U.S. radio host Dr. Joy Browne discusses the post-traumatic physical and psychological challenges of terrorism at OneFamily. (photo from OneFamily)
American syndicated radio host and clinical psychologist Dr. Joy Browne had a meeting with victims of terrorism at the headquarters of OneFamily during her first-ever visit to Israel earlier this month.
Hosted by Chantal Belzberg, chief executive officer of OneFamily, Browne met with former residents of the United States, Canada and the United Kingdom who were dealing with physical and emotional wounds in the aftermath of terror attacks across Israel over the past few years. She interviewed Cheryl Mandel, Kay Wilson, Steve Bloomberg and Rebecca Fuhrman, as well as some of OneFamily’s psychologists and therapists for a future segment on her program.
“After experiencing the aftermath of 9/11, we all share a common echo and I am impressed with the resilience of the people here who have worked or who are working to transcend fear and are getting on with their lives,” said Browne.
Mandel, a native of Toronto, who made aliyah nearly 25 years ago, lost a son, Daniel, who was killed during an Israel Defence Forces anti-terrorism mission in Nablus (Shechem) in 2003. Mandel, in tears, told Browne, “Our entire family, including myself, lives life to the fullest and I am an optimistic person by nature, but one never is prepared for the shock that comes with the death of a son, whom I never thought twice about sending to the army.”
Browne’s trip to Israel was sponsored by the Office of the Prime Minister and America’s Voices in Israel.
Germany’s foreign minister was in Gaza the other day, surveying the miserable conditions there, including the lack of repair to the thousands of homes and other buildings damaged or destroyed during the Gaza War last summer – Operation Protective Edge, as it is formally called by Israel.
Frank-Walter Steinmeier, the German diplomat, was one of a steady stream of Western representatives who have trudged through the Hamas-controlled enclave since the end of major hostilities last year. He said the success of repairs to Gaza requires that Israel open the borders to the free flow of materials required for the project – and he’s right.
But, he also made the case very clearly that Israel cannot be expected to live up to that part of the bargain as long as missiles keep falling into Israel from Gaza-based terrorists. And, of course, he was right again.
While much of the world seems to think that Israel’s policies toward Gaza are spite-motivated efforts to drive the residents of that place into despair, they are actually founded on legitimate defence requirements. Materials intended for civil reconstruction in Gaza – not just since last year, but since Hamas seized the Strip and even before – have been misappropriated and turned into weaponry, tunnels and other infrastructures for further terrorism. Steinmeier, however, is one of too few among world leaders who recognize, or at least publicly acknowledge, this reality.
After Operation Protective Edge, nations gathered in Cairo to pledge funds to restore the civilian infrastructure of Gaza. In sum, $5.4 billion was pledged by countries worldwide. However, a new report says that barely one-quarter of the pledges made in Cairo have been realized.
The Association of International Development Agencies (AIDA) released a report last week titled Charting a New Course: Overcoming the Stalemate in Gaza. It set out the results of the top seven donor countries and their record of delivering.
The most generous pledge – $1 billion – came from Qatar. The amount received to date from that country is $102 million.
The second-place European Union pledged $348 million and has handed over $141 million.
The United States comes closest to their pledge, having delivered $233 million on their $277 million pledge.
Oil-rich Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, which each pledged $200 million, have delivered nothing.
Turkey, whose leader has made grandstanding theatrics around Gaza a cornerstone of his country’s foreign policy, has likewise delivered not a dime of the $200 million pledged, according to the report.
Seventh-place Saudi Arabia, which pledged $500 million, has given just $48.5 million.
In their defence, the idea of throwing good money after bad in Gaza could reasonably lead donor countries to hesitate. There has been precious little evidence that funds flowing into Gaza will be applied to the projects for which they are intended rather than being used by Hamas warlords to strengthen their own fiefdoms or launch new assaults against Israel (not that the latter concerns some of the donor states).
However, while some voices, like the new United Nations Middle East peace envoy Nickolay Mladenov, acknowledge that the Gaza terror regime needs to lay down its arms, he and others most vocally blame Israel’s blockade for all the problems facing the people of Gaza.
The AIDA report, for example, outlines actions deemed necessary to alleviate the misery of Palestinians in Gaza that seem to recognize that there is plenty of blame and room for improvement all around. But at the top of the list were things Israel needed to do, such as “lift the blockade and open all crossings into and out of Gaza” and “allow free movement of Palestinians across the occupied Palestinian territory,” as if there were no legitimate security concerns behind the unfortunate policies that prevent the free movement of people and goods in and out of Gaza.
