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January 2, 2004
Call for peace and hope
Menorah lighting downtown brings light in dark times.
PAT JOHNSON SPECIAL TO THE JEWISH BULLETIN
Rabbi Yitzchak Wineberg declared it our own local Chanukah miracle
when the flame of the first candle was finally alight on the Silber
family menorah outside the Vancouver Art Gallery on the third day
of the holiday, Dec. 21.
Lexy Balshin, the great-granddaughter of Fred Silber, the man who
commissioned Vancouver's most public menorah, rode a lift to the
top of the 26-foot tall chanukiyah. Lexy's mother Lori and the lift's
operator attempted to light the candle, which proved more difficult,
it seemed, than when the ancient Maccabees lit the oil that miraculously
lasted eight days. As several hundred spectators watched amusedly,
sharing coffee, sufganiyot and gossip, the flames were finally lit
on the monumental menorah that has become one of the annual winter
traditions in Vancouver.
As it has for the past several years, the menorah lighting took
on added significance in light of the ongoing conflict in Israel.
Numerous speakers discussed the symbolism of light in the world
as a bulwark against the darkness of terror and hatred, while the
children of the Richmond Jewish Day School choir sang hopeful songs
of the season in English, Hebrew and Yiddish.
"We hope Chanukah, which saw miracles many years ago, will
be a time of miracles again," said Wineberg, whose Lubavitch
B.C. movement co-sponsored the event with the Jewish Federation
of Greater Vancouver, the Israel Action Committee and the Jewish
Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. The lighting of the candles
during the eight nights of Chanukah signifies the ability to bring
the light of hope into the world, said the rabbi. "Even in
darkness, every individual can bring light."
The celebration brought out a host of political leaders, including
Vancouver-Quadra member of Parliament Stephen Owen, who was recently
appointed federal minister of public works and government services.
Owen noted that Canada is commonly referred to as Israel's "second
best friend" in the world and added it may be time to consider
the nature and responsibilities of friendship. Owen is one of about
20 MPs and senators in the Liberal caucus who have formed a pro-Israel
caucus. (See future issues of the Bulletin for more on Liberal
Parliamentarians for Israel.)
"May the light of Chanukah bring wisdom and peace," said
Owen.
Representing the provincial government was Christy Clark, the education
minister, who noted that the word Chanukah stems from the Hebrew
for "education."
"There is nothing that will bring peace more than education,"
said Clark, adding that the Jewish community worldwide has traditionally
been one of the most literate and has put great emphasis on the
importance of education. Clark was joined by other Liberal MLAs
including Patrick Wong (Vancouver-Kensington), Richard Lee (Burnaby-North)
and John Nuraney (Burnaby-Willingdon).
Vancouver Mayor Larry Campbell noted that one of his first acts
as mayor last year was to join the Jewish community in lighting
the menorah. Campbell expressed appreciation for the Chanukah message
of peace and hope, noting that message has a special resonance for
his city.
"Vancouver is a diverse and beautiful city," he said.
"This is a city of peace. We speak it, we live it and we want
it."
Speaking on behalf of the Israel Action Committee, Dr. Michael Elterman
issued the most explicitly political interpretation of the Chanukah
event, noting that Israel is being held up to a degree of condemnation
in the docket of world opinion that is beyond all measure of the
severity of the situation compared to other contemporary world events.
The uniqueness and degree of criticism against Israel raises questions
about the motivations of Israel's critics and demands answers, he
said.
"The focus must shift to the accusers," said Elterman.
Elterman noted that criticism of Israel is not perforce anti-Semitism,
but said criticism frequently goes far beyond attacks on individual
policies and explicitly or implicitly denies Israel's right to exist
as a Jewish state.
"It is anti-Semitic to deny the Jewish nation the right of
self-determination," he said, adding that Palestinian self-determination
is too often not the primary concern of those who lambaste Israel.
"Palestinian leaders have been more interested in destroying
the Jewish state than creating a Palestinian one," he said.
Elsewhere in the Lower Mainland, a small controversy developed over
another annual menorah lighting at Semiahmoo shopping centre in
the White Rock/South Surrey community. The Centre for Judaism, which
organizes the annual event, was disappointed that the mall management
insisted they change the event's timing to a period before the mall
opened on Sunday morning, Dec. 21.
Jeri Cox, marketing director for the shopping centre, said the event
is a victim of its own success, with crowds becoming so large that
fire regulations could have been breached if the menorah lighting
crowds were added to busy shopping hours.
"They've just outgrown us and that's wonderful," said
Cox, who added the mall is happy to host the menorah lighting but
cannot accommodate it during regular operating hours. The mall had
tried to put organizers in contact with the Rotary Club, which operates
a larger facility in the area, as well as suggesting that an outdoor
tent might alleviate the crowd conditions, Cox said. She added that
the mall notified organizers in February of the impending change
and were surprised to hear complaints recently from the event's
organizers.
"We thought we had done our very best to accommodate them,"
said Cox.
Pat Johnson is a native Vancouverite, a journalist and
commentator.
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