בשלב זה ישראל מקבלת תמיכה ממרבית מדינות המערב. אך יש סיכוי שעם ההתקדמות של מבצע צבאי של צה”ל ברצועת עזה, התמיכה תלך ותרד עם עליית הנפגעים בצד הפלסטיני (photo by Roni Rachmani)
המלחמה הקשה שמתנהלת בימים אלה בין ישראל לחאמס ויכולה להתפשט לחזיתות נוספות, צפוייה להשפיע לרעה על חיי יהודים וישראלים הגרים בקנדה, ארה”ב, אירופה ומקומות אחרים. הם צפויים לעמוד מול איומים שונים של פלסטינים ותומכיהם שמאשימים את ישראל גם במשבר הנוכחי. תומכי הפלסטינים קוראים להקמת מדינה לפלסטינים מהנהר ועד הים – שפירושה המעשי השמדת מדינת ישראל
העולם המערבי כולל צפון אמריקה מלא כיום מיליוני מוסלמים שהיגרו ממדינות ערב לאורך שנים רבות. חלק לא מבוטל מהם ממשיך לשמור נאמנות למוצאם ודתם בצורה פנאטית ורואה בישראל כמדינת אויב
עוד שגרתי בישראל טענתי שהסכסוך בינה ובין הפלסטינים וחלק ממדינות ערב יסכן גם את חיי היהודים והישראלים הגרים מחוץ למדינה. אמרתי אז שלישראל יש גם את האחריות לשמור על היהודים והישראלים, שבחרו לגור במקומות שונים בעולם ובעיקר במערב. ומוטל על ישראל לשקול בזהירות את צעדיה שכאמור יכולים להשפיע לרעה על היהודים והישראלים שגרים בחוץ לארץ
עובדה היא שאנטשימיות נגד יהודים וישראלים ברחבי העולם הולכת וגדלה, וכבר בסכסוך הקשה הנוכחי, נרשם גידול נוסף בשנה נגדם. וזו רק ההתחלה. אני צופה להרעה משמעותית עד סכנת חיים ליהודים והישראלים בצפון אמריקה, אירופה ומקומות אחרים. כבר עתה ידוע על הפגנות גדולות קשות נגד ישראל ותמיכה בפלסטינים. אלה עלולות להחמיר לעימותים פיזיים קשים עם יהודים וישראלים ואף יותר מכך. משטרות בערים רבות בעולם הדקו את ההגנה על מוסדות יהודים שונים ובהם בתי כנסת. נרשמו כבר לא מעט איומים נגד יהודים, ישראלים ומוסדות שונים בעולם ולכן השמירה מאוד חשובה במיוחד בימים טרופים אלה
בשלב זה ישראל מקבלת תמיכה ממרבית מדינות המערב. אך יש סיכוי שעם ההתקדמות של מבצע צבאי של צה”ל ברצועת עזה, התמיכה תלך ותרד עם עליית הנפגעים בצד הפלסטיני. במקביל צפויים היהודים והישראלים ברחבי העולם לסבול מגידול משמעותי באנטישמיות, התנכלויות, ואף מאיומים פיזיים
חברת אייר קנדה מהירה לפטר טייס מוסלמי שהתבטא נגד ישראל וכתב בחשבון הטוויטר שלו: “היטלר גאה בישראל”. מוסטפא איזו השתתף בהפגנה במונטריאול בעד הפלסטינים נגד ישראל והוא אף הצטלם עם צעיף בצבעי דגל פלסטין. זו לא הפעם הראשונה שאיזו מתבטא נגד ישראל ותומך בפלסטינים אך הפעם מתברר שהוא חצה את הגבול ובאייר קנדה מיהרו לפטרו
ראש ממשלת קנדה, ג’סטין טרודו, גינה את מתקפות הטרור נגד ישראל בהתייחסו להתקפה של חמאס על עשרות ישובי עוטף עזה בה נרצחו למעלה מאלף שלוש מאות ישראלים, נפצעו למעלה מארבעת אלפים ונלקחו בשבי קרוב לוודאי כמאה וחמישים אזרחים, חיילים, ועובדים זרים. בהודעה שפרסם בטוויטר אמר טרודו כי פעולות אלימות אלה בלתי מקובלות באופן מוחלט. אנו עומדים לימין ישראל ותומכים באופן מלא בזכות להגן על עצמה. מחשבות שלנו תמיד עם כל אדם שנפגע. חייבים להגן על חיי אזרחים, חתם טרודו את הודעתו. מנהיג האופוזיציה והמפלגה הקונסרבטיבית, פייק פוליוויר, גינה באופן חד משמעי את הפלישה של טרוריסטים של חמאס לישראל ואת האלימות האכזרית שהם הפעילו נגד אזרחים חפים מפשע. לדבריו לישראל הזכות להגן על עצמה בפני התקפות אלה ולפעול נגד התוקפים. מנהיג מפלגת השמאל אן.די.פי ג’גמיט סינג כתב בחשבון הטוויטר כי הוא מגנה את ההתקפות הנוראיות שביצע החמאס בישראל. אסור לעולם לפגוע באזרחים וכל החטופים צריכים להיות מחשוררים באופן מיידי. לדברי סינג יש חשש מההתפתחויות עתה. טרור ואלימות לא יפתרו דבר
המלחמה הנוכחית שנכפתה על ישראל מציגה שני מראות עיקריים: אסון וזוועה על מה שעשו מחבלי חמאס וכישלון גדול של הממשלה בראשות בנימין נתניהו, הצבא, מערך המודיעין, השב”כ ואולי גם המוסד
