pawns in the hands of their own brothers, sisters and cousins.”

He said the Palestinians need to implement selfchange and reassert themselves over Hamas.

Adler’s talk took place on the evening of Barak Obama’s inauguration as president of the United States and he reminded the audience of the changes in American society over the past 40 years that made his election possible.

Through much of the presentation, Adler drew comparisons between Israel and other democratic nations, including Canada, which have had to deal with political turmoil and terrorism.

“No democracy has ever existed unchallenged,” he said. “When facing threats, a democracy must rise up and must defend itself, its citizens, and the very ideals that define it as a democracy. Not to do so is, in effect, to defeat one’s self, lose one’s people and withdraw from the ranks of democracy.”

Adler has spoken around the world about war crimes, the International Criminal Court, human rights, national security and terrorism and was appointed by the Canadian government to the Cross-Cultural Roundtable on National Security.

Adler was also a member, at the invitation of the government of the Russian Federation, of the NGO organizational committee for the 2006 G8 Summit in Saint Petersburg. There, he encouraged the NGOs’ adoption of a resolution condemning suicide-bombing.

Adler’s appearances at Carleton, and the next evening at the University of Ottawa, were presented by the Israel Awareness Committee and Hillel Ottawa.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 – Page 5

Federation surveys young adult population

By Jeff Bradshaw Senior Director of Planning Jewish Federation of Ottawa In the fall of 2008, the Jewish Federation of Ottawa surveyed young adults to measure their attitudes toward the Jewish community.

The information we collected included what part of the city partici-

pants live in, their patterns of synagogue attendance and participation in Federation Young Adult events, their views on the Ottawa Jewish community and their most meaningful Jewish experiences.

There were 209 respondents between the ages of 18 and 35, representing about 5 per cent of the tar-

Mailbag More coverage of women needed in sports column Regarding the sports column, The O-Zone, by Irv Osterer (January 23).

I am surprised that there was no mention of any women who are involved with team or individual sports. This is not the first time this has occurred in The O-Zone. If we, as a community, are trying to connect and be inclusive, more effort should be made to remedy this unbalanced regular feature.

Debra Viner Editor’s note: Irv Osterer points out that most of the professional sports he’s covered – hockey, football, baseball, etc. – are still male bastions. As for the community sports information he includes in the monthly O-Zone column, much of it is supplied to him by Jon Braun at the Soloway JCC and it seems that boys’ parents in the community have been much more proactive about keeping Jon and Irv up-to-date about their kids’ activities than have girls’ parents (nudge, nudge). “That being said,” says Irv, “the criticism is fair, and I will try to do my part to build some gender equity into future columns.”

get population. The information gathered will help Federation and its member agencies better serve this emerging generation.

While most people believe that young professionals are transient and not settled down in Ottawa, 49 per cent of survey respondents have lived in Ottawa for 10 years or more and 69 per cent said the Jewish community resources are userfriendly, welcoming and easy to locate.

Not surprisingly, 50 per cent of participants had their most meaningful Jewish experience while in Israel participating in the March of the Living or Birthright programs.

These are very encouraging findings.

This age group is approaching community-building differently than earlier generations. They are continually creating small Jewish networks centred on common interests or common experiences and allowing fluid membership into what would be best considered a social group with common purpose. In previous generations, there needed to be a central location, such as Hillel or synagogues, for this socialization and congregation to happen.

These new types of groups re-

Survey respondents were entered in a contest to win a Nintendo Wii. Winner Ariella Singer (centre) receives the prize from Jewish Federation of Ottawa young adult professional Lindsay Rothenberg and Federation President and CEO Mitchell Bellman.

quire little or no infrastructure.

They often just use a Facebook group to co-ordinate their activities.

Meetings in coffee shops, malls and restaurants are the norm and, often, their preferred method of interaction. This requires a new kind of service from the community, a new kind of engagement and a new way

forward.

The organized Jewish community cannot continue to employ the same paradigms and strategies that have worked in the past and expect them to work forever. We need to carefully consider how we can recognize, validate and support these new realities and adapt for success.

Page 6 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009

Our Jewish community is not immune to the economic turmoil A rising tide raises all ships.

It’s fun being the chair of a charity in boom times. People feel flush and generous in times of economic prosperity. If you do your job right, you can do more good with more money and everyone is relatively satisfied.

We are now living the old curse, “May you live in interesting times.”

The Canadian economy is going through a period of upheaval, along with the rest of the globe.

Our Jewish community is not immune to these pressures.

On the service side, we will be called upon to provide more services as this downturn hurts our most vulnerable.

As well, there will be members of our community impacted in the high-tech and financial services fields. For those who thought of retiring in the next few years, there is anxiety as to the ability to do so.

Where does this leave us? Our annual campaign is not raising the dollars needed

Federation Report Jonathan Freedman Chair to meet these needs.

We at the Federation Board level will have to be making some hard decisions about whether to cut and how to cut. We don’t take these decisions lightly, and our deliberations will be long and hard.

Is there something we can do about this as a community?

I think the answer is yes.

I feel that, if we look deeply at our core Jewish values, we will realize now is the time for all of us to step forward and be counted.

One of our main beliefs is Tikkun Olam, making the world a better place. If we

believe in a larger mission in life for ourselves, a mission of leaving the world a better place, then money in itself is not the goal. It is a yardstick for success in business, but it is how we use that money that truly makes a difference.

In times of trouble, we have always risen to the challenge in Ottawa.

When one of our leaders, Chick Taylor, came to canvass me for our family gift to the community endowment campaign he helped co-chair, he told me that, when he gave more charity than he thought he could

afford, when he gave until it hurt, somehow a year later he looked back and saw that his income had well exceeded his expectations.

This is an example of Jewish values at their best.

In times of trouble, we have always risen to the challenge in Ottawa. When Israel was in need, we held successful emergency campaigns. When the real estate market was at is lowest ebb in the 1990s, the visionaries and the leaders of our community raised an unprecedented capital amount to build our Jewish Community Campus, a campus that now makes us all proud.

I don’t want our donors to think they are unappreciated. We thank you for your gift.

However, we are living in interesting times.

Can we all dig a little deeper and not force us into cuts in programming? For those who can’t spare money, is there some extra volunteer time you can give so the cost of some of the programming will be less, or so we can reach more of the vulnerable?

Parents the most important Jewish educators and role models How do your children see you?

If they are under eight, you are probably the most wonderful, fantastic, warm, cuddly, loving parent in the world. If they are older than 10, you are likely the most boring, singularly uncool, repressive, unfair, mean person who ever walked the face of the planet. If they are over 21, you just might be all right.

Now, how do they see you as a Jew? Not just what they hear you say about being Jewish, but what do they see you do?

In your family’s daily, weekly or monthly routine, what kind of involvement and commitment to Jews and Judaism do your children see?

They wait in line with you at the grocery store; do they stand with you to light candles? They see you in a tuxedo; do they see you in teffillin? Your children hear you discuss the economy; do they hear about the importance of tzedakah and supporting the community? They see how it is important to get to the hockey rink on time; do they see

From the pulpit Rabbi Charles S. Popky Agudath Israel the same eagerness when going to synagogue? They see how we value involvement in many activities; do they see us encouraging their Jewish participation?

As parents, we are our children’s most important Jewish educators and role models. More than schools, synagogues and summer camps, our homes convey Jewish identity and commitment. That is not to deny the importance of these other institutions, and the efforts to improve the institutions and programs that provide Jewish learning to our children must remain a priority for our community. However, the greatest boost we can give these institutions

Letters welcome Letters to the Editor are welcome if they are brief, signed, timely and of interest to our readership.

The Bulletin reserves the right to refuse, edit or condense letters.

The Mailbag column will be published as space permits.

Send your letters to Michael Regenstreif, Ottawa Jewish Bulletin, 21 Nadolny Sachs Private, Ottawa, Ontario K2A 1R9; or by e-mail to mregenstreif@ottawajewishbulletin.com.

is to raise our children in an environment that encourages a deep and abiding engagement with Judaism and supports the hard work of these institutions.

Indeed, we picture our children saying, “I want a Jewish future.”

But, are the choices they see us make, the kinds of choices we hope they will make to ensure that future?

What choices do we make for our homes? Do the rhythms of Shabbat and the holidays pulse through our lives?

What decisions do we make for our children’s Jewish education? Are they based on convenience, or on content and commitment?

What choices do we make about being part of the Jewish community? Are we active or passive members of its organizations?

What is the level of our Jewish literacy?

Do our children see us learning and trying to know and understand our tradition? Do we dutifully mouth the words of Leviticus, “Love your neighbor as yourself,” or do we try and express in all our interpersonal relationships the teachings of Genesis, that each person is made “b’tselem Elohim (in the image of God)?”

We Jews have a tendency to see ourselves as always in crisis, the Fiddler on the Roof ready to fall off the edge. We fret about Jewish continuity and survival.

The response, of course, is to live a Jewishly meaningful life now, to make Jewish choices that truly reflect our commitment to Jewish identity and values.

And remember: your children are watching.

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Tel: (613) 798-4696. Fax: (613) 798-4730. Email: bulletin@ottawajewishbulletin.com. Published 19 times a year. © copyright february 9, 2009 PUBLISHER: The Ottawa Jewish Bulletin Publishing Co. Ltd. EDITOR EMERITUS: Barry Fishman EDITOR: Michael Regenstreif PRODUCTION MANAGER: Brenda Van Vliet BUSINESS MANAGER: Rhoda Saslove-Miller STAFF REPORTER: Liana Shlien ADVISORY COMMITTEE: Seymour Diener, chair; Anna Bilsky; Stephen Bindman; Mark Buckshon; Jack Cramer; Diane Koven; Louise Rachlis; Michael Wollock.

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Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 – Page 7

Rising to the challenge of these hard times Finally, after 52 long, cold winter days, the OC Transpo strike ended when the City of Ottawa and the Amalgamated Transit Union Local 279 agreed to binding arbitration on January 29.

However, because the buses had not been serviced, maintained or inspected for almost two months, it was announced it would take until February 9 – the publication date of this issue of the Bulletin – for the first busses to start rolling again and up to 14 weeks, almost twice as long as the strike itself, for full service to be restored to all routes.

The further you are from the city centre, the longer it will take before you see a bus at your stop. Hardest hit routes could eventually be without bus service for more than five months.

The strike could not have come at a worse time. We were already into the worst global economic crisis since the Depression and what has turned out to be one of the harshest winters in decades.

It was only the threat of federal legislation after more than seven weeks of strike that led the city and the union to the lastminute agreement to submit to binding arbitration. However, it was pretty clear from the outset of the strike that positions of both the city and the union were so entrenched that legislation or arbitration

Editor Michael Regenstreif would be the only means to the end. Given the obviousness of the situation, they should have gone to arbitration from the get-go and avoided the inconvenience – as the mayor put it – to all transit users and the motorists who normally share the roads, and the very real suffering for far too many people, including our most vulnerable.

The Jewish community is generally perceived as relatively affluent. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t significant poverty and hardship in the community. Long before the current crisis, it was estimated that about 17 per cent of Canadian Jews, including about 20 per cent of Jewish seniors, live below the poverty line. The current crisis has exacerbated the situation, and will continue to do so.

A little over a year ago, Barry Fishman wrote in this space about the problems the Kosher Food Bank, headquartered at Congregation Agudath Israel, was having just in keeping up with the demands of serving

its already established clientele. You can be sure the demand will increase as unemployment rises during this economic crisis.

The situation for some Jews in Ottawa is so dire that they live on the streets. We have a story on Pages 1 and 2 by Cynthia Engel about the kosher lunch Jewish Family Services (JFS) served January 27 to 200 homeless people at Beth Shalom Synagogue.

About 17 per cent of Canadian Jews, including about 20 per cent of Jewish seniors, live below the poverty line.

At the lunch, Rabbi Arnold Fine, who works with the JFS StreetSmarts program to provide chaplaincy services to Ottawa’s homeless, estimated there are about 50 homeless Jews living on Ottawa’s streets and that several more were newly identified that day. When Barry wrote that column in late-2007, the StreetSmarts estimate was that 10 to 12 homeless Jews

lived on the streets in Ottawa. Clearly, things have already worsened.

Some of you may be shocked to learn there are homeless Jews living in Ottawa.

These are not people worried about making the payments on second or third cars; they’re people worried about whether they’ll have a second or third meal every day.