The first step to resolving a problem is acknowledging its root. There are numerous reasons why the people of Gaza continue to suffer, and Israel’s policies are among them. But they are neither alone among the reasons nor the lynchpin upon which resolving the problem rests.
In July 2014, ISIS destroyed the Tomb of Jonah, the biblical prophet revered in Judaism and Islam, which was in the Iraqi city of Mosul. (photo from news-centre.uwinnipeg.ca)
The Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS) is disconnecting the present population from its past, and they will stop at nothing to achieve this goal, including murdering civilians and destroying cultural, religious and historical sites that interfere with their beliefs.
These were the sentiments shared by Winnipeg-based archeologist Dr. Tina Greenfield, who has worked in the Near East and conducted fieldwork in Turkey and northern Iraq under the threat of ISIS. Her University of Manitoba biography says that she is co-director of the Near Eastern and Biblical Archeology Laboratory (NEBAL) in Winnipeg, and is actively analyzing animal bone collections from Tel es-Safi and Tel Burna in Israel, Ziyaret Tepe and Gol Tepe in Turkey, and several sites in Iraq. Her lecture at the University of Winnipeg – ISIS and the Destruction of Archeological Sites in Iraq – was held on April 23.
Dr. Tina Greenfield is working to document archeological sites. (photo from umanitoba.ca)
She prefaced her talk by noting that keeping the population safe is, by far, more important than the artifacts on which she has worked. She then outlined the level of destruction that has occurred to some of the world’s oldest cities, and how she narrowly missed the expansion of ISIS in Iraq last year.
“I’m going to try to add some dimensions into this, so you understand how important this region is and why we should care,” said Greenfield. “So, while I will be discussing the Islamic State and a bit of their history and mantra, I twist into it my own experiences working in this region for the last two years, specifically.
“Yes, there are archeological sites being damaged, but it needs to be put into perspective. There are lives being lost in this region on a monumental scale. While I’m an archeologist, I’m trying to give another perspective. The priority is keeping the people safe in this region.”
The area in question is bordered by Turkey in the north, Iran in the east, and Saudi Arabia in the south. Also in the region, once known as Mesopotamia, are Lebanon, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Israel and parts of Egypt. In the past, said Greenfield, “Mesopotamia refer[red] to the region between the Tigris and the Euphrates rivers. It’s also referred to as ‘the fertile crescent,’ because animals and plants were domesticated in this region. It’s also known as ‘the cradle of civilization.’”
The world’s earliest cities were built in this area, and major empires emerged from here, as well. Additionally, of historical and biblical interest, the first writings of the story of a great flood also originate there, as do the foundations of mathematics, astronomy, literature and poetry.
“Of all the empires, archeological sites from this region, each one has been damaged from Islamic State,” said Greenfield. “I’m giving you a brief introduction, so you can understand when I show you the sites, what is being damaged.”
The Assyrian Empire stretched from 2000 to 611 BCE, she explained, with its height about 3,000 years ago. “This is arguably the earliest empire of the ancient Near East, and Ashur is the capital of this region,” said Greenfield.
“There were some 19th-century gentleman explorers who came from Europe to try and find evidence of the Bible; they ended up in northern Mesopotamia and they dug these magnificent sites. It was a bit of a competition, because one was from Britain and one was from France.
“They each brought these riches back and displayed them in the British Museum and the Louvre. Suffice it to say, there was an awakening [about this historical time period] and the Mesopotamians and Assyrians were ‘rediscovered.’” It is these places that have sustained the most damage by ISIS out of all the Assyrian sites during the last four years, she said.
The motives and tactics of ISIS are many, she suggested. “We’re talking about terrorism, kidnapping, horrific murders, spreading terror throughout the region,” said Greenfield. “It developed from Al Qaida in Iraq. ISIS took precepts of the organization and beliefs, and developed them even further. It views itself as the restorer of early Islamic learnings. It also believes that it will cleanse the region of anything idolatrous or offensive…. There are eight million Iraqis and Syrians living under the control of ISIS right now. They seek to purify and stamp out anything offensive, idolatrous, any religious manifestations that don’t fit into their general ideas.”
In early 2015, museums and archeological sites became targets of the ISIS advance. “They weren’t picky,” said Greenfield. They targeted “everything from mosques, to churches, tombs, literary hero statues and manuscripts. They don’t want to have any part of that in this new caliphate state.
“They’ve publicized over 50 percent of their destructions in print and on social media. This is highly choreographed, highly targeted. There is no surprise that they have specialists in media. They want to break the link of what they consider heretical association with ancient Mesopotamia, destroying cultural heritage from all ethnic beliefs.”