החמאס הוכיח שהוא ארגון טרור רצחני ולא אנושי תוך שהוא מותיר מאות הרוגים ופצועים. אחרים נלקחו בשבי. לא מדובר רק בחיילי צה”ל אלה בעיקר באזרחים, נשים וילדים, גברים וזקנים. חלקם נטבחו, חלקם עונו וחלקם כך סתם נרצחו. החלק האחר הוא אולי במצב הקשה ביותר: נלקח בשבי על מנהרות החמאס בעזה הצפופה. מאז קום המדינה לא היה אירוע כזה בו נהרגו ביום אחד מאות רבות של אזרחים וחיילים. הפוגרום הנורא ביותר בתולדות הישוב היהודי בארץ ישראל. התמונות בערוצי הטלוויזיה ואתרי החדשות באינטרנט על הנרצחים, הפצועים ואלו שנשבו, הם קשות מנשוא. חיות אדם בסגנון דאעש אחראים לדבר הנורא הזה
במקביל הכישלון של ישראל שנתפסה מופתעת לחלוטין מתקפת הפתע של חמאס, ולאחר מכן לקח זמן רב מדי לכוחות צה”ל ומערך הביטחון להגיע אל ישובי חבל עזה, ולהציל את אלה שהמחבלים לא הספיקו להרוג. נתניהו קיבל מידע ואזהרה מהמצרים ממה שחמאס עומד לעשות והתעלם מכך. היה לו הרבה יותר חשבו לעבות את השמירה הצבאית על ההתנחלויות בשטחים הכבושים, שנציגיהם יושבים בממשלתו. נתניהו הזחוח והשחצן ייזכר לדראון עולם כראש הממשלה הגרוע ביותר בתולדות ישראל. זאת, כיוון שהוא לא מנע את האסון הגדול ביותר שקרה למדינה ולאזרחיה. “שותפים מלאים” לכשלונו של נתניהו חברי ממשלתו שאין להם מושג איך לנהל מדינה והם דואגים רק לאינטרסים האישיים שלהם. גם לצבא הגנה לישראל יש חלק גדול בכישלון הנוראי שגב המחיר קשה מנשוא. מערכת ההגנה על יישובי חבל עזה עם כל הטכנולוגיה שלה קרסה תוך דקות על ידי עשרות מחבלי חמאס שנהרו אל הישובים החשופים. מערך המודיעין של צה”ל, השב”כ ואולי גם המוסד לא ידע כלל על הכנות של החמאס לביצוע המבצע לכניסה לשטחי ישראל. לקיום מבצע שזה דרושים חודשים ארוכים תוך תיאום עם גורמים באיראן ואחרים. כל אלה הצליחו להערים על המודיעין הישראלי בקלות בלתי נתפסת
לאחר שהמלחמה תסתיים צפוי שבכירים בצבא, במערך המודיעין והרמטכ”ל, בכירים בשב”כ ובמוסד והעומדים בראשם יתפטרו עוד לפני שוועדת החקירה הממלכתית תדון בסוגיית האחריות והכישלון שאפשר לחמאס לבצע את פשעיו. לעומתם נתניהו כרגיל לא יקח שום אחריות למעשיו. בכל הקריירה הפוליטית הארוכה שלו הוא תמיד ידע להאשים אחרים. אבל שום אחריות אישית. נתניהו יעשה הכל כבעבר להמשיך ולשבת על כיסא המלך כי נתניהו דואג רק לנתניהו
נתניהו מינה חברי ממשלה חסרי יכולת לטפל בתיקים עליהם הם אחראים. לא כישוריהם הביאו אותם לשולחן הממשלה, אלא הנאמנות למנהיג נתניהו. לכן לא מפתיע לגלות את חוסר יכולתם של שרי הממשלה הנוכחית לטפל במצוקות הרבות של ישראל בימי המלחמה הקשים האלה. נשמעה ביקורת נוקבת על שרי ממשלת נתניהו שלא ביקרו פצועים בבתי החולים ולא השתתפו בהלוויות הקורבנות הרבים
בתור אחד שגר בישראל ארבעים וחמש שנים לא האמנתי שהמדינה תגיע למצב שכזה. החברה מפוררת מבפנים בעיקר לתודות הרפורמה המשפטית של נתניהו. הצבא לא ערוך לאתגרים האינסופיים שלו ואת ההנהגה תפסו פוליטיקאים קטנים שנכשלו בתפקידם. ישראל משלמת היום מחיר כבוד מאוד לאור מחדלי ההנהגה שלה. אני לא צופה עתיד ורוד בהמשך הדרך. על נתניהו מוטל לעשות רק דבר אחד: ללכת הביתה
For safety reasons, Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver is asking community members to avoid anti-Israel protests or events. (photo by Larry Barzelai)
“We are safe,” says Ezra Shanken. The chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver reassured local Jews that, in light of massively increased tensions globally, there are no specific increased threats to the Jewish community in British Columbia.
Despite fears, no serious attacks or incidents of vandalism have been reported, with the exception of an incident in Surrey. Someone threw eggs at the home of Rabbi Falik Schtroks, spiritual leader of the Centre for Judaism of the Lower Fraser Valley, and a swastika was drawn in felt pen on a window of the home.
“One of the things that people who hurt the Jewish people … don’t realize, when that happens, we always come together,” the rabbi told CTV News.
“We’ve seen what happened to Rabbi Schtroks’ place,” Shanken said. “We take that very seriously. But, on the whole, we are safe.”