By the way, organizers and volunteers expected to serve at least double the number of about 200 who turned up for the lunch. But, without bus service, many of the homeless beyond walking distance of Beth Shalom could not get there.

All of these problems, the effects of the bus strike, the economic crisis, poverty – in the Jewish community and in society at large – are symptoms of the hard times we’re living in.

As Jonathan Freedman discusses in the Federation Report on Page 6, the economic crisis has a very real impact on the community’s ability to help our most vulnerable just as more people are becoming more at risk. Jonathan points out that the community has always risen to the challenges of difficult times and, as he says, it’s up to us to do so now by digging deeper into our pockets and/or donating that great human resource, volunteer time, so that programs and services can be maintained and expanded to meet the greater demand.

Putting water in Harper’s ideological wine Sometimes the best way to put present circumstances in perspective and to figure out what to expect in future is to look back at the past.

With that in mind, I dug out an old report card.

The comments started out well: “The positives are impressive: he has a brilliant strategic mind, a sound grasp of public policy, and good communications skills in both French and English.”

Not bad. On the other hand: “The negatives – his mistrust of the grassroots, his tendency not to be a team player… and the tendency to withdraw – are manageable if they are acknowledged and compensated for by the strengths of others.”

Well, there you have it. The good and the bad. A blunt assessment of protegé by mentor.

The protegé, in this case, is the prime minister of Canada. And the mentor is no political detractor, but rather Preston Manning, the man who gave Stephen Harper his first job in politics, as his trusted lieutenant in the Reform Party that Manning founded and led.

The Reform Party, of course, morphed into the Canadian Alliance, which Stephen Harper eventually led into a merger with the old Progressive Conservative Party. The united-right party – the big-C Conservatives – then took power. Harper became prime

Alan Echenberg minister and the small-c conservative revolution that Manning championed became reality in Canada.

Not so fast.

Did you happen to hear about the federal budget released late last month? Huge deficits, massive spending, the addition of a forecasted $85-billion to the national debt over five years, the creation of a new Trudeauesque regional development agency – this one for recession-ravaged Southern Ontario, and – hard to believe, but true – money for culture and the arts.

The old Reform Party – indeed, the old Harper – would have furiously attacked any government that dared to propose this kind of a budget. The old Harper would have called it wasteful, irresponsible – liberal.

Instead, it was his party and his government that introduced just such a budget.

Clearly, Toto, we’re not in Kansas anymore.

What we’re in, of course, is a global economic crisis. And the budget is a reaction to

that. Governments – conservative and liberal alike – all over the Western world are proposing similar measures to stimulate their economies.

In their budget document, Canada’s Conservatives described their measures as timely, targeted and temporary. Whether or not they turn out to be any of those things won’t be evident for many months.

What the measures clearly are not is conservative.

The government anticipates that once things improve, it will be able to revert to its more traditional approach of slashing spending, paying down the debt, and shrinking the role of government in the economy instead of expanding it.

That may be wishful thinking. History has shown that it’s much easier to open the spending taps than it is to close them again.

Of course, every budget is not only an economic blueprint, but also a political document. This one perhaps more than others because it comes after the government’s near-death experience last fall. The budget was designed to save the government from defeat at the hands of a newly united opposition.

In that respect, it seems to have succeeded, at least in the short run. The morning after the budget’s release, Liberal Leader Michael Ignatieff told reporters he was putting the Conservatives “on probation”

and the official Opposition would support the budget as long as the government agreed to regular reports to Parliament on the progress of the economy.

That’s a heck of a lot better for Harper than what Ignatieff’s predecessor, Stéphane Dion, was offering last fall – namely, an immediate vote of non-confidence in the government and its replacement by a coalition government.

This brings us back to the observations Manning made about Harper in his 2002 autobiography.

Global economic crisis aside, the reason the government had to move as far as it did from its core philosophical beliefs in introducing such a budget is tied to some of the negative characteristics that Manning observed in his former lieutenant.

Harper’s mistrust of consultation, his goit-alone instincts, led him astray, revitalized his political opposition and created a situation where his government will be forced to consult opponents more than ever before and put a tremendous amount of water in its ideological wine if it wants to survive.

If you disagree with the Conservative Party’s ideology, you’ll see that as a good thing for the country. But if you’re a true believer, you may be pining for the days of Reform.

Alan Echenberg is TVOntario’s Parliamentary bureau chief.

Page 8 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009

Volunteer spotlight

Activist student leader heads Hillel Ottawa

By Benita Siemiatycki At the youthful age of 21, Raphael Szajnfarber speaks with the poise and clarity of someone twice his age.

A fourth-year Carleton University student, Raphael studies public affairs and policy management, specializing in international studies, with a minor in political science. It’s not difficult to see where that might take him.

In his first year of university, Raphael was accepted into the House of Commons page program where he got to see “Parliament in action.” The page program gives university students rare access to witness and participate in the proceedings of the House of Commons. He is still a regular on Parliament Hill, conducting public tours of the Hill as a part-time job.

Apart from being a fulltime student and a part-time tour guide, Raphael holds the voluntary position of president of Hillel Ottawa,

which represents Jewish students on the Algonquin, Carleton and University of Ottawa campuses. That role has catapulted him into the spotlight as he gives media interviews, meets with high level university administrators, and tackles difficult advocacy work on behalf of Jewish students. He ensures that Hillel organizations on the three campuses are consistent in their messaging, acts as a liaison between the three groups and communicates with the broader Jewish community.

The biggest obstacle Hillel Ottawa faces is challenging the anti-Israel – and sometimes anti-Jewish – sentiments on campus, Raphael says. He laments the amount of time spent on these negative activities, when his preferred role for Hillel Ottawa is to organize positive activities and spirit for students. His days are unpredictable, depending on what is happening in the Middle East, or even what is

Raphael Szajnfarber urges young people to volunteer for any cause they are passionate about.

(OJB Photo: Benita Siemiatycki)

happening on campus, that requires his attention.

The Hillel Ottawa job, on average, takes about 10 to 15 hours per week, not counting “all the thinking”

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that, he says, goes on continuously.

Raphael admits that prioritizing his schoolwork and his volunteer work isn’t easy. Until now, he’s tried to do both, and so far, so good.

“There’s a fine line between being not busy enough and being too busy. I haven’t found the balance yet. But I prefer to be too busy than not busy enough,” Raphael explains.

Raphael grew up in Ottawa, attending public schools. A graduate of Nepean High School’s immersion program, he wanted to improve his spoken French even further and boarded

with French-speaking families in Quebec for two summers as part of the federal government’s Explore Education program.

Raphael wasn’t always active in Hillel Ottawa. In fact, he didn’t participate much until last school year when he was personally urged to go to events by Samuel Konig, the former Hillel Ottawa advocacy associate. Once he met people and participated in Hillel’s activities, Raphael threw his name into the ring to be on the executive and became the city-wide president last summer.

Alana Kayfetz, executive director of Hillel Ottawa, is thrilled with Raphael’s leadership.

“Raffi is a wonderful student leader and a great example for other young Jewish students,” she says. “He is truly dedicated and shows amazing promise for the future of our community. We love having him on board and are very lucky to have him as the key leader of our student group.”

Last year, Raphael volunteered for SHOUT (Students Helping Others Understand Tolerance), an organization of university students from across the country who go to Poland to learn about the Holocaust as a backdrop to understanding past and current genocides.

The group actively speaks out against racism and intolerance.

Raphael will leave Hillel Ottawa this summer and move to Montreal to study law at McGill University.

He’s not certain if he wants to practise as a lawyer, but sees invaluable benefits from developing the analytical and oratorical skills that a legal education will provide. His ultimate career goal, wherever it leads him, is to work in an area of policy “that can affect social change.”

He is following in the footsteps of his parents, Evelyn Cooperstein and Zelik Szajnfarber, who are both trained lawyers and have worked in the federal public service on tribunals and in semi-judicial roles.

Older sister Zoe is currently completing a PhD at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in technology policy and aerospace engineering.

He urges other young people to volunteer their time toward any cause they are passionate about. The Hillel experience has allowed him to run meetings, deal with the media, work with all sorts of people and meet with university presidents. None of that, he says, can be learned in the classroom.

Benita Siemiatycki of the Jewish Ottawa InfoCentre profiles community volunteers in the Bulletin. Many organizations are in desperate need of volunteers. Call the InfoCentre at 613-7984644 for information.

What’s happening at

Congregation Beth Shalom Sunday, February 15

Father/Son Tallit and Tefillin Club

Monday, February 23

Book Club

Thursday, March 5

Kibbitz Club Seniors Lunch

Friday, March 6

Shabbat Dinner Series

Sunday, March 15

Father/Son Tallit and Tefillin Club

Watch for more upcoming events. Everyone is Welcome!

For more information, please contact the synagogue at 613-789-3501, ext. 223 or info@bethshalom.ca www.bethshalom.ca

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 – Page 9

Agudath lecture looks inside an extraordinary mind

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Ottawa JNF 2009 Tu Bi’Shevat Telethon: Thank you for answering the call The annual JNF Tu Bi’Shevat Telethon took place on Sunday and, on behalf of JNF Ottawa, I want to thank all those who participated. The work of phoning our many donors in the Ottawa Jewish community depends on the help of numerous volunteers. Under the very able leadership of Chairs Jane and Martin Gordon, and with the generous assistance of our sponsors, four shifts of volunteers spent their valuable free time on Sunday calling for donations for JNF. Each year, Ottawa responds with singular generosity, and JNF is very grateful for your ongoing support. Special thanks go to Northern Management Services, Nine To Five Coffee, Regional Realty and Rideau Bakery for their generous assistance.

The specific theme of this year’s Telethon is to plant trees in memory of Eldad Regev z”l and Ehud Goldwasser z”l in Adamit Park in the Upper Galilee, an area in the north in close proximity to where they were kidnapped and where almost a million trees were burnt by more than 4,000 Katyusha rockets during the war with Hezbollah in 2006.

But JNF is active throughout Israel, of course, including the part of the country that came under fire from rockets launched from Gaza. Of all the various projects that JNF has undertaken in the south, the security roads in agricultural areas and around communities have the greatest effect on the daily lives of the residents and soldiers in the area. The security roads provide access for local farmers to agricultural regions so they can take care of the immediate needs of the crops – even under fire. They can also be used in times of emergency by all residents within range of the missiles.

If our callers were not able to reach you on Sunday, you still have an opportunity in the coming weeks to donate when we make our follow-up calls, mainly with the help of a call-centre in Israel that we have used successfully in the past two years. Please respond generously when the JNF Tu Bi’Shevat Telethon calls. Or, if you prefer, please telephone Susan Schwartzman in our JNF office at 613-798-2411 with your Tu Bi’Shevat Telethon donation.

Finally, on behalf of the Executive and Board of JNF of Ottawa, I would like to wish a full and speedy recovery, extending a heartfelt refuah shleimah, to Noam Mendelson, son of our Executive Director Mark and his wife Edna.

While volunteering in a paratrooper unit in the IDF, Noam was diagnosed and is now receiving treatment.

By Helen Zipes Adult Education Committee Agudath Israel Congregation Daniel Tammet, the British author of Born on a Blue Day: Inside the Extraordinary Mind of an Autistic Savant, spoke January 15 at Agudath Israel Congregation about his experiences as an autistic savant and his theories on the mind.

Tammet’s lecture was sponsored by the Agudath adult education committee and drew a crowd of 300.

Tammet, 30, has been diagnosed with Asperger’s syndrome and is considered a linguistic and mathematical genius. He set a European record, March 14, 2004, when he recited the mathematical constant Pi (3.141...) to 22,514 decimal places from memory in a time of five hours, nine minutes.

Brainman, a 2005 documentary film about Tammet, has been shown in more than 40 countries and he has been interviewed on the Late Show with David Letterman, ABC News, 60 Minutes and Good Morning America.

Born on a Blue Day, his 2006 memoir, was a New York Times bestseller that sold more than a half-million copies worldwide. It has been translated into 18 languages.

At Agudath, Tammet spoke about his childhood and family life as the oldest of nine children. Because his parents were so busy dealing with his younger brothers and sisters, he said he had to learn to become more independent.

Describing his experiences in at-

(Photo: Rick Zipes)

tending a regular school, Tammet said that, because of his autism, he did not seek out others and spoke very little.