This conquering tactic “isn’t new,” however. “We can look at Egyptian temples with statues, with faces smashed out, conquerors coming in and declaring things are idolatrous and smashing them. But, this is on a level we’ve never seen before. It’s calculated, choreographed and very well managed.
She continued, “There is looting … they are taking artifacts from these sites and selling them. There’s a massive network from South America to Asia to Europe. They’re selling to finance their organization.”
It’s important to bear witness to the destruction, she added. “Several of my Iraqi colleagues are trying to document, taking their lives in their own hands, essentially, to see what actual damage has been done to these sites. They’re also, in association with international organizations, trying to desperately document sites that haven’t been damaged yet, because we never thought these sites would be damaged and look what’s happened.”
Greenfield recounted that she had received an email on the day of her lecture from someone asking her what they can do, saying this must be stopped and asking by what means it is possible. So, what can be done about the damage being done to the region’s – and the globe’s – historical sites?
It’s an “excellent question,” replied Greenfield. “What do you do? How do we counteract the social media frenzy right now? Do we share them with people? How do we not play into their hands? But, how do you keep people aware of what’s going on?
“ISIS wants the link severed. They want the people gone and the history gone. How do we fight all of that at the same time? In my very humble position, the only thing I seem to be able to do is to continue to go out there – like this September and October again – and document this stuff.”
Since 2010, ISIS has been recruiting within the local population by paying more than government positions. “So, if you’re sitting there as a youth who is completely unhappy with the situation that’s occurred already and you’re offered a lot of money, it’s a no-brainer,” said Greenfield. “They are portraying themselves, in a sense, like Robin Hood, stealing and giving out food, giving out houses. They’re saying they’re protecting their own. Absolutely … there’s this ideology that they’re taking care of their people.”
Rabbi Ilan Acoca, left, shakes hands with Prime Minister Stephen Harper on Parliament Hill. (courtesy of Prime Minister’s Office)
Last month, a Jewish delegation paid a visit to Parliament Hill with two main items on the agenda – educating the Canadian government about Sephardi Jewry in Canada and discussing Iran’s aim to obtain nuclear weapons.
The delegation included Sephardi community leaders, activists, philanthropists and spiritual leaders from across Canada. They met with the prime minister, various ambassadors and other dignitaries. The delegation was led by Yehuda Azoulay and Vancouver’s Rabbi Ilan Acoca of Congregation Beth Hamidrash, the only Sephardi synagogue west of Toronto.
A scholar, educator, author, activist and entrepreneur, Azoulay established the Sephardic Legacy Series: Institute for Preserving Sephardic Heritage. He envisioned the series as helping ensure future Sephardi publications, articles, lecture series, documentary films and research on Sephardi topics, and other works geared toward the benefit of Sephardi communities worldwide. It was the lack of general knowledge concerning Sephardi history, culture, Jewish law and other facets of Sephardi Judaism that prompted him to establish the organization. To date, Azoulay has authored five books and published more than 30 articles on various topics. In November 2013, he initiated a tribute luncheon to honor the contributions of Sephardi Jewry in America for members of the U.S. Congress.
The recent Parliament Hill delegation had as its primary goal to “create more awareness about Sephardic Jews in Canada by educating them about our history and our contributions to Canadian society,” Acoca told the Independent. “There are currently 55,000 Sephardic Jews in Canada and the number is growing. This is something that we related to the government.”
Acoca was born in Israel to parents of Moroccan descent. “I grew up in a typical, traditional Sephardic home,” he said. “Sephardic Judaism was an integral part of my upbringing.”
When Acoca was 13 years old, his family moved to Montreal, where he attended a Jewish high school. Growing up in Montreal’s Sephardi community, Acoca said, “helped me deepen my appreciation for my rich Sephardic ancestry.” Acoca eventually become a rabbi, fulfilling his grandfather’s wish that one of his descendants follow in his footsteps to the rabbinate, he said. In November 1999, Acoca and his wife Dina took on the roles of rabbi and rabbanit at Beth Hamidrash.
“Getting this responsibility made me more aware and passionate about my ancestry,” said Acoca. “My job enabled me to learn more about various Sephardic traditions and communities.”
Over the years, Acoca has added other aspects to his rabbinical role, teaching online, writing a monthly column in the Canadian Jewish News, heading the Rabbinical Council Sephardic Affinity Group, being an official Sephardi representative in Western Canada, and being the region’s Sephardi halachic authority.
Canadian human rights lawyer David Matas joined the group in Ottawa. Acoca described the importance of having Matas present in front of the House of Commons SubCommittee on International Human Rights about Iran’s intent to develop nuclear capability. During the presentation, Matas and Azoulay also conveyed some of the hardships that Iranian Jews “have faced and continue to endure.” (The full hearing is available at cpac.ca/en/programs/in-committee-house-of-commons/episodes/37646919.)