Jewish community organizations, under the leadership of the Jewish Federation in partnership with other agencies, especially those with physical spaces, like synagogues, schools and community centres, work year-round on security issues, ready for any possible local impacts that so frequently coincide with overseas conflicts.
Shanken credited Federation’s “very active” security committee and the professional security director, all of whom are coordinating among various Jewish agencies.
As he has at successive public events, Shanken heaped kavods on the Vancouver Police Department, the RCMP and other police agencies.
“The amount of resources they are expending on our community, to make sure that we are safe, is astronomical,” said Shanken. “I have just so much gratitude for them and for all they do for us, day in and day out.”
He encourages individuals who encounter police at the Jewish Community Centre, outside synagogues, schools or elsewhere, to take a moment to express gratitude.
“Go up, shake their hand, thank them, give them a hug, give them some cookies, give them some food, make them feel like they are being loved,” he urged.
In addition to simply being a kind thing to do, showing appreciation for the police, Shanken said, is a way to further demonstrate the moral divide between the Jewish community and those who are protesting Israel. Shanken said police working at anti-Israel rallies have been spat on and had things thrown at them.
“I want to make sure that there couldn’t be a clearer distinction in our community from those on the other side when it comes to how we treat our first responders and our law enforcement,” he said. “We are here to say thank you and to engage with them because they are keeping us safe.”
Although schools saw some understandable decline in turnout on the so-called “Day of Rage” called by Hamas against Jewish individuals and institutions worldwide for Oct. 13, Jewish British Columbians are going about their lives.
“People are coming into our JCC,” said Shanken. “They know they should come here and, if anything, they should be here so we’re sending a message that says we will not be dictated to on how it is that we can live within our community by others. We are going to come out and we are going to be strong, proud people within our communities, enjoying the things our community has to offer.”
In a message to the community in advance of the Hamas call for violence worldwide, Federation assured that “we will always act in a proactive, abundantly cautious manner when it comes to community security.”
The communication added that “we also recognize that these calls are also designed as a tool of intimidation and fear to harm our mental and emotional health. They are meant to stop us from going about our daily lives, regardless of whether there are specific security threats.”
The Vancouver Police Department, the RCMP and other security forces are maintaining a visible presence in front of high-profile organizations, including schools, synagogues and the JCC.
“Please note that there may not be a car present at all times and you may not see people in uniform,” the message noted.
Increased patrols are taking place around all Jewish institutions. In addition, Jewish organizations have been flagged by police as priority institutions, which means that any emergency call to law enforcement will result in an immediate and enhanced response, Federation said.
Federation is also working with partner organizations, as they do always, around security protocols.
For individuals and families, Federation is asking people to avoid anti-Israel protests or events. At Jewish community rallies or vigils, people are asked to not engage with protesters. At all times, people should stay aware of surroundings, and report anything suspicious to the police.
To ensure you are receiving all security updates and other communications from the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, click the “Connect” button at jewishvancouver.com. The Federation website also includes resources for talking to children about the situation, and links to specific, up-to-the-minute news on events in Israel and elsewhere.
We are still reeling from what happened in Israel on Oct. 7 and the war that has ensued.
Hamas carried out a brutal terror attack on Israel that targeted civilians, murdering 1,400 people and kidnapping more than 200 Israeli hostages. Jews worldwide are grief-stricken, angry and scared. It is hard to see the hope, as images of dead Israelis mix with images of dead Palestinians.
There is no doubt in our minds that Hamas needs to be incapacitated – its covenant explicitly states their intention to eliminate Israel and kill Jews. On Oct. 7, they reasserted their intention with a vengeance that cannot be ignored. Their unambiguous goal is genocide.
Posters we see around Vancouver that simultaneously accuse Israel of genocide for defending itself and call for the genocide of Israelis – “From the river to the sea, Palestine will be free!” – are abhorrent. People who support Hamas’s genocidal actions, implying, or outright stating, that Israelis deserve such cruelty do not care about humanity, do not believe in peace.
The people who are putting up the posters that ask, “Do you support indigenous rights? Then you support Palestine” are implying that Jews are colonizers and, therefore, deserve to be expelled, no matter how. But the Jewish connection to the land goes back thousands of years; we were dispossessed of it but never ceded it.
There are some two million Palestinians in Gaza, and they cannot be similarly dispossessed. More than half the population has been asked to leave their homes. Reports are that more than 4,500 have been killed from Israel’s bombing campaign.
Our hearts break at the type of war that fighting Hamas entails. The terror group uses civilians and civilian infrastructure as shields, ensuring that hundreds or thousands of innocent Palestinians die every time Israel defends itself militarily, even when it adheres to international law in its actions, including allowing humanitarian aid into Gaza.
One way or another, the people who live between the river and sea must find a way to coexist. That is quite literally the only way forward. As simplistic as this sounds, it is nevertheless true. That is impossible with Hamas as the controlling force in Gaza. But, when they are removed, what then? Replacing the figures at the top – whether in Gaza or in the Israeli government, the latter of which is something that will certainly be discussed in the aftermath of this horror – will not automatically negate deep mutual distrust among populations.
There are so many complexities and no end of theories as to how we have arrived at this point. What will happen next is less discussed, though there is the all-too-real possibility that the conflict will become regional – already the 22,000 residents of Kiryat Shmona, the largest community in the Vancouver Jewish community’s partnership region of the Upper Galilee, are being evacuated because of terrorist attacks from Hezbollah in Lebanon, which are expected to increase once Israel begins its ground offensive in the south. Some fear that the Hamas attack is less the main event than a distraction, a trap to lure Israel into an even more existential fight on multiple fronts.