However, he came to realize that he was lonely and learned to watch and copy other children to develop more appropriate social behaviour.

Because he is now so verbal, neuroscientists in California and the United Kingdom have studied him as he is able to describe, to a certain extent, how his mind works and what he sees when he does mathematical calculations in his head.

Tammet spoke about his new book, Embracing the Wide Sky: A Tour Across the Horizons of the Mind, in

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which he describes his theories about how the brain works and the differences and similarities between savant and non-savant minds.

Tammet said he does not agree that IQ tests measure intelligence. He theorized that there is so much more to intelligence than can be quantified by a single number and it is unreasonable to expect that those with the same IQ number would have similar intelligence.

He also suggested that the normal mind is capable of being trained and utilized to a much greater extent.

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Page 10 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009

Serving up energy action at the Tu B’Shvat seder

By Barbara Lerman-Golomb NEW YORK (JTA) – I am always thinking about climate change. So, this year, as I sample the foods traditionally eaten at the Tu B’Shvat seder to commem-

orate springtime in Israel – dates, almonds and figs, to name a few – I’ll not only be thinking about the farmers who planted them, but the distance the foods travelled and the amount of greenhouse gases associated

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with their journey.

According to the Worldwatch Institute, the average food item travels 1,500 to 2,500 miles from farm to fork. For many, the foods featured at the seder are not locally grown and therefore catapult that food miles figure off the charts, increasing our carbon footprint.

One way to assuage our guilt is to be more intentional in taking energy-efficient actions, or to purchase carbon offsets to make up the difference for the carbon emissions being released in the atmosphere from our seder food choices.

We can even integrate energy action into the four worlds of the Kabbalistic Tu B’Shvat seder.

The seder begins with the first world: Olam HaAssiyah, the world of action – concrete actions. One way to elevate this off the page is by engaging in emissionsreducing projects as simple as installing compact fluorescent light, or CFL, bulbs; no longer taking plastic bags or purchasing plastic water bottles, to driving less and eating mostly locally grown, organic food; or reducing our meat intake.

The second world: Olam Ha’Yetzirah, the world of formation. It is the world in which we celebrate the ability to cause a transformation of raw materials. We have the ability to think creative-

ly when it comes to solving our energy problems. We can transform renewable sources such as solar and wind into healthier, more sustainable energy rather than burning finite carbonbased fossil fuels that add greenhouse gases to the atmosphere.

The third world: Olam Hab’riyah, the world of creation. According to many rabbinic sources, the prohibitions and obligations involved in observing Shabbat, the ultimate celebration of Creation, directly reflect our responsibility to protect the Earth. To truly recognize and honour the beauty and integrity of Creation, we need to refrain from over-consumption. This and other actions that negatively impact our world waste energy, which can result in changing the climate.

Finally, the fourth world: Olam Ha’Atzilut, the world of emanation. It is the purely spiritual world in which we are appreciative of the Source of all Creation and in awe of the mystery of Creation.

Actions such as purchasing carbon offsets and cleaner energy can seem ethereal and mysterious.

They aren’t tangible physical actions, so investing in them often is a leap of faith.

But, sometimes, we need to take actions that are based on faith alone because it’s

Barbara Lerman-Golomb advocates an environmental action plan inspired by the Kabbalistic Tu B'Shvat seder.

(Photo: hazon.org)

the right thing to do.

There is a Talmudic tale often told at Tu B’Shvat of Honi, who planted trees in his time that would bear fruit for future generations.

It is a reminder of our responsibility and that our actions in this world do make a difference.

Calculate your carbon footprint and find out how many worlds would be needed if everyone on the planet lived like you.

Barbara LermanGolomb is the director of community relations for Hazon, a Jewish environmental organization.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 – Page 11

Summer of fun at Soloway JCC camps

By Pamela Rosenberg for Soloway JCC While the snow continues to pile up outside, the Soloway Jewish Community Centre (JCC) summer camp crew is busy assembling its team of counsellors and putting everything in place for what promises to be another great season.

Camp veterans, Shayna Leikin and Jon Braun, both bring a wealth of enthusiasm, energy and experience to their respective jobs as Soloway JCC Summer Day Camps director and executive director.

Leikin, a former Soloway JCC camper herself, is a senior kindergarten teacher with the Ottawa Carleton District School Board. She was in charge of the three- and four-year-old campers in 2007 and was assistant camp director last year.

“I have always felt that the JCC was a home away from home,” she said. “I was a camper for seven years and then a CIT. Some of my best memories are of the performances we used to put on at the end of each summer on the big stage at the Chapel Street building.”

Anyone who has ever stepped foot into the Soloway JCC gymnasium or enrolled a child in a sports program knows Braun. He has been a part of the Soloway JCC summer camps for 18 years as both director of sports camps and executive director of the summer camps.

“The best time of year at the Soloway JCC is definitely the summer because of the summer camps. With close to 400 kids between the ages of two and 15 on campus throughout July and August, we offer a wide variety of experiences through our theme-based day camps, the unique travel-

Jon Braun (left) and Shayna Leikin are putting the Soloway JCC summer camps programs into place.

ling sports camp and specialty camps. Add it all up and it really is the best summer of your life,” said Braun.

With a full-size indoor salt water pool and an outdoor pool on-site, all Soloway JCC day campers get two daily dips in the water included in the summer fun.

Lifesaving Society program swimming lessons are free and incorporated into the daily activities. Certified Lifesaving Society swim instructors place children in the appropriate level, based on a screening or on their previous swim experience.

All children at the day camp and the travelling sports camp, no matter how many weeks they attend, are taught to swim. Ac-

incorporated into each day’s activities through drama, music, sports and dance.

In addition to the ever-popular JCC Day Camp, Junior Jocks and the Travelling Sports Camp, there are 10 unique specialty camps, including the new Fit Kids Have Fun, a program devoted to showing nine- to 13-year-olds fun and healthy ways to keep fit.

On the specialty camps roster for this summer are Girls on the Go (eight-12), Horseback Riding Camp (10-14), Bike Touring Camp (nine-13), Hockey/Golf Camp (seven-10 and 11-14), Tennis Camp (eight-12), Soccer Camp (nine-12), French AIM Programme Camp, Girl Power Camp (eight-12) and All-Star Basketball Camp (eight-12 and 12-15).

Campers with a taste for adventure love Travelling Sports Camp. This unique program has kids learning and playing a variety of sports in the morning and travelling to a different Ottawa destination each afternoon.

For more information on the Soloway JCC Summer Day Camp, call Shayna Leikin at 613-798-9818, ext. 305.

For information on the Travelling Sports Camp and the various specialty camps, call Jon Braun at ext. 267. Or visit jccottawa.com.

Brochures and registration forms are available at the Soloway JCC front desk.

cording to Robin Jordan, Soloway JCC aquatics director, most will improve their swimming abilities. Children registered in camp for at least two weeks have a greater chance of passing to a higher level.

Soloway JCC Summer Camps take place at the Jewish Community Centre which boasts a large indoor gymnasium, playgrounds with kid friendly play structures, air conditioned rooms for the two- to five-year-old campers and EXPERIENCE THE DIFFERENCE plenty of shaded and grassy outdoor space to run and Courteous Dependable Prompt Service play. Each week ends with a Exclusively Competitive Shabbat celebration.

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Page 12 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009

CHW Annual Campaign kicks off with some fun

By Debbie Baylin Ottawa CHW The kickoff for Ottawa’s Canadian Hadassah-WIZO (CHW) annual campaign for 2009 will benefit the community and put some ‘fun’ into fundraising.

On Sunday, February 22, from 1 to 4 pm, Temple Israel will be the spot to bring wish list items for three local charities and then settle in for an afternoon of scrabble, bridge, monopoly, cribbage, backgammon, mah jong, trivia and more.

Ottawa’s CHW annual campaign will be conducted in a telethon on Monday and Tuesday, March 2 and 3

from Gina and Howard Grant’s at PPI Consulting.

“The annual campaign is the lifeblood of Canadian Hadassah-WIZO. It provides the very muchneeded funds to support our schools, day cares, women’s support programs and hospitals on a daily basis,” said Terry Schwarzfeld, CHW national president.

The community is invited to participate in the campaign kickoff. Come socialize, have some fun and help fulfil the wish list of three deserving Ottawa charities.

In keeping with CHW’s focus on children, healthcare

and women, we are collecting items for the Boys and Girls Club of Ottawa, the Hospice at May Court and Interval House.

Items that are needed for these charities include linens, arts and crafts supplies and computer games.

Copies of the wish lists are available online at chw.ca/Ottawa, by e-mail request to info@ottawa. chw.ca or by calling the CHW Ottawa office at 613798-7644.

Admission to the kickoff event at Temple Israel is $5 and refreshments will be served. An RSVP to the CHW office would be

(Left to right) Betty Altman, Debbie Goldstein, Susana Bleuer, Marilyn Schwartz and Gina Grant prepare for the CHW campaign kickoff February 22 at Temple Israel.

appreciated so that we can plan accordingly.

For further information, or to volunteer help with the

telethon, please call me at 613-521-9092.

Holocaust scholar to give public lecture at Carleton University

By Samuel Konig Historian Jan T. Gross, one of the foremost experts

on Polish society during the Second World War and the Holocaust, will deliver a

public lecture – Anti-Semitism After the Holocaust: The Unwelcoming of the

Jewish Survivors After the War – on February 26, sponsored by the Max and Tessie

Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies at Carleton University.

Gross grew up in Poland and studied at Warsaw University before immigrating to the United States in 1969.

He earned his PhD in sociology in 1975 from Yale University and taught for many years at New York University. He is now a professor of war and society and of history at Princeton University.

His first two books, Polish Society Under German Occupation and Revolution from Abroad: The Soviet Conquest of Poland’s Western Ukraine and Western Belorussia, established his reputation as a leading scholar in the study of the impact of two very different totalitarian occupation regimes – Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union – on Polish society during the Second World War. Gross’s Neighbors: The Destruction of the Jewish Community in Jedwabne, Poland, published in 2001, is a powerful book that documents how, over the course of one day, most of the Jewish inhabitants of the town of Jedwabne were murdered by their neighbours.

The book sparked an important debate about PolishJewish relations during the Second World War and has become a standard text in

Jan T. Gross will speak on post-Holocaust anti-Semitism in Poland, February 26 at Carleton University.

Holocaust studies.

Gross will draw on his latest book, Fear: AntiSemitism in Poland After Auschwitz in his Ottawa lecture.

“We are delighted and deeply honoured that Professor Gross accepted our invitation and will be speaking to an audience of Carleton students as well as the larger Ottawa community,” said Aviva Freedman, director of the Max and Tessie Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies.

Gross will speak Thursday, February 26, 7 pm, at Carleton University, Paterson Hall, Room 303. For information, call 613-5202600, ext. 1320, e-mail jewish_studies@carleton.ca or visit tinyurl.com/dhz3u7.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 – Page 13

Page 14 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009

Jewish Community Day at the 67’s game An enthusiastic crowd was on hand at the Ottawa Civic Centre on Sunday, January 25 for Jewish Community Day with the Ottawa 67’s.

The Jewish Federation of Ottawa had a big block of tickets available for the com-

Ministers visit Hillel Lodge

munity with $5 from each $15 ticket going to support Jewish education in Ottawa.

The 67’s were cheered on to a 4-2 victory over the Erie Otters and brisk business was reported at the kosher hot dog stand.

Fans at Ottawa 67’s Jewish Community Day watch the hometown team beat the Erie Otters 4-2.

(Photo: Howard Sandler)

Ontario Minister of Health and Long-Term Care David Caplan, Minister of Municipal Affairs and Housing Jim Watson and Ottawa Centre MPP Yasir Naqvi recently toured the Bess and Moe Greenberg Family Hillel Lodge in the Joseph and Inez Zelikovitz Long Term Care Centre and met with Hillel Lodge officials.

Pictured (left to right): Stephen Schneiderman, Hillel Lodge executive director; Jeff Miller, Hillel Lodge president; Caplan; Watson; Stephen Polowin, Hillel Lodge LongTerm Care Foundation president; and Naqvi.

Matzah bargains on vacation

Part of the fun was lining up for kosher hot dogs at the Ottawa Civic Centre on Jewish Community Day.

A young fan reacts happily to a 67’s goal.

