May 21, 2012: An inspiring visit by Israel’s elder statesman

By Michael Regenstreif

It was quite extraordinary – if not awe-inspiring – to watch Nobel Peace Prize laureate Shimon Peres, the State of Israel’s remarkable president and elder statesman, in action over the two days he spent in Ottawa during his official state visit to Canada, May 6 to 10.

At 88, Peres is the world’s oldest head of state, but he seems more than able to maintain a gruelling schedule of travel, meetings, speaking engagements and events that would wear out many half his age.

I was on hand for several of Peres’ Ottawa events, beginning with a Monday morning welcoming ceremony in front of Rideau Hall.

The ceremony was filled with pomp and circumstance.

With Governor General David Johnston and a long line of dignitaries, including Foreign Minister John Baird and Israeli Ambassador Miriam Ziv and a Canadian Armed Forces honour guard and military band there to greet him – as well as an invited gallery of Jewish community leaders and students from the Ottawa Jewish Community School – the Israeli president’s car arrived at Rideau Hall accompanied by Mounties on horseback.

Peres was sure-footed as he inspected the honour guard, greeted the dignitaries, listened to the governor general’s speech, made a speech of his own, and then did a royal-style walkabout to greet the invited guests.

In his remarks, Peres spoke warmly, in both French and English, about “the uninterrupted friendship that your people have shown towards my people from the very first day of our statehood.”

He also recalled his first visit to Canada, more than 60 years ago, when he was sent here by then-prime minister David Ben-Gurion to buy arms for the nascent state.

After the ceremony, the president and governor general held a private meeting inside Rideau Hall. But Peres was soon on the move again – to Parliament Hill where he was greeted by Prime Minister Stephen Harper in front of Centre Block.

Stepping inside, there was another brief welcoming ceremony where Peres signed the Parliamentary guest books before going into a private meeting with Harper in the prime minister’s office.

During his visit to Ottawa, Peres also held meetings with Opposition Leader Thomas Mulcair and Interim Liberal Leader Bob Rae. All three of Canada’s major party leaders are well regarded as supportive friends of the State of Israel.

Other events during the Israeli president’s time in Ottawa included a state dinner in his honour at Rideau Hall, a meeting with academics on joint scientific collaboration between Israeli and Canadian institutions, which culminated in the signing of a memo of understanding between the Royal Society of Canada and the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities, and a ceremonial tree planting on the grounds of Rideau Hall.

As Canadian Jews, most of us have planted trees in Israel – if not literally, then through donations. But here was the president of Israel planting a tree in Canada. Quite appropriately for a Nobel Peace Prize laureate who has dedicated much of his later career to the peace process, the tree was an Eastern White Pine, which the Iroquois call the ‘Tree of Peace.’

His final event before moving on to Toronto and Montreal was a reception for 600 people hosted by Ambassador Ziv at the National Gallery attended by diplomats, cabinet ministers and MPs, Supreme Court justices, academics, journalists, military officials and Jewish community leaders.

Peres gave a long riveting speech at the reception. Holding the microphone in his hand, he spoke without a script or even notes. He talked about the State of Israel in both historical and contemporary terms, about Israel’s enduring friendship with Canada and about his past visits here. He spoke about a rapidly changing Middle East and, at length, about science and technology, making predictions about breakthroughs a decade or so away. He even cracked a couple of jokes. An amazing performance that earned sustained ovations from the high-powered audience.

As I mentioned, Peres is Israel’s elder statesman. He has been at the very centre of Israeli political life for all of Israel’s history. First as an adviser to Ben-Gurion, and his emissary, and then as a member of the Knesset, influential cabinet minister, and prime minister – he was acting prime minister for several months in 1977 and held the office officially from 1984 to 1986 and 1995 to 1996 – and now as president, Israel’s head of state.

When I heard Shimon Peres speak about the future and confidently envision a Middle East of peace and co-operation, the vision seemed like it really could come to be.

May 7, 2012: This is a fascinating time for Ottawa’s synagogues

By Michael Regenstreif

From news reports to speculation, suggestions and clarifications in columns, guest columns and letters-to-the-editor, there has been much written in the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin in recent months about the future of several of Ottawa’s major synagogues.

Among the current situations is Temple Israel’s need to relocate. Ottawa’s Reform congregation long ago outgrew its synagogue building on Prince of Wales Drive, which was built in the 1970s to accommodate 100 families. The congregation now numbers about 360 families. There were discussions that Temple Israel would sell its building and erect a new one on the Jewish Community Campus, but an accommodation could not be reached with the campus and Temple Israel is looking at other options.

Congregation Machzikei Hadas – the most venerable of Ottawa’s Orthodox congregations with a history stretching back more than a century – is faced with a demographic problem as the Jewish community has continued to shift west. Fewer and fewer Jews are living in the Alta Vista area, where Machzikei Hadas shifted to almost four decades ago because the community had largely moved away from the Sandy Hill area. The congregation’s history in its current Virginia Drive location is just a decade shorter than the half-century it spent at the corner of Murray Street and King Edward Avenue.

Congregation Beth Shalom also needs to relocate, having sold its property on Chapel Street. At the time of the sale, the Conservative congregation indicated that one of its preferred options would be to move to Ottawa’s west end, possibly to the Jewish Community Campus.

Finally, Agudath Israel Congregation has been engaged in a search for new clergy.

With the possibility of Beth Shalom moving to the west end, Bulletin columnist Jason Moscovitz asked, “Does Ottawa really need two Conservative synagogues five minutes away from each other? (How can synagogues best serve their congregations, and the community-at-large? March 29)” and speculated on the possibility of a merger between Beth Shalom and Agudath Israel.

I would also point out that Ottawa has a small, third Conservative congregation in that five-minute zone – the lay-led Adath Shalom Congregation which meets on the Jewish Community Campus in the school building (and in the Joseph and Rose Ages Family Building for High Holidays and larger services for bar and bat mitzvahs).

We’ve recently learned that Agudath Israel and Beth Shalom have begun to explore the possibility of whether a merger is in the best interests of the two congregations and have struck a joint task force to determine whether or not a merger is feasible.

A letter to congregants from Jack Klein, Agudath Israel’s president, notes that synagogue mergers usually take place when congregations are in financial difficulty or because membership levels are no longer viable. “Neither is the case with our two shuls,” he wrote.

There are implications to these discussions, not the least of which is Agudath Israel’s search for new clergy – Beth Shalom has multi-year contracts in place with its clergy.

There are many issues that the joint task force will have to consider. For example, although both are Conservative congregations, Agudath Israel is a member of the United Synagogue of Conservative Judaism, the mainstream Conservative organization in North America, while Beth Shalom is part of the newer, smaller Canadian Council of Conservative Synagogues. As well, Agudath Israel has embraced egalitarianism, while Beth Shalom remains more traditional in regard to the role of women in synagogue ritual.

But, should they wish to move forward, such issues are not insurmountable. Beth Shalom was an Orthodox congregation for most of its history and was, itself, formed in 1956 by the merger of Ottawa’s first two congregations, Adath Jeshurun, founded in 1892, and Agudath Achim, founded in 1902. A third congregation, B’nai Jacob, founded in 1910, merged into the Beth Shalom fold in 1971.

And, to show that anything is possible when it comes to synagogue mergers, two congregations in Buffalo, New York, have just announced a merger. One of the merging shuls is Reform, the other is Reconstructionist, and the merged congregation will retain its affiliations with both movements.

This is a fascinating time for Ottawa’s synagogues and we’ll continue to follow developments on all of these stories with great interest.