Closer to home, there are security threats to Jews in the diaspora. Thankfully, Hamas’s call for a day of rage on Oct. 13 did not result in serious incidents. But the fear is real, and that is the purpose of terrorism. Jewish organizations and law enforcement agencies are working together to keep us safe. We must continue to live our lives as Jews, and not hide.
Some of our local community members have gone to Israel to fight. Other community members are rallying, marching and postering to make sure that the Israeli hostages being held captive in Gaza are returned home. More than $15 million was raised for Israel in just two weeks by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s emergency campaign.
And, there are Israelis (Jewish, Muslim, Christian and others) and Palestinians who, despite the terrorist attacks and the war, continue against so many odds to work for peace. Groups such as Standing Together, Women Wage Peace, the Parents Circle, and others are working to shore up hope for peace, equality and coexistence. These groups deserve our support, moral and financial.
At the same time as we support our family and friends in Israel and one another here, as we call for the immediate return of the hostages and as we raise funds for aid, we must also support those activists and dreamers on the ground who advocate for a better postwar world.
Hundreds marched on Oct. 22, calling for the release of the more than 200 Israeli hostages being held by Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza. (photo by Pat Johnson)
Erez, aged 12, and his sister Sahar, 16, had spent the night at their father’s house in Kibbutz Nir Oz when Hamas terrorists stormed the home. The kids jumped out the window and hid in the bushes while gunmen rampaged their community, shooting entire families in their beds and safe rooms. “Mom, be quiet, don’t move,” he texted his mom, Hadas. She texted back: “I love you forever. I hope you survive.”
Erez did not reply. For hours, Hadas called Erez’s cellphone repeatedly, even as she fought for her life, physically blocking terrorists from breaking down her safe room door. Then Erez’s older sister found an 18-second video circulating on social media. It showed Erez in a black T-shirt, being gripped by both arms and led into captivity.
In all, five members of the Kalderon family were taken: Erez, Sahar, their 50-year-old father, Ofer, their 80-year-old grandmother, Carmela, and 12-year-old cousin, Noya, were grabbed from another house in the community.
This was one of many individual stories shared at a vigil and march in Vancouver Sunday, Oct. 22, where hundreds of Vancouverites chanted “Bring them home!” and “Let our people go!” as they marched from the Vancouver Art Gallery, protected by a large police presence, along Georgia Street, over to Robson and back to the original site. The steps of the art gallery’s north side were packed with people holding posters of the hostages – and these posters represented only half of the total number of Israeli hostages held by Hamas and other terror groups in Gaza.
The faces are also seen on thousands of posters around Metro Vancouver and elsewhere. Activists in communities worldwide have downloaded and printed the sheets, plastering them around city streets. The Vancouver efforts – which have seen probably 20,000 posters distributed so far – are led by Daphna Kedem, who also initiated the Sunday afternoon event and an earlier vigil two days after the Oct. 7 terror attacks.
About 20,000 posters – the cost of which was covered by two anonymous non-Jewish donors – have been put up by volunteers all around Metro Vancouver. (photo from Daphna Kedem)
Kedem is also a lead organizer of the local branch of UnXeptable, which, until the current crisis, was agitating against proposed Israeli government efforts to undermine responsible government there. Her current activism, she stressed, is done in her capacity as an individual, but she expressed gratitude to Rabbi Dan Moscovitz of Temple Sholom for helping organize, and to other synagogues, the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver and others for unhesitatingly jumping in to help.
Putting a human face to the hostages is the right thing to do, Kedem said.
“We have to bring it out to the public because it’s a humanitarian crisis,” she told the Independent. “Once you personalize it and you see that it’s an innocent baby or a child, you care more.”
Left to right: Flavia Markman, Ezra Shanken, Anet Bernadette and William Wolff. The four are among the many volunteers who have put up around the city approximately 20,000 posters with the faces, names and ages of Israelis taken hostage by the terrorist group Hamas. For more on the Bring Them Home effort. (photo by Flavia Markman)
Kedem said the cost of printing the thousands of posters was covered by two anonymous non-Jewish donors and, at the rally this past Sunday, Christian clergy spoke, including a Catholic representative and two evangelical ministers.
Nevertheless, frustration over the silence of so many others was evident in the words of Moskovitz to the rally.
“Once again, Jews are being slaughtered and violently attacked and the world is silent,” he told hundreds of attendees, many carrying Israeli or Canadian flags. “Or they say, ‘Yes, but.’ There is no ‘but’ to murder. There can be no ‘but’ to hate. There can be no ‘but’ to the kidnapping of civilians, of children, of grandparents, of pregnant mothers, of disabled people. There can be no ‘but’ to that. There can be no justification for that. This is 2023, not 1943. And yet ‘Never again’ is happening again right now. The Jewish people will not be silent. You must not be silent.”
Moskovitz slammed the moral equivocation heard in commentary and seen in street rallies worldwide.
“This was not an act of resistance,” he said. “This was not a military campaign. This was not a popular uprising. This was cold, calculated and barbaric murder and rape and kidnapping of innocent civilians, the vast majority of them Jews.”
Motioning to the posters of the hostages, he added: “We call on those in our own city who cheer and celebrate what Hamas has done to these people and thousands of others on that horrible day to stop. Stop cheering the terrorists. Stop denying our grief, our human value. Stop your whataboutism. Stop tearing down pictures of children who have been kidnapped. Stop helping the terrorists. Stop justifying their brutality. Simply, stop.… Find your moral compass. Find the compassion you have for everyone and everything except Jews. Join us in this most basic of human cries: return our children to their parents, return our families to their homes.”