(Photo: Howard Sandler)

Visiting a supermarket recently in Providenciales in the Turks and Caicos Islands (British West Indies), Mark Buckshon discovered a kosher section in a bargain room at the back of the store. Two boxes of matzah were selling for $1.00.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 – Page 15

Papal move on Holocaust denier sparks anger

By Ben Harris NEW YORK (JTA) – In an echo of the 2007 controversy over the Latin Mass, Jewish interfaith leaders again are expressing concern that a Vatican action aimed at promoting unity within the Church may have adverse effects on Catholic-Jewish relations.

Pope Benedict XVI last month revoked an excommunication order against four bishops, followers of a Catholic faction that rejects the Second Vatican Council, which introduced reforms paving the way for improved relations with the Jewish people. The move is seen as an attempt to bring the bishops back into the Catholic fold, a development that would still be conditioned on their acceptance of the authority of Church teachings.

Among the four is the British-born Bishop Richard Williamson, who in an interview with Swedish television aired just days before the papal ruling and the January 27 International Day of Remembrance of the Holocaust, doubted the accuracy of the accepted history of the Holocaust.

“I believe that the historical evidence is hugely against six million Jews having been deliberately gassed in gas chambers as a deliberate policy of Adolf Hitler,” Williamson said.

Williamson clarified the statement by saying that, according to the best research he’s seen, 200,000 to 300,000 Jews may have died in Nazi

concentration camps, and none in gas chambers.

The pope’s move prompted the Israeli Chief Rabbinate to break its ties with the Vatican and suspend an annual interfaith meeting with Catholic leaders scheduled for March in Jerusalem. A flurry of concerned statements have poured forth from Jewish organizations, including the AntiDefamation League (ADL), the American Jewish Committee (AJC), B’nai B’rith International and the International Jewish Commission on Interreligious Consultations (IJCIC).

The U.S. Holocaust Memorial Museum also weighed in against the pope’s move.

In their statements, the Jewish groups have generally acknowledged that the status of the bishops, members of the Society of St. Pius X, is essentially an internal Catholic matter. Their criticisms have focused mainly on Williamson and his comments about the Holocaust.

“This decision undermines the strong relationship between Catholics and Jews that flourished under Pope John Paul II and which Pope Benedict XVI said he would continue when he came into his Papacy,” Abraham Foxman, ADL national director, said in a statement. “We are stunned that the Vatican has ignored our concerns by welcoming back into the fold a bishop who denies the Holocaust and rejects the seminal reforms of Vatican II.”

Pope Benedict XVI, seen here visiting the Park East Synagogue in New York City in April 2008, has reinstated an excommunicated bishop who denies the Holocaust.

(JTA Photo: Diane Bondareff)

Seeking to tamp down the criticism, the pope, affirmed his “full and unquestionable solidarity” with the Jewish people in his weekly address at the Vatican, January 28, and expressed hope that the Holocaust “will induce humanity to reflect on the unpredictable power of hate when it conquers the heart of man.”

The flap echoes the concern aroused in the Jewish community when Benedict in 2007 allowed the recitation of the Latin, or Tridentine, Mass, whose Good Friday liturgy includes a prayer for Jewish conversion.

Rabbi David Rosen, the AJC’s director of interreligious affairs and the chairman of IJCIC, told JTA it is unclear whether the pope has determined that he is willing

to pay a price in JewishCatholic harmony to achieve his unification objectives, or whether he simply has a penchant for unilateralism.

“I believe it is the second,

both because some would accuse me of wishful thinking, but here there has really been a pattern of a lack of consultation,” Rabbi Rosen said. “He appears to do things without

Canadian Jewish Congress speaks out against reinstatement of anti-Semitic bishop The Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) called on the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops (CCCB), January 29, to condemn the pope’s reinstatement of excommunicated Bishop Richard Williamson.

“The Jewish community of Canada has developed a very warm and cordial relationship with our Catholic brothers and sisters in the 40-plus years since Vatican II,” said CJC CoPresident Rabbi Reuven Bulka.

“It is on the basis of this supportive foundation that we call on the leadership of the Catholic Church in Canada to follow the lead of bishops in France, Belgium and Germany, among other countries, in denouncing the Holocaust-denial and anti-Semitism of Bishop Williamson and in reaffirming in no uncertain terms that such hateful views have no place in the Church.

“Indeed, we call upon all Catholics in

Canada, on the pulpit and from the pew, to join in this denunciation.”

Rabbi Bulka added that CJC understands the pope was trying to mend an internal rift in the Church by reinstating Williamson, “but that cannot be done by re-embracing someone with such intolerable views toward Jews. Our dialogue with the CCCB and Catholics in Canada is strong and we look for support and solidarity on this sad occasion.”

On January 30, Rabbi Bulka, Victor Goldbloom, CJC Quebec Region president, and Eric Vernon, CJC director of government relations, met with Papal Nuncio Luigi Ventura to convey the pain and anguish the Jewish community of Canada feels in response to the pope’s reinstatement of Williamson from excommunication. CJC also told the nuncio that the Vatican must remain committed to the principles of Vatican II. – Michael Regenstreif

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understanding their full implications.”

In a letter to Cardinal Walter Kasper, the Vatican’s point person on relations with the Jewish people, Rabbi Rosen requested that Williamson be asked to retract his position and apologize.

Kasper has said publicly that Williamson’s comments are “unacceptable” and Bishop Bernard Fellay, the leader of the society, said his group does not share Williamson’s view, Associated Press reported.

In a response to Rabbi Rosen, Kasper wrote that he had brought the issue to the attention of Vatican authorities.

“I am sure you will understand,” Kasper wrote, “that Bishop Williamson’s ideas do not represent the position of the Church or of the Holy See.”

Page 16 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009

In support of the Bess and Moe Greenberg Family Hillel Lodge In the Joseph and Inez Zelikovitz Long Term Care Centre Card Donations Card donations go a long way to improving the quality of life for our residents.

Thank you for considering their needs and contributing to their well-being.

On behalf of the residents and their families, we extend sincere appreciation to the following individuals and families who made card donations to the Hillel Lodge Long-Term Care Foundation between January 8 and 21, 2009 inclusive.

HONOUR FUNDS Unlike a bequest or gift of life insurance, which are realized some time in the future, a named Honour Fund (i.e., endowment fund) is established during your lifetime.

By making a contribution of $1,000 or more, you can create a permanent remembrance for a loved one, honour a family member, declare what the Lodge has meant to you and/or support a cause that you believe in.

A Hillel Lodge Honour Fund is a permanent pool of capital that earns interest or income each year. This income then supports the priorities designated by you, the donor.

Bill and Leona Adler Memorial Fund In Memory of: Hyman Adler by Elayne Adler and Farley, Jordan and Benjamin Stenzler; and Marilyn Adler, Neil and Daniel Blacher Elias Brantz by Marilyn Adler Virginia Stupp by Marilyn Adler R’fuah Shlema: Ron Kesten by Marilyn Adler

birthday to a lovely lady by Ethel and Abe Murray Friedberg and Dale Families Fund In Honour of: Rabbi Chaim and Mrs. Yocheved Boyarsky Mazal tov on the birth of your daughter by Elaine Friedberg and Bob and Jon Dale Jonathan Isserlin Happy 65th birthday

by Elaine Friedberg and Bob Dale Evacucheck By Encore Safety Inc. Fund In Memory of: Agathe Howard by Lise Lafrance and Les Howard Martin and Thea Ginsburg Memorial Fund In Memory of: Thea and Martin Ginsburg by Anne Blair Malcolm and Vera Glube Family Fund In Honour of: Yetta Mednick Mazal tov and best wishes for a very happy 95th birthday by Vera and Malcolm Glube Nell Gluck Memorial Fund In Memory of: Elias Brantz by Maureen and Henry Molot In Honour of: Maureen and Henry Molot Wishing you a double mazal tov on the birth of your twin granddaughters by Esty and Fern Bybelezer

Elsie Baker Endowment Fund In observance of the Yahrzeit of: Our beloved parents, Elsie and Harry Baker by Polly Moran, Mel Baker and Ron Baker

Evelyn and Irving Greenberg Fund In Honour of: Shirley Westeinde on receiving the Order of Canada by Evelyn Greenberg

Jack and Betty Ballon Family Fund In Honour of: Betty Ballon Wishing a very happy

Frank and Lily Hoffenberg Family Fund A generous donation to this fund has

been made by Rose Ann and Ron Hoffenberg Bill and Phyllis Leith Family Endowment Fund In Honour of: Molly Hirsch and Eric Elkin Mazal tov on Nina’s engagement to Jason by Arlene and Seymour Isenberg Stephen and Debra Schneiderman Family Fund In Memory of: Beloved cousin of Elizabeth Richard

by Debra and Stephen Schneiderman Rose Caplan Parifsky by Debra and Stephen Schneiderman In Honour of: Steven Chaimberg Wishing you much success in your new position as partner at Fraser Milner Casgrain LLP by Debra and Stephen Schneiderman R’fuah Shlema: Bev Glube by Debbie and Stephen Schneiderman Harold and Lillian Shoihet Memorial Fund In Honour of: Lillian and Mark Zunder Wishing you mazal tov on the occasion of your 50th wedding anniversary by David Shoihet, Miriam and Mayer Sabo Ralph and Anne Sternberg Memorial Fund R’fuah Shlema: Issie Rose by Laya and Ted Jacobsen Sarah and Arnie Swedler Family Fund In Memory of: Mary Goldberg by Sarah and Arnie Swedler In Honour of : Naomi and Allan Cracower Mazal tov on the birth of your grandson by Sarah and Arnie Swedler Toby and Joel Yan Family Fund In Honour of: Toby Yan Wishing you mazal tov and much happiness on the occasion of your 60th birthday by Sandra Appel and Jerry Shuman, Mira and Naomi

Teitelbaum Music Therapy Program In Memory of: Mary Goldberg by Molly Hirsch and Eric Elkin and Family Virginia Stupp by Betty and Ed Rose In Honour of: Natalie Gussman Best wishes for a very happy special birthday by Betty and Ed Rose In Honour of: Maureen and Henry Molot Mazal tov on the birth of your twin granddaughters

by Molly Hirsch and Eric Elkin and family ************* IN MEMORY OF: Beloved cousin of Elizabeth Richard

by Joanna and Ira Abrams; and Morag Burch and family Elias Brantz by Anna Bilsky and Peter Humber; and Brenda and Gerald Rip Mary Goldberg by Sylvia Monson Esther Sandberg by Janet and Norman Ironstone Virginia Stupp by the Residents, Board and Staff of Hillel Lodge IN OBSERVANCE OF THE YARZHEITS OF: Abraham Saslove, Harry Rip, Anne Saslove and Pauline Rip by Brenda and Gerald Rip IN HONOUR OF: Cantor and Mrs. Moshe Kraus Wishing you continued good health, success and happiness by Devora and Yosef Caytak Gordon Lauterman With best wishes on your 100th birthday by Belle Gitterman Heidi Polowin Wishing you a speedy recovery and a good Shabbos by Devora and Yosef Caytak Chelsea Sauve In gratitude for our granddaughter’s safe return from Israel by Grammy and Zaidi (Debi and David) Shore Mark Wolynetz Thank you for your continuous support and friendship by Devora and Yosef Caytak Lillian and Mark Zunder Happy 50th anniversary by Bonnie, Bruce, Matthew, Hana and Sabrina Engel

Edith Teitelbaum and Eddie Zinman Memorial Fund In Memory of: Mary Goldberg by Fuzzy and Max

THE LODGE EXPRESSES ITS SINCERE APPRECIATION FOR YOUR KIND SUPPORT AND APOLOGIZES FOR ANY ERRORS OR OMISSIONS. DUE TO SPACE LIMITATIONS, THE WORDING APPEARING IN THE BULLETIN IS NOT NECESSARILY THE WORDING WHICH APPEARED ON THE CARD. GIVING IS RECEIVING – ATTRACTIVE CARDS AVAILABLE FOR ALL OCCASIONS Here’s a good opportunity to recognize an event or convey the appropriate sentiment to someone important to you and at the same time support the Lodge. Card orders may be given to Debra or Rhonda at 613-728-3900, extension 111, 9:30 am to 3:30 pm Monday to Thursday, 9:00 am to 2:00 pm Friday. You may also e-mail your orders to donations@hillel-ltc.com. E-mail orders must include name, address, postal code, and any message to person receiving the card; and, amount of donation, name, address and postal code of the person making the donation. Cards may be paid for by Visa, Mastercard, American Express, Cheque or Cash. Contributions are tax deductible.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 – Page 17

The Purim story meets the songs of the Beatles

By Pamela Rosenberg for Soloway JCC It’s the Purim story with a British pop twist as Haman, Mordechai and Queen Esther tell their familiar tale with a little help from the songs of the Fab Four from Liverpool.