Matas gave six recommendations to the committee, which he shared with the Jewish Independent:
1. Expand the exceptions to sovereign immunity to catch Iranian human rights violations in a larger net. It should be possible for victims of the Iranian regime to sue in Canadian courts for the harm that the regime has done to them.
2. Ask for the extradition of Hassan el-Hajj Hassan, a Canadian citizen implicated in a Bulgarian bombing, from Lebanon to Canada. Under the Criminal Code, Canada has jurisdiction to prosecute him because he is a Canadian citizen, explained Matas. Canada does not have an extradition treaty with Lebanon, but the Extradition Act allows for extradition, even without a treaty, on a case-by-case basis by agreement with the state where the accused is found.
3. Support the suggestion that any arms agreement between Iran and foreign states include a human rights component parallel to that of the Helsinki Accord. “A regime hell bent on the destruction of Israel and the Jews should be kept as far away from weapons of mass destruction as possible,” said Matas. “A nuclear weapons agreement with Iran, if one can be reached, should not just prevent nuclear weapons capability. It should have a place for human rights.”
4. The European Union in July 2013 added the military wing of Hezbollah to its list of terrorist entities. Canada should urge the EU to list Hezbollah in its entirety, not just the military wing, as a terrorist entity.
5. As the lead sponsor to the United Nations General Assembly, Canada should strengthen the language of the resolution, even if it that means fewer votes. “While we would not suggest language so strong that the resolution would be lost, Canada today has some room for manoeuvre,” said Matas.
6. Encourage the Government of Canada to take into account all refugee populations as part of any just and comprehensive resolution to the Israeli-Palestinian and Arab-Israeli conflicts. “That, of course, includes 55,000 Jewish refugees from Iran, driven out of Iran by the regime of the mullahs,” said Matas.
It is also important to confront the myth that Israel is a Western, imperial, colonial enterprise – a myth that holds particular sway with the mullahs of Iran, Matas said. The reality is that Israel is in large measure composed of Jews from the Middle East, including Iran. “Unless the Palestinians themselves accept the reality of dual victimization, a meaningful peace becomes impossible,” he said.
The delegation met with MPs Tim Uppal, Denis Lebel, Jason Kenney, Peter Kent, John Carmichael, Mark Adler, Joyce Bateman and Irwin Cotler. Other members of the delegation, including Acoca, met privately with Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
“The government officials were extremely supportive and promised they will assist,” said Acoca. “We were ecstatic, definitely.”
Acoca is eager to create more awareness of Sephardi Jewry, the community’s needs and cultural differences, and to promote understanding. He is also looking forward to following up on the event and meetings, and hopes this delegation will become an annual occurrence. “I would like the Sephardic way and philosophy to be preserved and am working hard, together with my colleagues, to ensure a thriving future,” said Acoca.
A view of shore from a dive shop in Dahab, South Sinai, Egypt. (photo by B. Simpson via commons.wikimedia.org)
During the upcoming school holidays of Passover, followed by the summer months, many Israelis travel abroad. Europe is only a few hours away by plane, and the beaches of Cyprus and Greece are even closer. Vacations abroad, even including the flight, are often cheaper than local getaways because of the high price of Israeli hotels. However, the Israeli government has issued travel warnings for 41 countries, including Europe and Asia.
“Recent terrorist attacks by Islamic extremists in Belgium, Canada, Australia, France and Denmark raise concerns over additional attacks against Western targets, including Israeli and Jewish targets, by veterans of the fighting in Syria and Iraq who are affiliated with global jihad (including Islamic State) and by local elements inspired by the terrorist organizations.”
The travel warning, issued by the National Security Council Counter-Terrorism Bureau, noted that is illegal for Israelis to travel to “Syria, Iraq (including Iraqi Kurdistan), Iran, Lebanon, Yemen and Saudi Arabia.”
The warning comes amid a spate of attacks on Western and Jewish targets including the Charlie Hebdo magazine and the Jewish supermarket in Paris, the shooting in Denmark and, just this weekend, an attack on a synagogue in London.
Israeli terrorism experts say Israelis do not seem to be the primary target of these attacks.
“Until now there have been two main targets – governmental targets in Western countries and Jewish institutions,” Reuven Ehrlich, a terrorism expert, explained. “Israelis have not been the target, but I cannot tell you what it will be in the future.”
However, the warnings do not seem to be affecting travel plans. Israelis have one of the highest rates per capita of travel abroad, taking two million trips a year, although there are no statistics about how many of them are travelers who fly several times a year. Israeli travel professionals say they are telling their clients to maintain a lower profile.