A WhatsApp group, “BTH – Vancouver,” is coordinating the postering activities: to join, visit bit.ly/BTH-Vancouver. Posters are downloadable by anyone at kidnappedfromisrael.com.
Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver chief executive officer Ezra Shanken on Victoria Rumble Room Oct. 14. Shanken has very much been the face of the Jewish community in recent days. (screenshot)
An emergency fundraising campaign in response to the devastation in Israel raised more than $15 million in Metro Vancouver in less than two weeks.
The Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver is spearheading the Israel Emergency Campaign. In his weekly email last Friday, Oct. 20, Federation chief executive officer Ezra Shanken announced the record total that had been raised to that point. By comparison, last year’s entire annual campaign raised $10.2 million.
Shanken told the Independent that, within the $15 million-plus total, is another new record for the local community: nine gifts of $1 million and a gift of $2 million.
Despite the great success, Shanken said the money will barely begin to approach the needs created by the human and material destruction caused by the Hamas terror attacks and the ongoing aftermath.
“As excited as I want to be,” he said, “I felt like $20 million, which is where we would like to get to, is not even going to be enough. The destruction, both in human life and in physical property, is so immense in the south, the risk is so high in the north, the mental health needs are so huge over there, that those alone are multi-, multi-million-dollar needs.… The damage is so deep that it’s going to take a lot for us to be able to make an impact.”
The Jewish Federations of North America set a goal of $500 million for the combined campaign and was already well past the two-thirds mark at the end of last week. Other Israel-based and Israel-supporting charities are also raising money and delivering support through funds and on-the-ground projects.
The speed and magnitude of the local emergency fundraising effort, Shanken said, may be a consequence of the community campaign already underway for the redevelopment of the Jewish Community Centre of Greater Vancouver. He calls it the “JWest effect,” referring to the name of the redevelopment project. Sensitizing philanthropists to community needs may have sowed the field for the extraordinary generosity shown when this unanticipated catastrophe occurred. The feeling that this is an unprecedented historical moment is also a factor.
For media in British Columbia and at public events, Shanken has very much been the face of the Jewish community in recent days. Speaking personally, he described the flood of contradictory emotions he has experienced.
“This time has been a mix of incredible pride and incredible pain,” he said. “They come in different waves. I have incredible moments of pride and incredible moments of resolve and strength and incredible moments of weakness and pain and depression.”
Shanken continued: “It’s a tough time for all of us, it’s a tough time for me.… But I believe more than ever that these are the moments where we are really forged in these fires and we will be a stronger community because of what we’re going through in this moment.”
The inhumanity witnessed not only in Israel but closer to home, with protests and statements effectively supporting and celebrating the mass murders, has stiffened his resolve, he said.
“I feel a need to stand up against those who are really trying to push us down in this moment,” he said. “I feel strong, I feel determined, I feel righteous in this moment in pushing back against those who are going to minimize the deaths of these folks, that are going to make us feel that we don’t have a right to grieve, we don’t have a right to defend ourselves, we don’t have a right to care for each other. I have no stomach for that anymore and we’re not going to keep our mouths shut on this.”
Funds raised will be allocated through several different projects working directly in Israel (click here for story). While most of the devastation from the Oct. 7 attacks is in the country’s south, the Vancouver Jewish community’s partnership region, Etzba HaGalil, the Galilee Panhandle, and other parts of northern Israel, have experienced attacks from the terror group Hezbollah, from their bases in southern Lebanon. Kibbutzim, villages and towns within a several-kilometre range of the Lebanon border have been largely evacuated. In all, about 200,000 Israelis from the north and south have so far been displaced by the crisis.
“The north is a major, major concern for Israel, it’s a major concern for us,” said Shanken. “So, we are trying to get them prepped up and ready, get emergency war rooms together in community centres, those kinds of things. We’re looking at some other kind of resiliency-building pieces in subsequent tranches of money that will be sent.”
In the Vancouver Jewish community’s Upper Galilee Partnership Region, thousands of residents have been evacuated. Funds raised here will provide emergency preparedness funding, which will be directed to strengthening preparedness with emergency war rooms for community centres. A week’s worth of food and other necessities will be delivered to vulnerable families in Kiryat Shmona in the event of an attack.
The initial transfer of $2.1 million from the $15 million raised by the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver’s Israel Emergency Campaign has gone to the following programs:
Jewish Agency for Israel Victims of Terror Fund provides immediate grants to assist victims within 48 hours of their homes being damaged by rocket fire, as well as long-term rehabilitation grants to allow those impacted by terrorism to receive the post-trauma care they require.
Respite for Olim Living in the South provides a five-day respite period for 2,000 olim, newcomers to Israel, from absorption centres in southern Israel, so they can sleep through the night without fear of running to shelters. Olim who do not want to leave their homes can benefit from respite activities within the absorption centres, including entertainment and educational programming for children and teens to take their minds off the current situation temporarily and allow parents a few moments to themselves to address their own needs.
Joint Distribution Committee Support for Disabled Populations of the South delivers services for people with disabilities, including a designated hotline staffed by psychologists and social workers.
Israel Trauma Coalition Direct Mental Health Care provides immediate, direct care to minimize the number of people who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder. In addition to providing their usual crisis care, ITC is supporting bereaved families, families of the missing and abducted, and injured individuals and their families.
