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July 5, 2013
Critical article is criticized
Tribune makes controversy of Shalit’s Canadian tour.
CYNTHIA RAMSAY
“B’nai B’rith International unequivocally disassociates itself from a news story in the Jewish Tribune newspaper, which is associated with B’nai Brith Canada, that is deeply critical of Gilad Shalit, the former Israel Defence Forces soldier captured and held captive by Hamas for five years,” begins the short statement released by BBI on June 26.
A separate organization from BBC, BBI said the Tribune story – “JNF Canada’s invitation to Shalit gets mixed reaction” by Atara Beck – “in no way represents” BBI’s views or those of “its members and supporters around the world.” In fact, the statement notes, BBI hosted Shalit “as a special guest at the B’nai B’rith Europe Young Jewish Adult Forum in London in November 2012, where he was warmly received. Some 200 delegates from more than 20 European countries, Israel and the United States were on hand when Shalit was made an honorary B’nai B’rith International member.”
Without naming any names, Beck, in her June 18 article, claims at various points that the Jewish National Fund of Canada’s choice of Shalit as a guest speaker for a multi-city Canadian tour in September (including Vancouver) was greeted by mixed reaction “on the street in Israel and in Canada”; that “some have expressed concern that by appearing worldwide as an invited guest speaker, Shalit – who showed no resistance during his abduction nor made any attempt to protect his fellow IDF soldiers – could now become a new Israeli icon”; that “many are questioning JNF Canada’s decision to bring Shalit, who is now comfortably employed as a sportswriter, to Canada as a guest speaker”; and that “many fear that his appearance as an honored guest of a Zionist charitable organization could create a new – and inferior – image of Israel, in contrast to role models that encourage bravery and fortitude and instil pride in the IDF.” (Emphasis added in all four instances.)
Beck doesn’t actually quote any particular person in support of the cited views, so it is unclear how many people were interviewed “on the street,” how many people comprises “some” and how many is “many,” or who any of these people might be. The only person Beck seems to have interviewed is JNF Canada chief executive officer Josh Cooper, who confirms that speaking tour is scheduled, and is quoted as saying that Shalit isn’t so much being honored by JNF; rather, “He’s coming to speak to the community and to thank the community for holding him in their hearts and praying for his safe return all these years.... He’s his own person. He has a fascinating story to tell. Why wouldn’t we help to make that happen?”
A quote from Cooper ends the article, requesting that other organizations be a part of the tour events: “We don’t want it to be solely us.... We would love to have their participation.”
Online, with the same date as Beck’s article, is a letter signed by a Harry F. Smith from Montreal. In it, Smith, who is “dismayed” that Shalit will be speaking in Montreal, calls Shalit “a stumblebum,” contends that “A few more like this hero and Israel will cease to exist,” says that Shalit “is not a hero” and that we should let Shalit “live out his life peacefully in France or Israel but please blend into the background and may we live to forget this regretful experience.”
Apart from Beck’s article and that one letter, little controversy or debate seems to exist elsewhere about JNF Canada’s choice of speaker. Another commentary – a June 24 letter signed by Sam Bryks of Toronto – appears on the Tribune’s website and is supportive of Shalit, concluding, “I think that bringing Gilad Shalit as an honored guest without any distortion of what this really means is the key. He represents a core value of the Jewish nation of Israel and that is value of its people and of its citizen soldiers, even against such difficulty. That is something to be proud of, not to disdain.”
A Google search reveals news outlets that have covered Beck’s article but none that cites others critical of Shalit’s impending visit. They note B’nai B’rith International’s disassociation from the Tribune story and the Jewish Daily Forward, for example, also notes that Beck’s story “did not cite any sources critical of Shalit’s visit.” The headline of Paul Lungen’s June 27 article in the Canadian Jewish News asks the question, “Is there controversy over Gilad Shalit’s Canada visit?” and seems to come to the conclusion that there isn’t.
Lungen raises certain issues, but does not criticize Shalit or JNF Canada. He quotes a Jerusalem Post article by Ben Caspit, “who questioned whether Shalit could have done more to avoid capture” by Hamas gunmen near the Gaza border in June 2006, and Lungen touches upon the controversy that still surrounds Israel’s decision to negotiate with terrorists. The 2011 deal for Shalit’s release entailed the freeing by Israel of 1,027 prisoners, many of whom were convicted terrorists.
Lungen gives Cooper more ink than does Beck, and he quotes from another Jerusalem Post article, in which “lone soldier Ilan Mann, a Canadian, stated, ‘Almost a third of Israelis of drafting age avoid military service altogether, and the majority who do serve do not do so in combat units, for one reason or another. Shalit went above and beyond to protect his country. What could be more heroic?
“‘Shalit has, after a ferociously arduous service, returned to the arms of the Jewish people, unbent and unbroken; let’s give him the hero’s welcome he deserves,’ Mann wrote.”
Lungen also interviews the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs’ Shimon Fogel, who refers to Shalit as a symbol on two levels, “the individual who suffered for years as a POW under exceedingly difficult circumstances” and as a representative of “the very ethos that the Jewish state, Israel and the Jewish community in the Diaspora will do what it can do, however wrenching, to secure the release of those who served the state.”
Lungen also gives Cooper the last word. Calling Shalit’s visit “a tremendous opportunity to engage and celebrate life,” Cooper says about Shalit’s imprisonment, “I don’t think there was a Jewish person on the planet who didn’t pray for his safe return, and now we have it.”
As of press time, B’nai Brith Canada had not responded to the Independent’s request for comment about the reaction generated by Beck’s story.
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