“We are asking our passengers to be a little quieter, which is a good thing no matter what,” said Mark Feldman, chief executive officer of Ziontours in Jerusalem. “Israelis tend to be loud and raucous and call attention to themselves. We have several groups going to Europe in the next few weeks and we have told them not to congregate in the lobby, not to speak in loud voices and, if possible, not to speak in Hebrew.”
The Feb. 18 silent march in honor of Alberto Nisman began on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
Approximately 75 members of the local Argentine community and their friends and supporters gathered at the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery on Feb. 18 in memory of Argentina’s federal prosecutor Alberto Nisman.
Jewish community member Gabriel Patrich (left) was one of the Vancouver march organizers. (photo by Cynthia Ramsay)
A silent march, there were no speeches, but participants carried signs. They would like the government of Argentina to conduct a full investigation of the suspicious death of the 51-year-old Jewish lawyer who was found dead on Jan. 18 at his home in Buenos Aires. Nisman was investigating alleged Iranian involvement in the terror attack on the AMIA (Asociación Mutual Israelita Argentina) Jewish community centre in 1994, which killed 85 people and injured hundreds of others. He was found dead the day before he was to appear before a congressional hearing to air his contention that President Cristina Fernández de Kirchner, among others, arranged a deal with Iran to cover up its involvement in the bombing in exchange for economic benefits.
Jewish community member Gabriel Patrich, one of the organizers of the march in Vancouver, was satisfied with the local support. “The main rally in Argentina drew [up to] half a million people, and there were big events in Miami, Australia, Spain, France and Israel. We are proud to take our part and demand a full investigation of Nisman’s murder and the truth he was about to bring to light.”
In addition to the call for justice, Patrich told the Independent, “we were also there … to honor a courageous man, who knew that his life was in danger – he said that his investigations might cost him his life.”
Reports are that some 400,000 people attended the Buenos Aires march alone. On her website, Kirchner criticized that event as being politically motivated and, “not at all an act of homage to the tragically deceased, with the obvious exception of their immediate families.” She said its one merit was that it showed “that in Argentina, your country, you can disagree, you can insult the government and the president, and can move freely. It was not always so, so do not speak of dictatorship.”
For those interested in more about the AMIA bombing, Argentine author Gustavo Perednik has written a “lightly veiled” fictional account based on documents provided him by Nisman. It has been translated into English – To Kill Without a Trace: A Prequel to 9/11, the 1994 Terrorist Bombing in Buenos Aires and the Iranian Connection (Mantua Books Ltd.) – and Perednik will be in Vancouver for the book’s launch at the Isaac Waldman Jewish Public Library on March 23, at 7 p.m. Also speaking will be Dr. Elena T. Feder, who wrote the introduction to the English translation. Anticipating a full house, the library requires an RSVP to 604-257-5111, ext. 248, or library@jccgv.bc.ca by March 19.
Shahar Ben Haleviis a writer and filmmaker living in Vancouver.
The attack on a Copenhagen synagogue – and the public reaction to it – has been illuminating. It also raises echoes from Danish and Jewish history, in ways that are not encouraging.
Of all the many incidents during the Holocaust when non-Jews acted righteously, one of the most notable and successful was the evacuation of Denmark’s Jews in 1943. The Danish resistance, aided by throngs of ordinary Danes, mobilized a flotilla of fishing boats to convey Danish Jews to Sweden, thus saving 99 percent of Denmark’s Jewish population at a time when other Jewish communities in Europe were being annihilated.
This extraordinary example of dangerous sacrifice in defence of Jewish people and basic humanity has rightly given the Danish people a special place in the narrative of opposition to Nazism. The narrative, at times, has gotten out of hand, as with the debunked story that the Danish monarch, King Christian X, himself donned a yellow star as an act of solidarity when the Jews of his country were ordered to affix the signifying marker to their clothing. In fact, Denmark’s Jews were among the few in occupied Europe not required to wear the yellow star. This story may not have been true, but the underlying message of Danish solidarity with the Jewish people against the Final Solution is undeniable.
It might have been expected, therefore, that Denmark would live up to its reputation in the aftermath of the recent terror attacks that wounded five police officers and killed two civilians – Finn Norgaard, a 55-year-old filmmaker who was attending a free speech symposium that was the gunman’s first target, and Dan Uzan, a 37-year-old congregant serving as security at the city’s Grand Synagogue.
In a heartening show, 30,000 Danes gathered on Feb. 16 for a vigil to commemorate the two terror victims. The current monarch, Queen Margarethe II, expressed condolences and restated her country’s commitment to the values “that Denmark is based on.”
