Harper announces trip

RON CSILLAG

Just before serenading 4,000 guests at Toronto’s Dec. 1 annual Jewish National Fund (JNF) Negev Dinner with a selection of rock ’n’ roll hits, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced he will visit Israel in the new year.

A playful and relaxed Harper, the gala’s honoree, predicted “a great trip” to Israel, Jordan and the Palestinian territories, and reminded the rapt crowd of his staunch and unabashed support for the Jewish state. Noting that “these are dark days. I just wanted you to know that I understand where you’re coming from on this,” said Harper.

Calling Israel “a light of freedom and democracy in what is otherwise a region of darkness,” he added, “We understand that the future of our country and of our shared civilization depends on the survival and thriving of that free and democratic homeland of the Jewish people in the Middle East.

“And I tell you friends, we understand that. And that’s why Israel will always have Canada as a friend in the world,” the prime minister said to wide applause and cheers from the crowd at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. “As long as we are there, Canada will hold firm.”

Canada and Israel, he said, share common values as well as common threats – Israel faces “the same threats that we face in Canada and throughout the Western world.”

In 2000, Jean Chrétien became the first sitting Canadian prime minister to visit Israel.

A statement from Harper’s office said Canada “recognizes the importance of building inclusive and stable societies underpinned by democracy, freedom, human rights and the rule of law. Our government will continue to take a strong, principled stand internationally, including at the United Nations, on all matters related to Israel and the Middle East.

“I look forward to visiting the Middle East early next year to explore ways of strengthening peace and security, stimulating sustainable economic growth, and promoting essential Canadian values, such as tolerance and human rights, across the region,” Harper said in the statement.

He called the dinner “a show of affection, of love, and I really appreciate that. And I want to show you a little bit of affection and love in return.”

To the surprise of attendees, Harper then introduced Herringbone, the Ottawa-based rock band in which he plays keyboards and sings. With the prime minister on lead vocals, the band played a series of rock classics, including Neil Diamond’s crowd-pleasing “Sweet Caroline” and the Beatles’ “Hey Jude.”

In September, JNF announced that a project in Israel would be named after Harper. The Stephen J. Harper Hula Valley Bird Sanctuary Visitor and Education Centre will be located in the northern Hula Valley, a wetlands region that serves as a passageway for migrating birds.

The project calls for a 4,000-square-metre visitor’s centre bearing Harper’s name to be built in the Hula Lake Nature and Bird Park. Canadian Press called it “a surefire photo-op for Harper’s eventual trip to Israel.”

JNF Canada has raised nearly $6 million for the project. “I’m glad to say this will be our best campaign in our 65-year history,” Josh Cooper, JNF’s national chief executive officer, told CP. “The project will bring jobs to the region. It will be an epicentre for environmentalists, for birders from all over the world, to learn and study birds together in Israel.”

Serving as emcees at the dinner were Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird and Employment and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney, who called Harper’s Conservatives “the first and only Canadian government to acknowledge” Canada’s “shameful” none-is-too-many policy on admitting war-era Jewish refugees from Europe.

To cheers, Kenney said the government is building a national Holocaust monument in Ottawa, and has invested $100 million in a human rights museum in Winnipeg, where the Holocaust will be front and centre.

Also in attendance was Israel’s new ambassador to Canada, Rafael Barak, who praised Harper. “Your friendship is just not talk, but is evident in your actions on the global stage,” Barak said prior to Harper’s speech. “We are truly touched by your friendship and we admire your integrity.”

Sending regards via videotape was Israeli Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, who lauded Harper for “unabashedly, unapologetically,” standing up for Israel.

“Stephen Harper has proven to be a real leader. A real leader doesn’t follow the herd, a real leader doesn’t go by existing fashion: that’s not to lead, that’s to follow. But Stephen leads. He has stood up for Israel and he has stood up for the truth time and time again.”

For his “clarity of conviction and thought,” Netanyahu added, “I salute you, Stephen.”

Dinner co-chairs were Sen. Linda Frum and her husband, businessman Howard Sokolowski.

Ron Csillag is a Toronto freelance writer. A version of this article was originally published in the Canadian Jewish News.

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