Israel Association of Community Centres Emergency Financial Aid funds community centres in two southern communities to help them meet needs such as buses to evacuate residents, day outings to amusement parks and nature excursions, overnight retreats, purchasing of emergency and medical equipment and provisions, electricity generators, recreational equipment for children, food parcels, diapers, toiletries, and more.
Dror Israel Evacuated and Hospitalized Teens and Youngsters offers therapeutic and educational programs for children and families in Rehovot, Ashdod, Kiryat Gat and Ashkelon, with more locations opening as soon as it is deemed safe. Daycare for children of hospital workers, day camp activities at hospitals for kids ages 3-12, as well as in-person and online programming are offered. Dror Israel is working with communities in which it is already embedded and with whom the counselors already have established trusting relationships.
Kedma Southern Student Communities works with mental health professionals to provide on-the-ground support to the shattered communities of the south and brings students there together as a community. This includes support and informal programming to fortify community resilience and minimize risk of post-traumatic stress disorder. Funds will support 10 communities over three months.
United Hatzalah Protective Gear for Volunteers and Helpers will receive funding for 40 protective gear units for 40 first responders.
Shalva – Supporting Disabled Residents of Southern Israel is assisting more than 1,000 evacuees with disabilities from southern Israel, who are expected to arrive at the Shalva National Crisis Response Centre over the coming days. Funding will ensure they have the clothing, medications and supplies they need, while providing them with the social services support they require to process the recent trauma.
Beit HaLochem – Supporting Veterans from Southern Israel supports senior veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder as well as newly injured veterans.
Federation will continue to monitor the evolving situation and needs in Israel to prioritize the next round of grants.
Artists of Ballet BC and Arts Umbrella practise Shahar Binyamini’s BOLERO X. Part of HERE, which runs Nov. 2-4, the work brings 50 dancers on stage for the first time in Ballet BC history. (photo by Marcus Eriksson)
Ballet BC begins its season Nov. 2-4 with HERE, a diverse program that includes two new works from choreographers who have never worked with the company before, and the return, by popular demand, of Enemy in the Figure by William Forsythe.
“Each work stands on its own, and there are no common themes, so to speak,” Ballet BC artistic director Medhi Walerski told the Independent. “It invites audiences to create their own narrative and interpretation, allows for personal engagement, and invites them to explore the scope of human connection and expression.”
One of the new works featured is the world première of Israeli choreographer Shahar Binyamini’s BOLERO X.
“I have been following Shahar’s work for awhile, and I was eager for both the company and the audience to immerse themselves in his distinctive style and choreographic language,” said Walerski.
It will be the first time Binyamini is presenting his work in North America, Walerski added, “and it is a privilege that he has chosen Ballet BC for this special occasion.”
BOLERO X brings 50 dancers to the stage – the most in Ballet BC history.
Of the logistics, Walerski said a multitude of factors come into play. “Scheduling is at the forefront, both in the studios and at the theatre. Fortunately, we’re collaborating with Arts Umbrella Dance, sharing a common vision of turning the impossible into reality.
“On the production side, the costume department is putting in tremendous effort,” he said. “Led by our dedicated head of wardrobe, Kate Burrows, our incredible team is going the extra mile to bring that vision to life. Our rehearsal directors are navigating a new experience of rehearsing many dancers at once, and they are doing this brilliantly. It shows the professionalism and dedication of our remarkable team.”
Binyamini returned to Vancouver to work with the company this week. It is important that such performances continue, even when there is a war going on “because the arts and creation are amazing bridges in order to build trust,” he said. “What we see happening could easily happen anywhere else and be used as inspiration for other conflicts to accelerate in the same direction. The crime against humanity is the destruction of trust and, in order to build trust, you need to create channels into humanity. Dance could be a very important vessel or tool to connect people. And this is what gives me the motivation to be here and working. Because what I do is important, especially now.”
“Art has this unique power to breathe life into the world, and it brings vitality into our everyday lives,” said Walerski. “It is an incredible force that transcends boundaries. It has this magical ability to bridge gaps between people, regardless of geographical or cultural differences. It’s like a vibrant thread weaving through the fabric of humanity, connecting hearts and minds. It brings a sense of unity and shared understanding, nurturing a profound connection among individuals who might otherwise seem worlds apart.”
The press material for BOLERO X says “the creation explores themes of unison and repetition, while still allowing for individuality and stand-out solo and duet performances.”
“I’m focusing more and more on the dancers’ uniqueness in relation to the large group,” said Binyamini. “There is unison, but individuality within that unison. Here at Ballet BC, I find I can explore more the individual aspects and solos. These dancers are so generous and they give you everything – all they have. It’s very rewarding.”
Maurice Ravel’s 1928 composition, Bolero, “is very repetitive, obviously, the melody itself, but the orchestration brings more layers,” Binyamini explained. “A long crescendo of something getting more intense has been very present in my work previously. It’s what turns me on. So, when I started working with Ravel, I tried various works, but got fixated on this and it felt like it really fit. It allowed me to focus on something I was already into, but gave me the anchor and licence to clear out all the unnecessary thoughts or feelings. I decided to just focus on the musicality and the playfulness, which allows the dancers to stay playful.”
Binyamini was not at all daunted by the challenge of having 50 dancers on stage.
“I felt and still feel how much of a force it is to react to, and to say yes to. To have a dialogue with 50 dancers is such a powerful thing in the studio and it enables me to be in the moment, especially with all the other things going on in my life,” he said. “I feel very comfortable working with a lot of people.”
Ballet BC artist Sidney Chuckas at work in the studio ahead of the season opener HERE. (photo by Marcus Eriksson)
The other new creation – and world première – being presented in HERE is Stephen Shropshire’s Little Star. Originally commissioned by former Ballet BC artistic director Emily Molnar, its trip to the stage was delayed by the pandemic.
