November 14, 2011: Remarkable Israeli scientists receive the Canada Gairdner International Award

By Michael Regenstreif

On the last Sunday evening in October, I joined about 50 people, mostly drawn from the scientific and academic communities – including the University of Ottawa, Carleton University and Canadian Friends organizations of some of Israel’s top academic centres – in attending a reception at Kinneret, the official residence in Ottawa of Israel’s ambassador to Canada.

Ambassador Miriam Ziv hosted the reception in honour of two renowned scientists – Howard Cedar, MD, PhD, and Aharon Razin, PhD, of the Department of Developmental Biology and Cancer Research at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem – who were visiting Canada as recipients of the 2011 Canada Gairdner International Award. They received the award at a gala dinner, October 27, hosted by the Gairdner Foundation at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto.

The Gairdner International Award recognizes and rewards “the achievements of medical researchers whose work contributes significantly to improving the quality of human life.” The Gairdner is Canada’s foremost award for medical research and is often a precursor to the Nobel Prize. Since 1959, 298 scientists from 13 countries have received the Gairdner and 76 of them have later added the Nobel to their distinguished resumés.

Collaborators Cedar and Razin received the Gairdner for their “pioneering discoveries on DNA methylation and its role in gene expression.”

For more than three decades, Cedar and Razin have worked together on DNA methylation at Hebrew University. Their discoveries have had important implications in explaining “how genes are regulated and have led to better understanding of human development and the molecular basis of many diseases,” particularly various forms of cancer.

Their work will almost surely advance the treatment possibilities for cancer and other diseases in the years to come.

Israel is probably in the news more than any other country, relative to its size, in the world; mostly because of the ongoing conflict with the Palestinians. What too often gets overlooked is that Israel, also relative to its size, may well be one of the world’s most accomplished countries in such areas as arts and culture, and is most certainly one of the world’s most accomplished countries in scientific, medical and technological research and development.

Israel has a remarkable record of such achievement that affects all of us, from day-to-day ways, like how we use our computers and cell phones, to more profound life-saving and life-altering ways made possible by the work of such scientists as Cedar and Razin.

Library and Archives Canada

I’ve attended many events in the lovely auditorium at Library and Archives Canada, including some excellent concerts, film screenings, lectures and panel discussions.

It’s a great space, and a popular one, booked solidly about 350 days per year, mostly for events sponsored by a wide variety of non-profit community groups and organizations.

The news broke this month that it would soon become much harder for such groups to use the auditorium. Each event would have to receive ministerial approval from Public Works and Government Services Minister Rona Ambrose and, even if ministerial approval was forthcoming, groups would have to pay much higher fees to use the space.

At first, the new policy was to take effect at the beginning of 2012. That has now been put off for a year to 2013.

The government should reverse this action. The space should remain accessible – it is an important facility – and its day-to-day use should not be subject to the complicated process of ministerial approval or even the possibility of political whims.

Farewell to Alan Echenberg

As our long-time page 7 columnist Alan Echenberg notes in his swan song below, he is making a career change, which will preclude him from writing for newspapers.

Speaking as a fellow “Canadian politics geek” (I primarily focused on Canadian politics while doing my MA in public policy), I have always enjoyed reading Alan’s takes on some of the issues that have dominated our political scene in recent years – as well as on the other topics he’s written about over the years – and am sorry to see him leave us.

On behalf of all of us at the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin, I wish Alan well in his new job.

October 31, 2011: Sukkot this year was a time to be happy and rejoice

 By Michael Regenstreif

One of the obligations of the festival of Sukkot is to be happy and rejoice.

And Ottawa’s Jewish community – along with Israelis and Jewish communities around the world – did rejoice when Israeli soldier Gilad Schalit finally came home, October 18, the sixth day of Sukkot.

Gilad’s return came 1,941 days – almost five years and four months – after he was kidnapped from southern Israel by a squad of Palestinian terrorists on June 25, 2006 and taken to captivity in Gaza, a captivity that was more than cruel in its isolation.