However, a number of concerning responses cast a shadow over the fine words and deeds of these Danes.
Prime Minister Helle Thorning-Schmidt called the murders a “cynical act of terror,” but then offered this ponderous and contradictory observation: “We don’t know the motive for the attacks but we know that there are forces that want to harm Denmark, that want to crush our freedom of expression, our belief in liberty. We are not facing a fight between Islam and the West, it is not a fight between Muslims and non-Muslims.”
The motive for the attack could hardly have been clearer. First, attempt mass murder at an event explicitly dedicated to free expression then, for good measure, head over to a synagogue to kill some Jews. The actions of the perpetrator betray the motives in the most obvious manner imaginable. It is baffling that the prime minister should have chosen to cast question on the motive. And while it is widely held that the actions of violent radical extremists do not represent a universal trait of Islam, it still rings odd to hear the leader of a country in such a situation tack on a declaration about what the incident is not, while offering no specifics about what is at the root of the attack.
Far more disturbing was the veneration given to the perpetrator. The funeral for Omar Abdel Hamid El-Hussein, who police say was responsible for both attacks and who police shot and killed, was attended by an estimated 500 people. One organizer said the turnout was a sign of support for the family of the gunman, not an endorsement of his actions, but the crowd of hundreds at the funeral of a murderer of this sort is not a good sign.
Moreover, flowers were left at the scene of El-Hussein’s death, as is the mania these days anytime a tragedy strikes. These were later removed – by masked men chanting who said their actions were based on the fact that Muslims (like Jews) do not mark the passing of people with flowers.
These weird and disheartening reactions stand in contrast with the uplifting story of the moment – the “circle of peace” that took place last weekend in Oslo, Norway, in which 1,000 Norwegian Muslims and their allies encircled a synagogue in an act of solidarity and protection.
Similarly, the involvement of a Muslim figure with a history of antisemitic rhetoric drew some criticism, though organizers pointed to his participation as a sign of progress and that change is possible even among radical extremists and fundamentalists, and those who espouse hate.
Bodies are taken away following an explosion at the cafeteria of Jerusalem’s Hebrew University on July 31, 2002. Hamas took responsibility for the bombing, which killed seven people and wounded 70, but a new U.S. federal court ruling found the Palestine Liberation Organization and the Palestinian Authority liable for that attack and other committed during the second intifada. (photo from Flash90)
A New York City-based federal jury on Monday ordered the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) and the Palestinian Authority (PA) to pay $218.5 million in reparations to American citizens who were targeted by terror attacks in Jerusalem, and to the victims’ families. The ruling is seen as a major victory for those seeking to hold so-called moderate Palestinian factions accountable for terrorism.
The court ruled in favor of 10 American families who sued the PLO and PA for six different terrorist attacks that were linked to those groups during the second Palestinian intifada. Thirty-three people were killed in those six attacks between 2002 and 2004, and 450 were injured. Since the lawsuit was filed in a U.S. court under the Anti-Terrorism Act, the reparation amount is expected to triple to $655.5 million.
Among the families involved in the landmark ruling were representatives of four victims of a Hebrew University cafeteria attack in 2002, in addition to Palestinian shooting attacks and suicide bombings that took place between 2002 and 2004 in Jerusalem.
The plaintiffs won the case after a 10-year legal battle in which the defence claimed that the PLO and the PA were not directly responsible for the attacks, which were carried out by the al-Aqsa Martyrs Brigade and Hamas. The verdict is likely to bolster Israel’s longstanding claim that Palestinian factions such as Mahmoud Abbas’ PA – which many in the West consider to be more moderate than Hamas – support terrorism.
“The PA and the PLO and the Fatah faction were all involved in terrorism during the second intifada,” said Jonathan Schanzer, vice-president for research at the Foundation for Defence of Democracies and a former terrorism finance analyst at the U.S. Department of the Treasury. “Abbas reined in those groups and has done a reasonably good job of preventing their resurgence. But the sins of his predecessor, Yasser Arafat, continue to haunt him. And now it looks as if it will cost him, as well.”
After the attacks in Copenhagen, like after the violence and vandalisms that have rocked the French Jewish community, Israel’s Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu is urging the Jews of Europe to come to Israel as violence against Jews and Jewish institutions increases across that troubled continent.
This call for a new mass aliyah is being met with opposition by European leaders – including Jewish leaders. In Copenhagen, more than 30,000 people, led by their prime minister, commemorated the victims of the terror attacks. Copenhagen’s chief rabbi, Jair Melchior, told the Associated Press, “People from Denmark move to Israel because they love Israel, because of Zionism. But not because of terrorism. If the way we deal with terror is to run somewhere else, we should all run to a deserted island.”