The second annual Purim parody, The Beatles Purim Shpiel, takes centre stage at the Soloway Jewish Community Centre (JCC), Sunday, March 8, 7:30 pm, and promises to be an evening of toe-tapping, hum-along fun.

With rehearsals underway since January, the performers are ready for another hit following the success of last year’s Beach Boys Purim Shpiel.

The cast includes John Kershman as Achashverosh, Hyman Cooper as Haman and Irwin Kreisman as Mordechai. David Michaelson shares narrating duties with Sylvia Kershman, who is also part of the chorus with Aaron Kaiserman, Debbie Shore, Joyce Pagurek, David Spring and Dayna Strauss.

The musical director is

pianist Aviva Lightstone.

Emily Pearlman is directing the show and Roslyn Wollock, Soloway JCC’s manager of adult programs, is the producer.

The script is by Cantor Stephanie Shore and Rabbi Richard Agler of Congregation B’nai Israel in Boca Raton, Florida.

“It’s an intergenerational show. The cast comprises community members from 14 to 80 years of age,” says Wollock. “The key is for members of the community to come out, be involved and have fun doing it.”

Donna Strauss, who is playing double duty as Queen Esther and Vashti, sings in a choir, so, when she heard about the Purim Shpiel auditions, she thought it would be a great way to use her voice. Although she landed a royal role, she says that her 14year-old daughter Dayna, a chorus member, is the real actress in the family.

“Rehearsals are so much fun; the director and musical director are so professional and creative,” says Strauss. “Emily has taken a

Members of the cast and crew of The Beatles Purim Shpiel (front row, left to right): Debbie Shore, Aaron Kaiserman, Dayna Strauss, Sylvia Kershman; (back row) Roslyn Brozovsky Wollock, Irwin Kreisman, Joyce Pagurek, David Spring, Hyman Cooper, John Kershman, Donna Strauss, Emily Pearlman; (missing) Aviva Lightstone and (Photo: Gustavo Rymberg) David Michaelson.

bare bones script and really flushed it out. It’s outstanding the way it has come to life.”

Director Pearlman recently returned home from Vancouver after receiving her master’s degree in fine arts from Simon Fraser Uni-

versity. While her role in the Purim Shpiel is behind the scenes, her talent extends to all areas of the theatre as she brings a wealth experience and professionalism to the stage.

Pearlman has directed, acted in and written shows

performed across the country. She has produced art festivals in Montreal and Ottawa, created a radio documentary called Schnartzenhoeller for CBC and her solo shows, Swimming Lessons with Paisley Kite, Radio Collar and Free Range have

toured fringe festivals across the country.

The challenge for the director is in the genre itself.

“Doing a parody is a bit problematic. We are trying to find ways to make it humorous without undermining the things that go on in the Book of Esther,” says Pearlman.

“I have really enjoyed working with the cast. They have been very enthusiastic and patient and are willing to try new things.”

The Beatles Purim Shpiel has an Ed Sullivan Show feel with a 1960s vibe. The room will be set up cabaret-style with tables and the audience is encouraged to participate, singalong and spin their graggers whenever Haman is on the scene.

Last year’s performance sold out fast and the crew anticipates a full house again this year.

Tickets go on sale February 9 at the Soloway JCC and are $10 for Soloway JCC members and $20 for non-members. Call 613798-9818, ext. 295 for more information.

Ottawa students to participate in Weizmann Education Week

By Melissa Wallach Weizmann Science Canada Weizmann Science Canada generates support for the Weizmann Institute of Science in Rehovot, Israel and also raises awareness for the incredible research going on at the Institute. Another important goal is to stimulate the study of math and science in students of all ages.

The Young@Science program at the Institute hosts activities, lectures, competitions, clubs, summer programs and mentoring by Weizmann Institute professors, scientists and graduate students and has over 30,000 participants each year. Weizmann Science Canada is proud to offer several of the incredible programs from Young@Science to elementary and high school students and teachers right here at home.

If you know students who love math and want to be challenged in a unique and innovative way, then they should know about the international Math-By-Mail correspondence club for students in Grades 3 to 8.

With this program, students discover how math can be intriguing, exciting and fun as they complete a series of four math questionnaires distributed to them throughout the school year. Each questionnaire is dedicated to a different math topic. Participants

are welcome to join the secure online forum to submit questionnaires, ask questions, get help and chat with fellow students from around the world.

A Math-By-Mail Treasure Hunt in Montreal will kick off Weizmann Education week on Tuesday, February 17. Led by Yossi Elran, co-author of the program, the Math-By-Mail Treasure Hunt is a fun-filled evening full of mathematical challenges.

Ottawa students from Hillel Academy and Elmwood School will be among the competitors in Montreal.

Summer programs Six of Canada’s top science students who have finished high school and not yet started university enrich their studies at the Weizmann Institute each summer as part of the Dr. Bessie F. Lawrence International Summer Program. Selected from schools and science fairs, the students have an unforgettable experience and discover how the pursuit of pure science bonds people from around the world.

The Weizmann Institute of Science invites top science teachers to attend the 2009 Schwartz Family International Leading Science Teachers’ Seminar in Rehovot, Israel.

The seminar promotes the professional development of outstanding science teachers

from secondary schools around the world.

Participants will improve their teaching techniques, meet peers from across the globe and interact with some of the world’s premier scientists.

Weizmann Science Canada is now ac-

cepting applications for these two summer 2009 programs.

For information on any of the programs offered through Weizmann Science Canada, contact me at 613-236-3391 or melissa@weizmann.ca.

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Page 18 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009

VOLUNTEER CORNER Volunteer Corner is courtesy of the Jewish Federation of Ottawa. All beneficiary agencies are invited to list their volunteer opportunities.

Volunteer Opportunities TAMIR Tamir is need of volunteers to assist with participant activities, special events and clerical duties. For more information please visit our website at http://www.tamir.ca/ or contact 613-725-3519.

JEWISH FAMILY SERVICES Make the difference!

There are several isolated, lonely people desperately waiting for FRIENDLY VISITORS • If you can spare an hour or two, every week or two, your visit or phone call can be the lifeline for someone who feels forgotten.

TRANSPORTATION • The current bus strike has more and more clients coming to us for transportation services. Even if it’s only during the strike, please consider helping our clients connect with essential services.

• A woman who lives in the Byward Market area needs transportation in order to participate in two monthly community programs: the 1st Thursday of the month at Beth Shalom synagogue and the 4th Wednesday of the month at Agudath Israel.

• A blind woman who lives in Alta Vista needs transportation in order to participate in a luncheon program at Agudath Israel on the 4th Wednesday of every month.

• A woman who lives at Rideau & Friel would like to participate in a JFS program on Carling Ave., the last Thursday of every month, from 10:00 to 11:30 am. She needs drives to and from the program.

Understanding the Middle East through its meanings and symbols I wish I still had the Jewish National Fund T-shirt I owned in 1978. For today is Tu B’Shvat – the Jewish Arbour Day. To mark the festival, Diaspora Jews customarily plant trees in Israel and sing Hebrew songs about almond blossoms bursting under the golden sun. Only a few Canadian cities have flowering foliage at this time of year, but Tu B’Shvat serves to anchor Diaspora Jewish identity to the eucalyptus-dotted landscape of Israel.

My JNF T-shirt fit my lean, six-year-old body properly – not like the veritable nightgowns that pass for kids’ Tshirts these days. It featured a silkscreen of green trees, black Hebrew lettering and a small breast pocket. By Grade 2, our school had shifted to marking our modest contributions with certificates. But I retain an aching nostalgia for that shirt.

What also remained in my memory was the role of the JNF in helping green a largely desert Israel – helped by the millions of blue boxes scattered around Diaspora Jewish households over the generations. There, coins were collected, often as Shabbat tzedakah, and sent to Israel.

I can still picture a JNF blue box sitting atop my Babba Rosie’s refrigerator. I don’t know if its contents did manage to get donated before she died, around 30 years after she worked in the Winnipeg JNF office as a bookkeeper.

But what I didn’t learn as a child during seven years of Jewish day school was the more complex aspects of Israel’s history.

While I excelled in the JNF Israel contest held for students in Jewish schools, memorizing the years of Israel’s

OTHER • A disabled woman who lives downtown needs help with paperwork for an hour or two a couple of times a month from now until the end of tax season.

To take on one of these important and meaningful opportunities, please contact Lisa Bogdonov, Volunteer Coordinator of the Thelma Steinman Seniors Support Services unit 613-722-2225, ext. 327 or Lbogdonov@jfsottawa.com.

THE BESS AND MOE GREENBERG FAMILY HILLEL LODGE • Urgently seeking volunteer cashiers from 12 to 1 weekdays in our kosher dairy café.

• Interested in learning more about gerontology, nursing, therapies, hospitality? … the list goes on and on. Come help out at Hillel Lodge!

• Bingo anyone? If you’re free on Monday nights, join us!

• Love computers? Teach our residents a great skill. Flexible timing. Contact us!

• Student special: Your gain is our gain: Do your community hours helping our residents! Daily or weekly, at a time that suits you! University students welcome (please note: children under the age of 14 require adult accompaniment).

• Special mitzvah anyone? Bring a resident to Shabbos services (Saturdays at 9:15 am) and enjoy the fantastic Oneg with friends. Great cholent!

• Newly retired? Put Hillel Lodge volunteering in your plan.

Residents welcome visitors, program assistance, all kinds of options. Pick a day, a time of day, a type of event – whatever suits your schedule. Try it out now.

• Free on Fridays? Oneg Shabbat every week at 10:30 am and bingo at 2:00 pm – come join us.

• Culture maven? Accompany our residents to museums, concerts and plays (Wednesday and Thursday afternoons).

• Tuesday special: Enjoy our special events every week at 2:15 pm.

• Shopping experts? Have fun while accompanying residents to shopping at a mall (Monday mornings).

To inquire further, please call 613-728-3900 ext. 121 or email marilyn@hillel-ltc.com Students welcome (please note: children under the age of 14 require adult accompaniment)

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“ ... Bridging Heaven and Earth ...” Zohar

Values, Ethics, Community Mira Sucharov wars like any nursery rhyme (1948, 1956, 1967, 1973), I was oblivious to the controversial Israel-PLO war in Lebanon raging across Israel’s northern border in 1982, the summer I turned 10. Hundreds of thousands of Israelis protested what they viewed as a “war of choice,” the label then-prime minister Menachem Begin gave to it, while I sang Birkat Hamazon at Camp Massad in Winnipeg Beach and body surfed on an overturned dinghy at my dad’s cottage.

As a child growing up in a Jewish and Zionist context, I didn’t really understand who the Palestinians were and what it meant for those in the territories to be occupied when I visited Israel with my other grandmother in 1983.

On Yom Ha’Atzmaut during that trip, I recall riding a zip line on my aunt’s kibbutz – a memory that still gives me a thrill. On that day, I certainly never heard of al-Naqba – Arabic for catastrophe – the term Palestinians use to refer to Israel’s founding in 1948 and the origin of the Palestinian refugee problem.

The Palestinian Intifada in the late 1980s was but a vague concept to me – filtered only through the odd Time cover depicting masked Palestinian youth – as I practised conversational Hebrew with my dad and listened to bootlegged Israeli cassettes. I had heard of the Israeli Law of Return, but little about the Palestinian demand for the right of return.

By the time I reached university, I knew I wanted to understand the region through a wider lens. Many widelensed approaches focus on a geographically tiny Israel being surrounded by millions of enemies. But what was equally important to me was the task of understanding the meaning of events and history for each side. But even focusing on these sorts of narratives – while a powerful analytical tool – still falls short in helping to improve the situation of Israel – a country with which we in the Diaspora have forged crucial identity links.