Gilad was allowed no contact with the outside world. Hamas would not even allow the International Red Cross to see him. The most recent evidence that he was still alive – in fact, the only evidence in the long years of his captivity – came in a brief video shot more than two years ago.

Gilad became a national symbol in Israel. One of Noam and Aviva Schalit’s three children, almost every Israeli parent knew it could just as easily have been their son or daughter in his place. Israelis – joined by Jewish communities around the world – prayed and campaigned relentlessly for his freedom.

Israel paid a high price for Schalit’s freedom, releasing more than 1,000 Palestinian prisoners, among them the perpetrators of some of the most heinous acts of terrorism, which was particularly difficult for the families of some of the victims of terrorism to accept. Some of them launched an unsuccessful bid to have Israel’s Supreme Court stop the prisoner exchange.

But the exchange had the overwhelming support of Israeli society – including Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Agreeing to the prisoner exchange with Hamas must have been a difficult decision for Netanyahu. In his 1995 book, Fighting Terrorism: How Democracies Can Defeat Domestic and International Terrorists, Netanyahu wrote, “Prisoner releases only embolden terrorists by giving them the feeling that even if they are caught, their punishment will be brief. Worse, by leading terrorists to think such demands are likely to be met, they encourage precisely the terrorist blackmail they are supposed to defuse.”

But prisoner exchanges with such a high price are not new to Israel. Since 1957, Israel has released 13,509 prisoners in exchange for just 16 Israeli soldiers. It is a demonstration of the importance that Israel – and successive Israeli governments of both the left and right – places on the lives of its soldiers.

And so, on Sukkot, we rejoiced and were happy in celebration of the freedom and homecoming of Gilad Schalit.

Remembering Deanna Silverman

It was with great sadness that we learned that Deanna Silverman, Kid Lit columnist in the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin for more than 21 years, passed away on September 29, Rosh Hashanah, following several years of ill health. She died less than two months after her husband of 52 years, Saul Silverman, also a long-time Bulletin columnist, passed away.

Deanna was a passionate advocate for children’s literature – particularly Jewish children’s literature – and traced her passion to her early involvement in a Zionist drama group for children in her home city of Winnipeg. Her Kid Lit column first appeared in the October 6, 1989 edition of the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin and she rarely missed an issue. Generations of Jewish kids in Ottawa had their childhood enriched thanks to the hundreds of books Deanna reviewed and recommended over more than two decades.

In 2008, Deanna told me her health was problematic, that she was unsure how long she’d be able to keep Kid Lit going. But the column was important to her and she did keep it going for more than another two years. What turned out to be her final Kid Lit was published in our March 21 edition. Deanna missed our April issues, but told me she hoped to return soon. In May, though, she regretfully told me she was too ill to continue writing the column.

On behalf of everyone at the Bulletin, I send our sincere condolences to Deanna’s children and grandchildren.

October 3, 2011: York University incident demonstrates need to understand context

By Michael Regenstreif

York University in Toronto, like Carleton University here in Ottawa, and any number of other universities in Canada and around the world, has been at the centre of anti-Israel activism in recent years. Too often, such activism has been seen to degenerate into antisemitism. Jewish students rightly have become sensitive to issues of antisemitism and have learned how to respond when its ugly head is reared on their campuses.

It’s important, though, when responding to an incident that it’s not a matter of jumping too quickly to conclusions – particularly a wrong conclusion. That’s what happened at York last month when a veteran social sciences professor was delivering his introductory lecture to a course called Self, Culture and Society and was misunderstood by one of the nearly 500 students in the class.

While this cautionary tale happened at York, it could just as easily have been at Carleton, the University of Ottawa, or almost any other university campus.

The professor was telling the students that personal opinions were not relevant in this course and went on to challenge the very idea that everyone is entitled to his or her opinion.

And he offered an example of what he deemed an unacceptable opinion.

“All Jews should be sterilized,” he said, is just such an unacceptable opinion.

A fourth-year student attending the first-year class apparently missed or misunderstood the context of the professor’s statement and concluded he was an antisemite saying all Jews should be sterilized.