Coincidentally, in preparation for our upcoming 85th anniversary issue, we were perusing old copies of this newspaper recently. We came across a commentary from July 1948 titled “Zionism should be wound up.” The author argued that the motive for Zionism – the creation of a Jewish state – had been realized and so the global enterprise should be concluded: even as Israel was literally fighting for its survival in the ongoing War of Independence, and so soon after the Holocaust.
Zionism had been a divisive force in the Diaspora Jewish community, including here in Canada. There were pro- and anti-Zionist Jews of left, right and centre politics, and of Orthodox and secular persuasion and everything in between. Some arguments against Zionism as a movement relied on religious foundations, contending that the ingathering of the exiles would coincide with the messianic era. Other arguments were emphatically secular with the left holding, for example, that it was incumbent upon Jews to remain where they are and fight for a better world for all, rather than retrenching to nationalistic or religious-based separations.
Reading the editorial from 1948, one particular sticking point was that community fundraising efforts had been overwhelmingly allocated to the Zionist effort. Now that the goal had been achieved, the author argued, it was time to redirect fundraising and spending inward, to individual Diaspora communities and to resurrect the “kehilla pattern” of community building and security, with each community taking care of its own needs.
Despite the writer’s conclusion, as successive wars and decades of terrorism confronted Israel, Zionism was not shelved. It morphed into a different type of movement. No longer mobilizing for the creation of a Jewish homeland, it became the overseas support group for the country. After 1967, when “the occupation” altered perceptions of Israel at home and abroad, Zionism again became a divisive cause. But for those two decades, the Jewish people were probably as united as they have ever been in support of Israel.
The lesson of the second half of the 20th century proved the lesson of the first half. Close to a million Jews across the Middle East and North Africa were forced, driven or encouraged by various means to leave their homelands. The difference for these people was that there was now a place where Jews control the immigration policy. Had such a place existed in the 1930s, the impact of the Holocaust may have been massively reduced. Nitpickers will contend that it was the creation of the state of Israel itself that led to the expulsion of Jews from the Arab world, but this equivalency, whatever its merits, does not distract from the underlying point: Jews have often lacked security and permanence in places where they are a permanent minority.
However, being a majority is no assurance of safety. Despite Netanyahu’s invitation, all is not nirvana for the Jews of Israel. Violence and terrorism are not unknown, and life is challenging in different ways than in Europe. It also needs mentioning that everything Netanyahu says and does right now must be seen through the prism of political expediency as the Israeli elections approach.
Nevertheless, these events raise a very serious question: What does Zionism mean today for people in the Diaspora?
There are probably more answers than there are Jews and, in a way, this is the question we grapple with, in one way or another, in these pages every week. But this conclusion may be safe to draw: it is not quite time for Zionism to wind up its affairs.
Dan Gillerman addresses the audience at Jewish National Fund Pacific Region’s Tu b’Shevat event Feb. 3 as emcee Geoffrey Druker looks on. (photo by Robert Albanese)
A former Israeli ambassador to the United Nations heaped praise on Canada and excoriated the United States during a candid speech here last week.
Left to right, former ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman, Mayor of Victoria Lisa Helps and JNF Pacific Region shaliach Ilan Pilo. (photo by Julie Elizabeth)
Dan Gillerman, who led the Israeli delegation at the UN from 2003 to 2008, was filling in for current Ambassador Ron Prosor, whose obligations kept him in New York. The occasion was the Jewish National Fund of Canada’s Tu b’Shevat event at Beth Israel on Feb. 3. He also spoke in Victoria at Emanu-El for JNF the next day.
Gillerman, who acknowledges that he has a penchant for political incorrectness and is now a private citizen free to speak his mind without the constraints of a diplomatic post, received a strong ovation when he called Canada “by far, the greatest friend Israel has in the world” and when he heaped praise on Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper as “probably the greatest leader in the world.”
His perspective on the United States was not nearly as positive.
“I think that what we are witnessing today is at least a perception, hopefully a wrong perception, of a weak America and a weak American president,” Gillerman said. Even a whiff of American weakness is a dangerous thing in the world, he said, with America’s enemies feeling that they can get away with murder and America’s allies believing that they cannot rely on the superpower.
Gillerman equates the contemporary situation of the United States with the advent of the First World War a century ago, which he says was due in part to perceptions of British weakness under Prime Minister H.H. Asquith. Gillerman contended that Russian dictator Vladimir Putin would not do what he did in Ukraine and other countries would not do what they are doing elsewhere if they thought the United States would intervene.