The debates over Israeli policies – including how its growing minority of Israeli Arab citizens are treated, as well as the fate of the 2.5 million Palestinians who remain under Israeli occupation – must be filtered through an understanding of meanings and symbols. These include how central the idea of a Jewish state is to Israeli – and Diaspora Jewish – identity, and the Jewish historical, spiritual and strategic significance of the West Bank. But we can’t let our own ethical compass be guided by narratives alone.

I do know that collective identity can be a powerful force for maintaining the status quo, and for change. I imagine that the nostalgia I feel for that long-lost JNF T-shirt somehow spurred me to become an academic studying the region, and a sometimes community commentator trying to encourage openings for conflict-resolving discourse.

In linking ourselves to Israel through annual festivals such as Tu B’Shvat, we should ask ourselves how much we want to spare our kids the details when instilling in them a love for that country. And how much do we want to urge them to help Israel – the most powerful Jewish national symbol we have – be the most vital democracy it can be.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 – Page 19

Page 20 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009

Book fails to answer its underlying questions Jerusalem on the Amur: Birobidzhan and the Canadian Jewish Communist Movement, 1924-1951

By Henry Felix Srebrnik McGill-Queens University Press 2008 Hardcover 360 pages Reading Jerusalem on the Amur reminded me of an experience I had a few years back at a conference in Montreal where I was delivering an academic paper on Yiddish writer Sholem Shtern. After my talk, in which I argued that, despite his communist sympathies, Shtern’s poetry was very traditional in its Jewish themes, an elderly gentleman stood up and shouted at me, his face red with rage, something to the effect of, “How can you defend this communist when Stalin had murdered so many Jews?”

Taken aback, I managed to stammer something about Shtern as poet. But the incident stuck in my mind because it underlined the vociferousness of the debates around Jewish communism that peaked long before I was born. For me, Jewish communism is generally a scholarly topic associated with the rich Yiddish culture it produced.

Srebrnik, a professor of political studies at the University of Prince Edward Island and author of several scholarly studies on leftist movements, offers an investigation of the

Book Review Rebecca Margolis Jewish communist movement centred on its ongoing involvement with Birobidzhan, the autonomous Jewish region established by the Soviet regime in 1934.

The topic is fascinating. Here is the oftenforgotten story of the prominent role that Canadian Jews played in support of a Jewish homeland in the diaspora. As Jerusalem on the Amur shows, rather than a fringe phenomenon, the movement in support of Birobidzhan, through organizations such as ICOR (Association for Jewish Colonization in the Soviet Union) and Canadian Ambijan (American Committee for the Settlement of Jews in Birobidzhan) involved many prominent members of the international Jewish community, with Canadians excelling as activists, campaigners and fundraisers. This movement ran parallel to Zionism, with initial antipathy giving way to eventual support of Israel after the creation of the state.

In the end, the Birobidzhan movement was, as Srebrnik writes, a “failure,” the wider dream of a Soviet Yiddish utopia further dec-

imated by the Stalinist purges, which became public knowledge after 1956.

As has been well documented in works such as Merrily Weisbord’s The Strangest Dream: Canadian Communists, the Spy Trials, and the Cold War, communists in Canada went from being able to elect Fred Rose as a member of Parliament from Montreal in 1943 to being heavily ostracized and persecuted in the post-War era.

Srebrnik’s study presents meticulously gathered archival material with an underlying question: how could these Jewish communists have believed in what they did when history has proved them so wrong?

Unfortunately, this query is largely left hanging. Much of the book offers an intricate history of organizations such as ICOR and Ambijan, with detailed descriptions of their conferences and campaigns, as well as discussion of the ongoing coverage of the primary organ of Jewish communists, the Toronto Yiddish newspaper Der Kampf, later to be replaced by Der Vochenblat.

While this material certainly represents a laudable contribution to our knowledge of the workings of the Birobidzhan movement – in particular the author’s extensive use of often overlooked Yiddish material – the reader is not offered a real sense of what allowed this movement to touch so many. How does one account for the fantastic turnout at lectures

and other events described in the book? How did this movement fit into the wider scope of Canadian Jewish life?

In place of answers, the text is peppered with sporadic condemnations of the Birobidzhan supporters and wider communist movement. In his preface, Srebrnik writes: “Even so, admittedly with the advantage of hindsight, and even taking into account that the Jewish communists lived thousands of miles removed from the utopia in which they had invested their political hopes, in an era without television or Internet to disseminate information, I still fail to comprehend how so many well-educated people, who were so aware of the shortcomings of their own society, could so completely suspend all disbelief when it came to judging the Soviet Union.”

The question is legitimate, but Srebrnik never comes close to tackling it. The Jewish communists are variously called “uncritical,” “oblivious” and “disingenuous;” however, the reader is never truly brought into their world to understand what motivated them to remain loyal to a movement that was ultimately doomed. In short, this book poses a vital question, but does not offer the answers I will need the next time I lecture to a Jewish public d’un certain age about Sholem Shtern.

Rebecca Margolis, an assistant professor at the University of Ottawa, teaches in the Vered Jewish Canadian Studies Program.

Rabbi argues that conscience overrides duty to obey authority Conscience; The Duty to Obey and the Duty to Disobey

By Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis Jewish Lights Publishing 2008 Hardcover 131 pages The question of when and how people choose to obey authority has been a crucial question for observers of the human condition. In Conscience: The Duty to Obey and the Duty to Disobey, Rabbi Harold M. Schulweis offers a part-Judaic, part-philosophical approach to the subject.

Named by Newsweek in 2008 as one of the top-50 influential rabbis in America (he ranked 19th), Rabbi Schulweis leads Valley Beth Shalom, a Conservative congregation in Encino, California, although he is also formally affiliated with the Reconstructionist movement and trained under Rabbi Mordecai M. Kaplan.

The book is primarily prescriptive and, in a sense, reads like a sermon. While the title speaks of disobedience and obedience, Rabbi Schulweis’s main argument is that people should follow their conscience and disobey orders that go against their internal sense of morality.

Despite the many contemporary and historical atrocities he cites, including the Holocaust, the genocide in Rwanda and the abuse at Abu Ghraib, he sets out to show that human nature is not intrinsically evil. He cites examples of non-Jews who hid Jews during the

Book Review Mira Sucharov Holocaust, including some openly anti-Semitic individuals who felt it their moral duty to help the Jews.

But slavish obedience to vile authority is all too frequent, both in theory and practice.

The book recounts the now classic study on obedience conducted by Stanley Milgram in the 1960s, where teacher subjects willingly applied electric shocks in increasing levels of intensity to learners who, unbeknownst to the teachers, were really actors receiving no actual shocks, at the request of the investigator. Two-thirds of subjects followed orders even as the learners apparently screamed in pain.

It’s difficult to argue with Rabbi Schulweis’s prescription. Who wouldn’t advise people to follow their conscience and disobey seemingly unethical orders? But the burden of his argument rests on religious sources, which is what makes his book ultimately interesting and worthwhile. Specifically, Rabbi Schulweis attempts to trace a deeply ingrained rabbinic practice of challenging a literal textual reading by adapting particular laws to the social context of the time – all in the name of being humane.

Arguing that “God is not Torah; God transcends Torah,” and that “God was to be feared, but Torah was not to be feared,” Rabbi Schulweis cites examples of sages who made capital punishment virtually impossible to impose, blocked the application of the law forbidding Jewish children born out of wedlock to marry other Jews and loosened the restrictions on who could act as a witness for a woman trying to prove her husband’s death (so that she could legally remarry).

He extends this argument to claiming that any apparently divine-issued directive should be ignored, if it goes against one’s view of morality. According to this “horizontal-bilateral” view of the covenant, “the commandment may be questioned in the name of conscience.” He even translates conscience as yirat Elohim (literally meaning “fear of God”), arguing that “the proper fear of God is expressed in the love of moral conscience.”

He includes a brief section as advice to parents, warning them not to answer “because I said so” to their children’s many, ingrained ‘why’ questions. “Questions are the first steps toward building freedom of conscience,” he states, and “questions are prematurely aborted by a sharp answer or a condescending silence.”

In basing his argument on rabbinic sources as well as a broadened view of what it means for Jews to accept a covenant with God, Rabbi Schulweis calls on all religions to serve as a vanguard in leading ethical opposition to the world’s ills. In this, he sounds a similar

horn to Rabbi Michael Lerner’s Network of Spiritual Progressives (and Rabbi Lerner’s Tikkun magazine), though he does not mention Rabbi Lerner directly.

Of course, a skeptic might ask why faith in God is necessary to lead a life guided by morality, and why atheism – with its bottomup approach to ethical girding – cannot do a better job. Perhaps the urgency of the writing comes from the many social ills that we see having been created, and moral crimes committed, in the name of religion.

And, while an atheist might argue that such elaborate arguments for reinterpreting the covenantal relationship between God and humans show that religion is ultimately a burden on reason, for Rabbi Schulweis, religion should – and can – be used to buttress matters of conscience rather than override them.

It’s also not clear from this volume where Orthodoxy, and movements that have a vastly different view of Halacha, such as Reform, would fit; specifically, whether this is strictly a Conservative or Reconstructionist view of the relationship between conscience and covenant, or his own, cross-denominational view. No doubt a reader better versed in the subtle doctrinal differences among the Jewish streams would have a better answer.

Still, any treatise that challenges both believers and secularists to keep their conscience paramount – particularly in this broken world of ours – is worth thinking about.

Mira Sucharov is an associate professor of political science at Carleton University.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 – Page 21

A fictional account of the Israeli-Palestinian conundrum As I write this review, newscasters have announced that, after 22 days of conflict with Hamas in Gaza, Israel has declared a ceasefire. Noticeably, to supporters of Israel, they haven’t announced how many days – make that, years – Hamas has been firing rockets at Israeli civilians. Equivalency doesn’t work that way in today’s politically correct world.

Yet, it seems like it is always Israeli or American Jewish authors who write books, like the one here, for young adults that emphasize the need to build bridges between Israelis and Palestinians and offer ideas of how that can be done.

Over the years, I have reviewed several of them. I have also looked for similar books by Palestinian or other Muslim authors. To date, I’ve found not a one.

Still, I congratulate the Jewish Publication Society for including this book on its 120th year publication list “nourishing mind and spirit.”

Checkpoints

By Marilyn Levy Jewish Publication Society 2008 152 pages. Age 14 to adult.

Marilyn Levy, an American, is a prize-winning author and a psychologist who works with teenagers. It is important to remember that latter point because Checkpoints is one of the most highly charged and emotional books to come my way in a long time. I urge an open-minded, cautious approach when reading Checkpoints because ‘everything feels engineered’ to encourage a specific moral and emotional reaction in readers.

Checkpoints is a touching story with believable characters caught in events they can’t control. Ultimately, they have to make major lifestyle choices. It is written from the four-yearafter-the-fact viewpoint of Noa, who was 16 years old when the action in the book occurred. Noa is intelligent, outspoken and, not surprisingly, emotionally fragile.

The story focuses on Noa herself, the members of her family, their relationships, friendships, hopes and dreams in the context of Israel in 2002 and the Second Intifada.

The locations in the story include the Hebrew University in Jerusalem, Beit Zeit, a small community near Jerusalem where Noa’s family lives; Abu Dis, a Palestinian town on the West Bank where Noa’s Muslim friend, Maha, lives; an Israeli dude ranch, and the Park Hotel in Netanya where the Passover suicide bombing took place in 2002.

While the Passover suicide bombing did take place, everything else in the book is fiction. But it is fiction on the cutting

Kid Lit Deanna Silverman edge of so many possible realities that it’s as though the author threw in everything but the kitchen sink. And that is a major flaw because, toward the end of the book, the style changes from show to tell in order to affect a plausible and reasonably fast ending.

At the start of the book, Noa’s family members are not religious and are active members of Peace Now. Her brother, Ari, is in the Israel Defense Forces but soon ends up in a military prison because he refuses to serve in the West Bank. Her older sister, Shoshanna, a gifted violinist, will soon have to adjust to a horrible new reality. And Noa’s grandmother, Mimi, a highly successful business woman, a Holocaust survivor, a single parent with secrets, and a staunch believer in Israel using its full military power against its enemies, becomes a fatality in the Passover bombing.

Noa’s new friend, Maha, is an Arab student at the Hebrew University who, for whatever reason, befriends the high school student.

Noa’s father’s friend, Abed, is a Palestinian doctor who works part time in the refugee camps. He has been dating a Jewish woman doctor for 15 years and just happens to be Maha’s distant cousin. As for Maha’s brother, he’s a mystery until near the end of the story.

