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July 28, 2006
Mobilizing for Israel
Agencies raise fundsa and urge vigilance.
PAT JOHNSON
Jewish British Columbians are mobilizing to send aid to the victims
of Hezbollah violence in northern Israel. Two weeks into what observers
are terming an outright war, various Canadian and local agencies
have started aid campaigns.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, along with most of its
sister organizations across North America, has launched an Israel
Crisis Relief Fund. In a July 24 letter to donors, JFGV president
Bernard Pinsky wrote, "At times like these, we are truly one
people."
Vancouver's federation has not yet set a dollar amount goal for
this special crisis campaign. The planned annual Combined Jewish
Appeal campaign begins Sept. 7 and David Berson, the campaign director,
told the Independent on Monday that a decision on whether to announce
a fund-raising target for the crisis campaign would likely be made
this week. Federation allocated $25,000 out of its financial reserves
to jump-start the crisis campaign and a further $25,000 in donations
had been received by Monday, when many people were just receiving
the appeal letter.
Donations can be made online at www.jfgv.com.
In his letter, Pinsky noted that financial contributions are not
the only way to show solidarity with Israel. His letter was accompanied
by a second missive, from the Pacific regional chairs of both Canadian
Jewish Congress (CJC) and the Canada-Israel Committee (CIC). In
their letter, the CJC's Mark Weintraub and the CIC's Michael Elterman
urge supporters to "remain confident that Israel and the entire
region shall overcome this current crisis."
The letter asks recipients to reach out to friends and colleagues
from other communities to help them better understand the conflict;
to monitor media and hold accountable inaccurate reporting; to communicate
with members of Parliament to ensure that positions are informed;
and to express gratitude to Prime Minister Stephen Harper for "the
principled stand he and his government have taken."
At the top of the list was a request to "be vigilant about
monitoring for unusual activity in and around our community institutions
and reporting all suspicious activity to CJC for action."
On July 21, Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region, issued a security
alert to community institutions, noting that the leader of Lebanon's
Hezbollah has threatened "all-out war."
"Canadian police forces are concerned that Hezbollah, which
is known to have a well-established international infrastructure,
could attempt to make good on its threats as they did in Argentina
in 1994, following Israeli actions in Lebanon," wrote Mira
Oreck, director of CJC, Pacific Region. "Part of that concern
also involves the possibility that unaffiliated individuals radicalized
by the events in Lebanon could be prompted to act on their resentment."
CJC asked community institutions to "ensure that your security
vigilance is at its highest level."
The letter suggests a security routine and offers a list of things
for which to watch out.
At a national level, B'nai Brith Canada issued a similar alert.
"Dangerous ripples of the Middle East conflict are being felt
right here at home," Frank Dimant, B'nai Brith Canada's executive
vice-president, said in a release. "Canada's Jewish community
has come under increasing attack, including a bomb threat against
a synagogue, the stoning of worshippers emerging from evening prayer
and a Jewish family being sent a decapitated pig."
The RCMP has launched a 24-hour hotline at 1-800-420-5805 for individuals
to report suspicious activity that may be linked to terrorism. B'nai
Brith Canada's Anti-Hate Community Hotline is 1-800-892-2624.
Meanwhile, other agencies are doing what they can to help.
Canadian Magen David Adom is raising funds to send $650,000 worth
of HCV kits to Israel. The kits, which detect the presence of the
Hepatitis C virus and other infective elements, are needed to ensure
that the blood supply remains healthy at a time when Israelis are
being called upon to donate.
"These are expensive evaluation kits and we've undertaken to
send approximately $650,000 worth of these kits to Israel because
they're on a project now to get more blood donations," said
Arnold Rosner, national executive director of Canadian Magen David
Adom. "Hopefully, they will not be needed down the road, but
it's good policy to take more in right now and be assured that you
have an appropriate supply of blood that's not tainted."
The Canadian branch of the international agency – which was
just weeks ago recognized as a parallel organization to the existing
international Red Cross and Red Crescent societies – is sending
the HCV kits because the Israeli agencies that use them are finding
their resources dwindling.
"With the increased rate of casualties from the onslaught of
Katyushas and other incursions, we have found that they are near
the end of their budgets," Rosner said. "The sister societies
around the world have collectively undertaken to do a special appeal."
Donations can be made online at www.cmdai.org.
Also leaping to Israel's defence is Canadian Hadassah-WIZO. The
Canadian branch of the international women's Zionist organization
operates schools and day-care centres in Israel. Since the start
of the conflict two weeks ago, these institutions have provided
refuge to children and families fleeing the ravaged north.
Vancouverite Rochelle Levinson, immediate past-president of Canadian
Hadassah-WIZO, said the national office has asked all its members
to donate to an emergency fund to help aid Canadian Hadassah-WIZO
schools in Israel that have taken in families and children from
the north.
"We're taking them into our schools and into our day-care centres,"
said Levinson. "We're taking them into the women's clubs and
we're doing all we can to support them. Many of them are coming
out just with the clothes on their backs, so they need our financial
support."
While Hadassah-WIZO members in Canada are glued to the news to see
what's happening, Levinson said, their Israeli counterparts are
burning the candles at both ends.
"What I've heard from the chair of the World WIZO executive
[is that] they've been working almost around the clock to aid getting
people out, to put people in areas where they're safe and anything
they can do to assist," Levinson said. "WIZO is known
in Israel as the place to go when you're in distress. They're doing
everything they can to assist the people, to keep the families together
if they can, to provide the children with activities for the summer
and they're putting them in our schools and day-care centres that
are out of harm's way."
Donations can be made online at www.chw.ca.
Pat Johnson is editor of MVOX Multicultural Digest, www.mvox.ca.
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