Rather than challenge the statement, or ask for clarification on the professor’s intent in making it, the student immediately left the class and enlisted Hasbara at York – a Zionist organization on campus – in contacting the media, the blogosphere and Jewish community groups to attack what she perceived to be an antisemitic opinion expressed by an antisemitic professor.

The class in question took place on the afternoon of Monday, September 12. The student’s report of the ‘antisemitic incident’ quickly went viral on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter and B’nai Brith Canada took up her case.

However, by the time the story made the Wednesday edition of the Toronto Star and two columns in Thursday’s National Post, the context of the professor’s remark was clear.

In a statement circulated by the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), he said it was an example “of the fact that opinions can be dangerous and that none of us really do believe that all opinions are acceptable.

“For the record, I am also Jewish, which undoubtedly influenced my choice of this example of a reprehensible opinion.”

CIJA released a statement describing the incident as “a very unfortunate misunderstanding.” The professor’s “use of an abhorrent statement was intended to demonstrate that some opinions are simply not legitimate. This point was, without ill intentions, taken out of context and circulated in the Jewish community. … This event is an appropriate reminder that great caution must be exercised before concluding a statement or action is antisemitic.”

Indeed, context is important. Too often, we see words taken out of context, misinterpreted and twisted from their intent. This, of course, does not mean we should stop being vigilant or stop standing up when antisemitism and other expressions of prejudice or hatred do rear their ugly heads.

September 19, 2011: We are a community of great diversity

 By Michael Regenstreif

Ottawa’s Jewish community, like most Jewish communities of significant size in North America, is highly diverse.

We’re religiously diverse. Individuals and families in the community range from the fervently observant to the completely secular, and our congregations are part of each of the major movements of contemporary Judaism.

We’re politically diverse. Each of Canada’s, and Ontario’s, major political parties has supporters and activists from among our community.

And while Israel enjoys overwhelming support from the community, our opinions reflect the diversity of Israel’s democratic politics and its multi-party system. And, as in Israel, there is a great diversity of opinion in our community vis-à-vis particular policy issues.

All this is to say the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin strives to reflect the diversity of our community. The Bulletin is open to all segments of our community in our news reporting, in the submissions we receive and publish, and in our opinion columns.

None of our opinion columnists – from the congregational rabbis who share From the Pulpit, to Alan Echenberg, Mira Sucharov, Oliver Javanpour, our many guest columnists, to me – has a monopoly on the truth. You might agree with some things our columnists write and disagree with others. I’m the editor and I don’t agree with everything.

If you want to dispute or applaud something you read in the Bulletin, please do so. If what you have to say is relatively short, write a letter-to-the-editor. If you need more than brief, letter-length space, a guest column is possible. A case in point is Bob Dale’s guest column on page 10, a response to Mira Sucharov’s Values, Ethics, Community in our September 5 issue.

September 5, 2011: The Bulletin gets some attention

By Michael Regenstreif

As a small community newspaper, we’re always pleased to see the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin get some attention. We got some recently in two lengthy posts on the Ottawashtetl blog – ottawashtetl.wordpress.com – written by “Ottawayenta.”

There were also some interesting responses in the ‘Comments’ section of each of the posts.

I thank Ottawayenta for taking time to think and write about the Bulletin. Like so many people in this community, the blogger obviously cares about our community newspaper.

I would like to comment on a couple of things raised in the blog.

There was a stated assumption that the Ottawa Jewish Bulletin is financially supported by the Jewish Federation of Ottawa. A natural assumption, I suppose, because many Jewish newspapers in North America are subsidized by federations.

The Bulletin, though, is not. We are a self-sufficient enterprise supported entirely by advertising and subscription revenue. Our modest profits, in fact, support the work of the Federation.

By the way, the cost of a Bulletin subscription has not risen in many years. At $30 per year, an annual subscription costs about half what I pay every month for my home Internet account.

Ottawayenta suggests the Bulletin should be available online for free as many people, particularly young adults, don’t read print newspapers and rely on the Internet for news and information. I wish we could just do that.

The problem is that few, if any, newspapers have been able to break even in their online operations. Many, including the New York Times, are scaling back or beginning to charge for access to their online content.