Add in Noa’s other friends, the demands at school, her teenage crushes and her family’s victimization in the Passover suicide bombing and the stage is set for everyone having to choose how each will go on with her or his life.

Hope and adjustment? Helplessness and hopelessness?

The next Passover seder further underscores that same point in a very different, highly revealing way.

Checkpoints provides an excellent starting point for discussions of the heart-breaking Israeli-Palestinian conundrum.

Humanity versus hardline political reality – the moral issues are clear.

The facts are generally adequate, but not always as simple as they seem. The tensions are constant and palatable.

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Page 22 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009

Schloss: Developing campus leadership in Israel advocacy As the new semester began last month, Israel’s actions came under scrutiny more than ever.

“I think students are hesitant to express their Zionism on campus because of the groups that try to coerce them,” says Dan Schloss, who has had students come to him concerned about their safety after hearing threatening words at information tables.

Schloss, 23, the Israel Advocacy co-ordinator for Hillel Ottawa, oversees the Israel Awareness Committee (IAC) on both university campuses.

“Developing leadership is the main focus. I’m more of a mentor and a facilitator,” says Schloss.

By strategizing with students, providing ideas and bringing in speakers, “I try to sit back and let them do the planning,” he says.

“The passion is there, but a lot of students don’t know how to apply it.”

He says he wants students to learn more by researching both sides of the Israeli-Palestinian narrative to decide for themselves.

“It’s a problem if they can’t answer the hardest questions.”

For Schloss, learning about the Middle East conflict has been a progression, beginning when he attended the University of Victoria.

He started reading books that were critical of Israel, but says that, the more he expanded his reading to all varieties of sources in history and social science, the more firmly pro-Israel he became.

Schloss went on to graduate with a focus on Middle East history, writing countless research papers and an honours thesis on the subject.

Like on most campuses, he says, “over time, I would con-

Campus Life Liana Shlien tinually see misinformation spread by certain groups.”

By his final year, Schloss became a co-founder and vicepresident of Israel on Campus, while serving as vice-president of Hillel.

Once in his role at the IAC, his first project back in September was organizing the rally protesting against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in New York City, for which he managed to gather 30 students from Ottawa and Kingston with only a few days notice.

This past semester, he helped the IAC host a mini-Israeli film festival and media seminars, and invited experts and Israelis touring Canada to speak to students about life and culture.

Groups like Students Against Israel Apartheid, Solidarity for Palestinian Human Rights, and even organizations such as OPIRG and CUPE Ontario, have recently singled out Israel and proposed boycotts.

“They try to throw every inflammatory term at Israel just to see what sticks, without ever recognizing Israel’s legitimate problems.”

“Rather than demonizing and demoralizing, which is the aim of most of these groups, we advocate for a fair peace for

What are typewriters, dial phones and albums you play on turntables?

Since turning 60 a few years ago, I’ve discovered a whole new world. For one thing, I now realize that 70 is actually quite young. For another, I have learned that, after 60, one is not old, but only older.

This is one of those concepts that has no absolute value, only comparative ones. So, to someone who is five, a sevenyear-old is older. A 62-year-old like me is also older – a lot older. OK, a whole lot older.

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One thing is obvious.

I have joints.

This was not always as obvious as it is today. I used to move all my limbs without giving it a second thought. Indeed, I recall that as a little boy, I could bend my feet behind my head. I could sit in cross-leg position and stand up without support. And I could stand and place the palms of my hands on the floor. Now I have to turn with care and move my knees more carefully when I climb stairs. Even when I am sitting still, I can’t help knowing where every one of my joints is.

It has certainly become clear to me that children, such as my grandkids, are growing up in a world that is very different from the one in which I moved from merely present to older and older still. My son was talking about learning the keyboard at so young an age. He explained that it was because he learned on a typewriter.

My grandson’s reaction: “What’s a typewriter?”

Of course, he’s never seen one!

This feels very weird. It’s almost the way I felt when my parents talked about growing up in Poland with no running water in the house and no indoor plumbing. They had to go the well to get water to drink and to the outhouse to go to the bathroom.

What did they do in the middle of the night?

I still remember my mother’s explanation about the nacht teppel under the bed.

“What,” I asked, “is a nacht teppel?”

Of course, I had never seen a chamber pot.

There are many such objects that people my age, and perhaps even younger, don’t realize do not form part of the experience of people who are not as older as we are.

One friend told her seven-year-old daughter to go down-

Dan Schloss, Hillel-Ottawa Israel Advocacy co-ordinator

both sides,” he said of the IAC. Schloss looks forward to the IAC’s countering this year’s Israel Apartheid Week, which he says is likely to take place at Carleton University in early March.

“I know and the students know we are involved in a just cause.”

As he is about to leave for a weekend conference in Niagara Falls, bringing together student Israel activists from across the country, he ponders what his next steps will be.

If he does not continue his position in Ottawa, Schloss hopes to pursue a master’s degree in conflict studies and security.

“I want to work on the conflict.”

Humour me, please Rubin Friedman stairs and use the phone in the basement because she wanted privacy and there were all sorts of people around the other phones.

She came back upstairs with a bewildered look on her face.

“How do you use this?” she asked, holding the dial phone at arms length from her body as if it were a dead skunk.

A nephew’s son was listening to some music on the radio and loved it.

“Do you want to listen to the album?” I asked.

His response?

You guessed it.

“Why would I want to listen to a book full of pictures?”

In a few years, given the advances in technology, maybe no one will know what a photo album is either. I explained an album was like a CD, but you played it on a turntable.

Another puzzled look.

“What’s a turntable?”

I will not soon forget his look of wonder and astonishment when I pulled a record out of the album cover, put it on the turntable and turned it on.

“It plays music!” he exclaimed.

So much for 33s and 45s. All of the books written before the 1990s will probably now have to have footnotes to explain what everyone is talking about.

So, if like Obama, you want to kick it old school, remember that little children might be listening – and not understanding a word.

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 – Page 23

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HY AND PAULINE HOCHBERG ENDOWMENT FUND In observance of the Yahrzeit of: Hy Hochberg, a loving husband, father and Continued on page 24

Page 24 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009

FOUNDATION DONATIONS grandfather by Pauline Hochberg.

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George Joseph Cooper Scholarship Award Members of the Ottawa Jewish community, including previous applicants and nominees, are invited to apply or nominate someone to receive the G.J. Cooper scholarship award to be presented at the Annual General Meeting of the Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation on June 10th, 2009 This scholarship recognizes a member of the Ottawa Jewish Community who is between the ages of 18-30, who has displayed leadership qualities, academic excellence and an interest in the Jewish Community.

The scholarship award is to be used for formal education or apprenticeship in the artistic, literary or social sciences.

Please provide the following in your application or nomination by April 1st, 2009 along with an application form: 1. A resume of the applicant or nominee’s contributions to community life.

2. Proof of enrolment by the applicant or nominee in an academic or apprenticeship program for the following school year.

3. A letter of reference that focuses on the elements required to qualify for the scholarship.

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Address applications or nominations to: G.J. Cooper Scholarship Award c/o Chair of the Scholarship Committee Ottawa Jewish Community Foundation 21 Nadolny Sachs Private Ottawa, ON K2A 1R9 www.OJCF.ca • info@ojcf.ca

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Continued on page 25

Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 – Page 25

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Torah Academy students receive awards from the Royal Canadian Legion’s Remembrance Day poster and literary contests (front row, left to right): Yosef Aptowitzer, Akiva Aptowitzer, Rena Goldbaum; (back row) David Lewis of the Legion, Chani Goldbaum, Shayndel Shousterman, Noam Stulberg and Doug Cody of the Legion.

Torah Academy students achieve success in Legion Remembrance Day contests

By Rachel Gray for Torah Academy Students, staff and parents of Torah Academy of Ottawa were justly proud when the Royal Canadian Legion Westboro Branch 480 held its awards ceremony for the Legion’s Remembrance Day literary and poster contests on Sunday, January 11.

Nine Torah Academy students – more than 10 per cent of the school’s 85 children – received awards for their entries into the contests. Several of the students went on to compete at the city-wide level and two won awards at this level as well.

Torah Academy students were assigned projects and encouraged to enter the competitions which is open to schools from across Canada.

The school principal, Rabbi Yisroel Goldbaum, feels the contests are a wonderful opportunity to honour the veterans and to raise

awareness amongst the students of the importance of Canada’s contributions during the First World War and during subsequent wars.

Their participation also allows students the opportunity to be involved in the wider Ottawa community.

The students won awards in the black and white poster, poetry and essay categories at the junior and intermediate levels. In some sections of the contest, first, second and third prizes were all taken by Torah Academy competitors. “We were told that some categories received over a hundred entries,� said Rabbi Goldbaum. “So we felt that for such a small school, we did particularly well.�

Torah Academy students have successfully participated in the Legion’s Remembrance Day contests for the past eight years and the school looks forward to participating again later this year.

613-238-4040 Sandra Granatstein, President sgranatstein@carlsonwagonlit.ca 130 Albert St. Suite 714, Ottawa, ON, K1P 5G4

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Page 26 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 Hebrew nationals in the NHL

World Jewish Hockey tournaments

Tough third liner Mike Brown is still on the roster of the Vancouver Canucks. Other Jewish skaters in the National Hockey League (NHL) are Jeff Halpern (Tampa), Mathieu Schneider (Atlanta), Eric Nystrom and Mike Cammalleri (Calgary). Trevor Smith debuted with the New York Islanders in January and scored his first goal in Calgary during the team’s western swing before being returned for more seasoning to Bridgeport in the American Hockey League (AHL).

Also making his first NHL roster appearance was goaltender Josh Tordjman who was called up on an emergency basis by the Phoenix Coyotes on New Year’s Day.

Jonathan Hawey, a Jewish veteran of the Quebec Major Junior Hockey League and the CIAU, usually handles the trainer’s duties for Israel’s National teams. This summer, he will coach Team World in the Second World Jewish Hockey tournament.

Hawey reports that he has Jewish hockey players from Poland, Hungary, Scandinavia and Italy looking for spots on the roster. The tournament will also feature teams from Canada, the United States, France and Israel and will take place July 2-16 at Mercaz Canada in Metulla.

Former Leaf star Steve ‘Stumpy’ Thomas will coach the U17 Canadian entry to the Junior World Jewish Hockey tournament that will take place later in July

Mavens in the minors Bakersfield Condors' winger Jason Bailey recently had a two-game call-up to the AHL Iowa Chops. ECHL all-star and Israeli National team veteran Oren Eizenman impressed the Vancouver Canucks at rookie camp and is currently with the AHL San Antonio Rampage with Dylan Reese and Josh Tordjman. Winnipeg’s Jacob McFlikier, a standout with the New Hampshire Wildcats and an ECHL all-star last year, is hitting the ice with the Rochester Americans. Yale and London Knights alumnus David Meckler has 10 goals for the L.A. King’s AHL affiliate in Manchester. Montrealers Mike Zbriger and Oriel McHugh returned to North America to play in the Central Hockey League. McHugh played for Canada at the first World Jewish Hockey Championships and was an all-star defenceman in the tournament. Oriel patrolled the blueline for Heerenveen Flyers in the Netherlands in 07-08 and is now with the Oklahoma City Blazers. Zbriger played in Germany last winter and racked up a very respectable 13 goals and 16 assists in 36 games with the Corpus Cristi Ice Rays before being traded to the Wichita Thunder on January 23.

Spengler Cup Jewish boys have appeared in the prestigious Spengler Cup tournament held each year in Switzerland.

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Irv Osterer Rudi Ball (1910-1975) was a three-time winner – in 192829 skating for Berliner SC, in 1934-35 with brothers Gerhart and Heinz playing with Diavoli Milano and again in 1935-36 with Milan. Ball was the best hockey player in Europe in the 1930s and was inducted into the IIHF Hall of Fame in 2005.

Nils ‘Nippe’ Nierenburg (1916-1974) also played in the 1930s for a Swedish team that competed in Davos. This year, former Ottawa Senators hopeful Eric Himelfarb was on the ice for Team Canada. Eric was playing in the Swiss Elite League for Biel when he got the call.