On dangers facing Israel, Gillerman said that the most serious threats are not Hamas or Hezbollah, and not even Iran, which is pushing for nuclear capability. “They are not our most dangerous threats, because we can take care of them,” he said. “The two most dangerous phenomena we face today are appeasement and being politically correct.”
Trying to appease terror and the Iranian regime, as the world is doing today, Gillerman said, is very dangerous.
About political correctness, he said the world is “trying to find other words to explain what is happening,” other than identifying it as Islamic extremism and terrorism. “We have to call a spade a spade,” he said. “There is evil in this world. There is terror in this world. It threatens your country and every country in the world.”
On Iran, Gillerman characterized nuclear negotiations as “a weak America and a weak American president who wants an agreement at any cost.”
Gillerman said he had a conversation with UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, who is South Korean. Gillerman said that the global powers dithered while North Korea prepared for nuclear weaponry then one day the world woke up to a nuclear North Korea. Gillerman said Ban told him that Iran is much more dangerous than North Korea.
“North Korea sought nuclear weapons out of desperation,” Gillerman quoted Ban as telling him. “While Iran is seeking them out of aspiration.”
Gillerman spoke of his close relationship with the late former Israeli prime minister Ariel Sharon, who appointed him ambassador to the UN. Gillerman’s background is not in politics or diplomacy, but business, and he was chairman of the Israeli Chamber of Commerce before his ambassadorial appointment.
He said Sharon warned him that the appointment to the UN would leave him lonely and facing hostility, but Gillerman said he later told the prime minister that he had been wrong. As Israel’s representative at the world body, Gillerman said, he operated on the knowledge that he represented a country that “is far, far better than most other member countries of the United Nations.”
Despite Israel’s isolation at the UN, one of Gillerman’s achievements during his time as ambassador was the proclamation of International Holocaust Remembrance Day every January. It was the first time that an Israeli-sponsored resolution was passed by the General Assembly.
Gillerman was speaking on the day that Canadian foreign minister John Baird announced his resignation from cabinet and politics. Gillerman said that he had spent several days with Baird recently in Davos, Switzerland, and had no indication that Baird was planning a major change.
“I think it’s a loss for Canada and a loss for Israel, but I wish him well,” Gillerman said, before once again praising Canada’s leaders.
“I think you have in Stephen Harper one of the greatest leaders in the world. Probably the greatest leader in the world and definitely the best friend Israel has in the world,” he said.
While the bulk of the former ambassador’s speech was ominous and pessimistic, it didn’t conclude that way.
“Despite all that, I am optimistic about the future of Israel,” he said near the end of his remarks. “I believe that the world is waking up.”
In the Arab world, he said, the fight between extremists and moderates will lead moderates to recognize that Israel is not the enemy. Comparatively moderate Arab states are as afraid of Iranian extremism and nuclear capability as Israel is – possibly more afraid – he said, and a regional agreement will emerge from shared interests.
“I believe we can reach a fair and lasting settlement with the Palestinians,” he said, adding that leadership is needed on both sides, and in the world, and that it must go beyond bilateralism. He predicted what he calls a “23-state solution,” an agreement between Israel and Arab countries that leads to lasting peace.
He went on to say that if the Palestinian issue were settled, Arab states could calm their streets and become partners with Israel.
To those who say that the United Nations is a failed, useless organization, Gillerman described it as simply a building on First Avenue in Manhattan that is only as good as its tenants. Blaming the UN for the faults of its member-states is like blaming Madison Square Garden when the Knicks lose, he said. “It’s not the UN as an organization, it’s the world we live in.” The UN General Assembly has a “built-in immoral majority,” he said.
Left to right, Frank Sirlin, president of Jewish National Fund Pacific Region, former ambassador to the United Nations Dan Gillerman and JNF Pacific Region shaliach Ilan Pilo. (photo by Robert Albanese)
Prosor, the ambassador who was originally slated to attend, provided a video message that was screened at the beginning of the event. Singers from Vancouver Talmud Torah sang a song for Tu b’Shevat and King David High School students sang the national anthems. The event was emceed by Geoffrey Druker, Rabbi Jonathan Infeld welcomed visitors to the new Beth Israel building and Diane Switzer, board chair of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, introduced Gillerman. Frank Sirlin, president of JNF Canada Pacific Region, spoke about this year’s Tu b’Shevat campaign, which will see trees planted along roads in Israel that are within range of gunfire from the Gaza Strip. The “green barrier” will help green the desert while shielding drivers and passengers from sniper fire. The JNF campaign includes two telethon sessions, on Feb. 15 and 22.