We hope soon to give the Bulletin a greater online presence in a way that is financially viable and that makes sense for our subscribers and advertisers.

The Bulletin always welcomes feedback, suggestions and questions from anyone in the community. I’m easily accessible at the Bulletin office, on the phone, and via email. My door is open.

And we always welcome articles, letters-to-the-editor and guest columns on issues of concern from our readers. We are, after all, your community newspaper.

CIJA

As we’ve reported in past issues, the various Jewish advocacy agencies formerly under the umbrella of the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy (CIJA) – the Canadian Jewish Congress, the Canada-Israel Committee, the Quebec-Israel Committee, the University Outreach Committee and National Jewish Campus Life – were merged, as of July 1, into a single agency that was temporarily called “CIJA 2.0” until a permanent name was chosen.

There were many people across Canada who hoped the new agency would be called “Canadian Jewish Congress” and maintain the continuity of an organization that was the major voice of Canada’s national Jewish community for almost a century.

Alas, CIJA 2.0 will not be called Canadian Jewish Congress. After several months of behind-closed-doors discussion, the merged agency will be called the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs, or CIJA.

Jack Layton

Seldom have Canadians – of all political stripes – been as united in grief and mourning as we were with the untimely passing, August 22, of Opposition Leader Jack Layton.

In the election campaign last spring, Jack – it seems so natural to call him Jack – appeared to be getting stronger every day, to be recovering from cancer, as he led the NDP to unprecedented success in the May 2 vote.

Although fiercely partisan, Jack earned, and kept, the respect and affection of political friend and foe alike.

Almost immediately after his death, CIJA announced it would establish in his memory the Jack Layton Scholarship for Social Justice, “to be awarded annually to a Canadian student who demonstrates a meaningful commitment to enhancing Canada’s quality of life.”

CIJA chair David Koschitzky said Jack fought for “many causes dear to Canada’s Jewish community … We join with all Canadians in honouring the passing of a passionate advocate and pillar of our Parliament.”

In a last letter to Canadians, written just before his death, Jack continued to inspire.

“My friends,” he wrote, “love is better than anger. Hope is better than fear. Optimism is better than despair. So let us be loving, hopeful and optimistic. And we’ll change the world.”

August 15, 2011: CPCCA report does not call for criticism of Israel to be criminalized

By Michael Regenstreif

For two-and-a-half years, since the Canadian Parliamentary Coalition to Combat Antisemitism (CPCCA) was established, a number of anti-Israel groups have screamed, hollered and rolled out petitions claiming the goal of the CPCCA (and of the Harper government) is to “criminalize criticism of the State of Israel.” Among the loudest of these groups has been Independent Jewish Voices (IJV).

The CPCCA Inquiry Panel released its report last month. The report endorses the definition of antisemitism developed by the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia, which includes discussion of how some manifestations of anti-Zionism and some criticisms of the State of Israel do cross the line into antisemitism. Nowhere does the CPCCA report suggest that criticism of the State of Israel be criminalized.

In fact, the report rejects the very idea that legitimate criticism of the State of Israel is at all antisemitic.

“Criticism of Israel is not, by definition, antisemitic. Israel is accountable, just like any other state, for its acts in accordance with its obligations under international regimes dealing with human rights and international humanitarian law,” says the report without any ambiguity.

But, despite the report being unequivocal about criticism of Israel, anti-Israel groups like IJV keep repeating the same old mantra about criminalizing criticism of Israel.

A group called Faculty for Palestine published an op-ed in the National Post (July 21) and on the IJV website that said the report called “on the federal government to adopt a definition of antisemitism that would criminalize criticism of the State of Israel.” (Some of the Faculty for Palestine op-ed co-authors are also active in IJV.)

Even when criticism of the State of Israel can be seen to rise to the level of, or be motivated by, antisemitism, the report does not call for criminalization of antisemitism, per se. It says that criminal acts themselves – attacks on Jewish persons or buildings, etc. – can be seen as antisemitic when that is the motivation.

In other words, there is no suggestion in the CPCCA report that criticism of the State of Israel be criminalized.