Jewish juniors Shawn Frank left the Barrie Colts to pursue post secondary studies in the Maritimes. Kitchener Rangers right winger Kevin Hudes is one of the tribe! Jesse Hebscher was released from Kingston and is now skating with the Provincial Junior A North York Rangers. Daniel Erlich continues to skate hard and score for the London Knights. Goaltender Adam Stein had another brief stint with the 67’s before returning to the Ajax Axemen. Ethan Werek played in the Canadian Hockey League Prospects Showcase for Don Cherry's squad. The 17-year-old Werek leads the OHL Kingston Frontenacs with 19 goals and is an Ontario Hockey League all-star in his rookie season. Orthodox Jewish hopeful Ben Rubin was released by the Montreal Juniors in January and has returned to the AAA St-Jerome Panthers. Andrew Calof leads the Nepean Raiders in scoring and is one of the top marksmen in the Central Junior League. The crafty Calof is well on his way to an NCAA hockey scholarship and recently appeared in the inaugural Junior A all-star challenge. Also competing for the Raiders, giving them a one-two Jewish punch, is Daniel Altschuler.

International Ice Hockey Federation championships Israel’s National Team will compete against teams from China, Estonia, Iceland, Serbia and Korea in Division IIA in Novi Sad, Serbia, April 7-13. Ottawa resident Ron Soreanu has confirmed that he will skate for Israel. Israel’s U18 entry has been relegated to Division IIIB and will play in March in Erzurum, Turkey.

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Matthew Sherman

Sherman rules Nepean non contact loop Matthew Sherman continues to provide stellar goaltending for Nepean Minor Hockey Association’s Midget non contact Team G and has recorded two shutouts this season.

And, when not between the pipes, Matthew plays an aggressive left wing and recently turned a hat trick in a league game that featured seven goals by Jewish players – three by Sherman and two apiece by defencemen Josh Levitan and Robbie Osterer.

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Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009 – Page 27

Made with Love

Shabbat dinner with the Beavers A few weeks ago, our good friends, the Beavers, came for Shabbat dinner. Beaver is not their real last name. It’s just my nickname for them to preserve their anonymity.

Beavers (the animals) keep their houses in excellent order and many consider them to be the tidiest animals around.

Just like the animal, my friend Mrs. Beaver is efficient, tidy and well organized. I’m not so sure about Mr. Beaver, but I do know that Mrs. Beaver runs a pretty tight ship. So I doubt Mr. Beaver is allowed to slack off too much at home.

Brown Sugar and Chile Braised Brisket Serves 6 Brisket is the ideal meal for entertaining as the majority of the preparation should be done the day before you plan to serve it. This recipe is adapted slightly from Jewish Living Magazine.

5 pound first-cut brisket 1 1/2 teaspoons salt 1 teaspoon black pepper 1/4 cup canola oil 2 cups beef or chicken stock 2 dried ancho chili peppers* 15-ounce can tomato sauce 1/2 cup brown sugar 6 large shallots, peeled and sliced 4 whole garlic cloves 1/2 teaspoon salt 1 tablespoon apple cider vinegar *Dried ancho chili peppers are available from chillychiles.com.

Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Pat brisket dry and sprinkle with salt and pepper.

Heat oil in a roasting pan set over two burners until very hot, but not smoking. Sear brisket on both sides until a brown crust has formed, about 5 minutes per side.

While brisket is searing, remove stems from dried ancho chili peppers and shake out seeds. It may be necessary to tear peppers open to scrape out all the seeds.

Discard seeds.

Place peppers in a heatproof bowl. Heat chicken or beef stock to boiling and pour over peppers. Allow peppers to soften for about 5 minutes.

Using a blender or food processor, purée stock and pepper mixture until smooth. Pour into a medium-sized saucepan. Add tomato sauce, brown sugar, sliced shallots, garlic and salt. Bring to a boil, reduce to a simmer and keep warm.

Pour off any oil that has accumulated in the roasting pan. Pour sauce over brisket. Cover roasting pan tightly with heavy-duty aluminum foil and place in oven.

Braise until brisket is very tender, about 3 hours.

Remove brisket from oven, loosen foil and cool for 2 hours. Remove brisket, wrap well with foil, and refrigerate overnight. Pour sauce into a large measuring cup or Tupperware container, cover and refrigerate overnight.

The next day, spoon off any fat that has hardened on the sauce. Pour liquid into saucepan, add vinegar and simmer until sauce has reduced and thickened slightly, about 5 minutes. Discard garlic and set aside.

Trim off any surface fat from the brisket. Slice brisket across the grain into 1/4 inch thick slices. Place slices in ovenproof oval or rectangular dish (such as a Pyrex baking dish or casserole dish). Pour sauce over brisket. Cover with foil and heat in oven for about 30 minutes. Serve.

When Mrs. Beaver’s children were small, she posted a list of 13 table rules on the wall above their kitchen table.

Rule 6, “No chewing with your mouth open,” was so important to her that she had it listed a second time as Rule 13.

When the family would visit our cottage, Mrs. Beaver would make a packing list. And, not only did she follow it to pack to come to the cottage, she also used it to pack to go home again at the end of the weekend. No stray socks with ‘Beaver’ on the name tag were ever found at my cottage!

I am forever grateful to Mrs. Beaver for taking me under her wing when I first moved to Ottawa. She introduced me to many people and, more than once, showed me how to get

Mrs. Beaver’s Edamame Salad Serves 4 Mrs. Beaver found this recipe in Susie Fishbein’s Kosher by Design Short on Time.

Edamame are baby soybeans. They look a little like peas in the pod. They are sold frozen and you can find them in the grocery store. Sometimes they are found in the pod and sometimes they are found already shelled.

The already-shelled ones are best for this recipe.

1/3 cup olive oil 2 tablespoons balsamic vinegar 3/4 teaspoon fresh thyme, finely chopped 1/8 -1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper 1/4 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper 1 1/2 cups frozen shelled edamame 1 teaspoon salt 5 leaves of romaine lettuce, washed and dried 4 cups or big handfuls of mesclun or spring green mix 1 cup grape tomatoes, washed and halved 1/4 teaspoon fleur de sel or other coarse sea salt 1 cup roasted salted soy nuts Place olive oil, balsamic vinegar, thyme, 1/8 teaspoon cayenne and black pepper in a jar. Put on the lid and shake well. Taste dressing. If it is not spicy enough for you, add additional cayenne. Set aside.

Bring a pot of water to boil over high heat. Add frozen edamame and salt. Boil 2-3 minutes, until tender.

Drain and rinse well under cold water. Drain again and lay on paper towel to dry them off. Set aside.

Tear romaine into bite sized pieces. Place in large salad bowl. Add mesclun mix, tomatoes and edamame.

Pour on about half the dressing and toss to mix. Taste and add more dressing if you like.

Sprinkle with fleur de sel and soy nuts. Serve.

Cindy Feingold to the kosher butcher. She has become a wonderful friend and someone I admire greatly. Like the beaver she is named for, she is extremely industrious and somehow manages to get an incredible amount of work done in very short periods of time.

That night for dinner we had a wonderful Edamame Salad (brought by Mrs. Beaver) and Brown Sugar and Chile Braised Brisket.

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Page 28 – Ottawa Jewish Bulletin – February 9, 2009

WHAT’S GOING ON February 9 to 22, 2009 WEEKLY EVENTS MONDAYS & THURSDAYS Motorin’ Munchkins, sponsored by Ganon Preschool, for kids aged 5 and under. Parent/caregiver-supervised playtime in gymnasium with equipment, 9:00 am - 12:00 pm. Info: 613798-9818, ext. 280.

MONDAYS Pizza and Parsha, sponsored by Chabad Student Network of Ottawa. University of Ottawa, University Centre, 1:00

CANDLELIGHTING BEFORE Feb 13 ✡ Feb 20 ✡

5:08 pm 5:18 pm

pm. Info: 613-601-7701.

TUESDAYS Israeli Folkdancing, learn dances, have fun, no experience necessary. Hillel Academy, 31 Nadolny Sachs Private, 6:30 pm.

Info: 613-722-9323.

FRIDAYS Shabbat Shalom, sponsored by Ganon Preschool, learn about Shabbat through crafts, stories, games and songs. Dropin program for 5 and under. Parent/caregiver must accompany, 9:30 am. Info: 613-798-9818, ext. 280.

MONDAY, FEBRUARY 9 Adina Ben-Porat Memorial Ethics Lecture, sponsored by Ottawa Torah Institute and Machon Sarah High School. Topic: “Redeeming hostages: Is the price too high? A Jewish ethical perspective.” Speakers are Rabbi Eliezer Ben-Porat, dean of

OTI/MS, Aaron Sarna, former government trade negotiator and chair of OTI/MS, 7:15 pm.

Info: 613-244-3939.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 14 Klezmer Concert with “A Touch of Klez,” co-sponsored

by Adath Shalom and Reconstructionist Chavura, open to all, 7:00 pm. Donations to Kosher Food Bank requested. Info: 613234-1649.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 18 The Kibbutz Club, co-sponsored by Jewish Family Services of Ottawa and Congregation Agudath Israel. Lunch and presentation: Federal Financial Programs for Seniors. 1400 Coldrey Avenue, 12:00 pm. Info: 613-728-3501.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 19 Jewish Unity Live, sponsored by Jewish Education through Torah, evening of entertainment and inspiration. Library

For a further listings visit www.jewishottawa.org/ calendar/planitjewish

of Archives Canada, 395 Wellington Street, 7:00 pm. Info: 613-798-9818, ext. 247.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 22 Na’amat Women’s Volunteer Leadership Seminar, open

to all women, part of the Na’amat Leadership Seminar Series. Hampton Inn, 100 Coventry Road, 10:00 am. Info: naamat.ottawa@sympatico.ca.

Shalom Ottawa, community program on Rogers 22, noon (re-

peats noon Saturday, February 28).

Annual Campaign Kickoff, sponsored by Canadian HadassahWIZO, focusing on donations to charities and game-playing. Temple Israel, 1301 Prince of Wales Drive, 1:00 pm. Info: 613-521-9092.

COMING SOON TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 24 A.M. Klein: A Centenary Celebration, sponsored by University of Ottawa’s Vered Jewish Canadian Studies Program and Tree Reading Series, evening devoted to writings and legacy of A.M. Klein, hosted by Professor Seymour Mayne with participating writers.

Arts Court Library, 2 Daly Avenue, 8:00 pm.

Info: 613-749-3773.

WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 25 Soloway Jewish Community Centre Annual General Meeting, 7:00 pm.

Info: 613-798-9818, ext. 221.

THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 26 Anti-Semitism after the Holocaust – the Unwelcoming of the Jewish Survivors after the War, public lecture sponsored by Carleton University’s Max and Tessie Zelikovitz Centre for Jewish Studies. Speaker: Dr. Jan T. Gross of Princeton University, an expert on Polish society during the Second World War and the Holocaust.

Paterson Hall, Carleton University, Room 303, 7:00 pm.

Info: 613-520-2600, ext. 1320.

TUESDAY, MARCH 3 Jetsetter Ski Night, sponsored by Jewish Education Through Torah. 6:00 pm.

Info: 613-798-9818, ext. 247.

Unless otherwise noted, activities take place at The Joseph and Rose Ages Family Building, 21 Nadolny Sachs Private.

This information is taken from the community calendar maintained by the Jewish Ottawa InfoCentre. Organizations which would like their events to be listed, no matter where they are to be held, should send the information to InfoCentre coordinator Benita Siemiatycki via e-mail at bsiemiatycki@jewishottawa.com or fax at 613-798-4695. She can also be reached by telephone at 613-798-4644. Accurate details must be provided and all events must be open to the Jewish public.

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Condolences Condolences are extended to the families of:

The CONDOLENCE COLUMN is offered as a public service to the community.

William Bloom

For a listing in this column, please call Carolene Preap, 613-798-4696, ext. 232.

Irene Breiner

May their memory be a blessing always.

162 Cumberland Street, Suite 300 Toronto, Ontario M5R 3N5

There is no charge.

Voice mail is available.

BULLETIN DEADLINES FEBRUARY 18 FOR MARCH 9 MARCH 4 FOR MARCH 23 MARCH 18 FOR APRIL 6 APRIL 7 FOR APRIL 27 APRIL 22 FOR MAY 11 MAY 6 FOR MAY 25 MAY 27 FOR JUNE 15 * Community-wide Issue (all dates subject to change)

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