The inspiration for Little Star was composer Angelo Gilardino’s “cycle of guitar variations based upon ‘Ah vous dirais-je Maman,’ a popular children’s song originating in 18th-century France and adopted for the English-language lullaby ‘Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star,’” explains the press release. “Shropshire’s movement language for the creation is dynamic, beginning with themes suggesting something child-like and playful, before evolving into something more intricate and complex.”
Rounding out the HERE program is Forsythe’s Enemy in the Figure, which was mounted by Ballet BC in 2018. Set to music by Thom Willems, the work involves improvisation, which means that each performance is different.
“Dance can tell a universal story, like music,” Binyamini said. “I think it’s very challenging to tell a story based on movement, but, when doing it correctly, it’s very effective and has the potential to go much deeper than words, because it’s something we all have in common. We can all relate to physical effort, and have empathy for someone that is moving. You can connect to that energy. To be able to tell a universal story through movement is a big challenge, but very satisfying.”
HERE takes place Nov. 2-4, 8 p.m., at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre. Tickets, starting at $19, are available at balletbc.com.
The 13th annual Shira Herzog Symposium, hosted by New Israel Fund of Canada, took place on Oct. 15. Originally intended to be a discussion about the challenges facing Israeli democracy, the topic was changed to Celebrating Defiance, in light of the Oct. 7 Hamas attacks on Israel.
NIFC president Linda Hershkovitz said the new focus was an opportunity “to comfort each other, to grieve and to hear how our community in Israel is responding to this moment.”
She said, “Today, we still gather to celebrate defiance – defiance against terror and extremism, against giving up hope, and against allowing violence to drive Jews and Arabs further apart.”
Opening remarks underscored that among the more than 200 hostages taken by Hamas was ivian Silver, a 74-year-old Canadian-Israeli activist for peace and women’s rights, known to many of those in the audience.
The main speakers at the symposium were Orly Erez-Likhovski, director of the Israel Religious Action Centre (IRAC); Eran Nissan, a peace activist and executive director of Mehazkim, a progressive digital group in Israel; and Amal Oraby, a Palestinian lawyer, human rights activist and member of the board of directors of Amnesty International Israel. Journalist Andrew Cohen was the moderator.
“I stand before you with a lot of fear, a fear that our lives will never be the same and a fear for the safety of my family, my friends in Gaza, Tel Aviv and Jerusalem. In Israel, there is no room for voices who seek to see the reality with open eyes and acknowledge the occupation, and to refuse making the same mistake and expecting different results,” said Oraby, who serves as NIF’s Arabic media coordinator and has written extensively for the Israeli media.
Nissan, who was a combat soldier in the special forces canine unit, said every time there is a flare-up of violence, it represents a setback for both Israeli and Palestinian societies which will, in turn, drive more anger, animosity and distrust.
“In the days since Oct. 7, we identified narratives that we needed to push through our social media platforms,” Nissan said when asked what his organization did immediately following the attacks. “We understood that the first days after such an event are a crucial time when the heroes and the villains are being chosen.”
The Israeli government, he said, was framing the narrative as a struggle between Jews and Arabs. His counter-narrative is to highlight stories of shared experiences and heroism, such as Bedouin truck drivers who risked their lives to rescue Jews from the Hamas attacks and paramedics in the Negev fighting to save lives while under fire.
“This not a popular time to talk about a shared society or about empathy,” said Nissan. “Civil society organizations have been under attack. The amount of hatred and incitement we see is horrific. What we are trying to do is boost our capacity to tackle the challenges that we have right now.”
“We are very concerned about the rise in racism and violence,” said Erez-Likhovski, whose organization aims to defend equality, social justice and religious pluralism in Israel and serves as the public advocacy arm of the Reform movement.
“It’s important to talk about the current feeling in Israel,” she added. “People feel they have been abandoned by the government and by the state. The feeling is that the state system is not functioning. It’s a direct result of this government bringing in incompetent people to any post possible. And it’s taken its toll over the past year.”
Since the attacks, IRAC has worked to help the people who were evacuated, assisting with food and clothing, and helping with pastoral care, among other services.
Oraby was not optimistic about the latest change in the Israeli cabinet: bringing in opposition leader Benny Gantz. He views it as a “war government,” not an “emergency government,” and pointed to a strong civil society as the way to deescalate the situation. “Where Israeli and Palestinian leadership have failed, the civil society is succeeding,” he said.
Nissan agreed that the current cabinet is only setting military objectives, adding that it is not considering what will happen following the conflict.
Erez-Likhovski also commented that the new coalition was not presenting any long-term vision of how to solve the conflict.
At the end of the discussion, Nissan acknowledged the gravity of what occurred on Oct. 7 in terms of Israeli history and its effects on the national psyche. His hope, he said, is that a new story for Israel can be written out of the pain, and the crisis the country is confronting.
The event was co-presented with ARZA Canada, Canadian Friends of Peace Now and JSpaceCanada. It was held at the Toronto Reference Library and on Zoom.
Sam Margolishas written for the Globe and Mail, the National Post, UPI and MSNBC.
A restaurant in Vancouver closed for a day, calling for people “to hold the Zionist occupation accountable” for the war in Gaza. Writer Loolwa Khazzoom notes, “When terrorists blow up Israelis, there is often an undertone of accusation: it’s Israel’s fault, the narrative goes, that these tragedies happen…. But who truly was responsible for creating Palestinian desperation, and who is accountable for remedying it?” (photo by Larry Barzelai)
On 9/11, I was 20 blocks away from Ground Zero, sleeping in the living room of a friend when she woke me up, screaming hysterically – something about terrorists and an airplane crashing into one of the Twin Towers. As I tried to comprehend what was happening, my friend turned on the television and, right then, the second plane crashed into the second tower, as we watched in horror.
My thoughts came in this order: Now they’ll understand what it feels like to live in Israel. Watch them blame this on Israel. OMG we’re going to die.
Two decades later, on the morning of Oct. 7 – in the wake of what some are calling Israel’s equivalent of 9/11 – I felt the pain of collective Jewish agony, and promptly reached out to my friends and family in Israel, including those living close to the Gaza border.
Unbeknownst to many, those in the border towns, such as Sderot, are predominantly working-class Mizrahim and Sephardim – children and grandchildren of the 900,000 Jewish refugees from throughout the Middle East and North Africa. They are the ones predominantly getting pummeled by Hamas rocket fire, as the world yells about “white European colonist settler Israelis.”
So, it’s no surprise that, after the initial feelings of shock and outrage, grief and concern, I once again thought, “Watch them blame this on Israel.” And they did, within hours – with a BBC News interview going so far as to compare the Hamas attack to the Warsaw Ghetto Uprising.
It’s nothing new, of course. When terrorists blow up Israelis, there is often an undertone of accusation: it’s Israel’s fault, the narrative goes, that these tragedies happen. By creating Palestinian desperation, Israel has created Palestinian terrorism. But who truly was responsible for creating Palestinian desperation, and who is accountable for remedying it?
The Arab world is called just that for a reason. Beginning in the Arabian Peninsula about 1,300 years ago, Arab Muslims launched a brutal campaign of invasion and conquest, taking over lands across the Middle East and North Africa. Throughout the region, Kurds, Persians, Berbers, Copts and Jews were forced to convert to Islam under the threat of death and in the name of Allah.
Jews were one of the few indigenous Middle Eastern peoples to resist conversion to Islam, the result being they were given the status of dhimmi – legally second-class, inferior people. Jews were spared death, but forced to endure an onslaught of humiliating legal restrictions – forced into ghettos, prohibited from owning land, prevented from entering numerous professions and forbidden from doing anything to physically or symbolically demonstrate equality with Arab Muslims.
When dhimmi laws were lax and Jews were allowed to participate to a greater degree in their society, the Jewish community would flourish, both socially and economically. On numerous occasions, however, the response to that success was a wave of harassment or massacre of Jews instigated by the government or the masses. This dynamic meant that the Jews lived in a basic state of subservience: they could participate in the society around them; they could enjoy a certain degree of wealth and status; and they could befriend their Arab Muslim neighbors. But they always had to know their place.
The Arab-Israel relationship and the current crisis occur in the greater context of a history in which Arab Muslims have oppressed Jews for 1,300 years. Most recently, anti-Jewish riots erupted throughout the Arab world in the 1930s and 1940s. Jews were assaulted, tortured, murdered and forced to flee from their homes of thousands of years. Throughout the region, Jewish property was confiscated and nationalized, collectively worth hundreds of millions of dollars at the time.
Yet the world has never witnessed Middle Eastern and North African Jews blowing themselves up and taking scores of Arab innocents with them out of anger or desperation for what Arab states did to the Jewish people. Despite the fact that there were 900,000 Jewish refugees from throughout the Middle East and North Africa, we do not even hear about a Middle Eastern/North African Jewish refugee problem today, because Israel absorbed most of the refugees. For decades, they and their children have been the majority of Israel’s Jewish population, with numbers as high as 70%.
To the contrary, Arab states did not absorb refugees from the war against Israel in 1948. Instead, they built squalid camps in the West Bank and Gaza – at the time controlled by Jordan and Egypt – and dumped the refugees in them, Arabs doomed to become pawns in a political war against Israel. Countries such as Syria, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Libya and Lebanon funded assaults against Israeli citizens instead of funding basic medical, educational and housing needs of Palestinian refugee families.
In 1967, Israel inherited the Palestinian refugee problem through a defensive war. When Israel tried to build housing for the refugees in Gaza, Arab states led votes against it in United Nations resolutions, because absorption would change the status of the refugees. But wasn’t that the moral objective?
Israel went on to give more money to the Palestinian refugees than all but three of the Arab states combined, prior to transferring responsibility of the territories to the Palestinian Authority in the mid-1990s. Israel built hospitals and educational institutions for Palestinians in the territories. Israel trained the Palestinian police force. And yet, the 22 Arab states dominate both the land and the wealth of the region. So, who is responsible for creating Palestinian desperation?
Tragically, the Arab propaganda war against Israel has been a brilliant success, laying on Israel all the blame for the Palestinian refugee problem. By refusing to hold Arab states accountable for their own actions, by feeling sympathy for Palestinian terrorists instead of outrage at the Arab propaganda creating this phenomenon, the so-called “progressive” movement continues to feed the never-ending cycle of violence in the Middle East.
Loolwa Khazzoom (khazzoom.com) is the frontwoman for the band Iraqis in Pajamas (iraqisinpajamas.com) and editor of The Flying Camel: Essays on Identity by Women of North African and Middle Eastern Jewish Heritage (theflyingcamelbook.com). She has been a pioneering Jewish multicultural educator since 1990, and her writing has been featured in the Washington Post, Marie Claire, Rolling Stone and other top media worldwide. This article was originally published in the Times of Israel.
