The Book of Kings and Herman Melville

In reading the Book of Kings, the Biblical record of the history of the Jews several hundred years after the Exodus from Egypt and the conquest in Canaan, I am once again struck by the powerful, poetic and enobling use of language.

The words are frequently spare yet pack so much wallop; and this is the English King James version. In the original Hebrew, there is so much potency, shading and meaning in each word.

But to give the King James Version its due, it truly is a magnificent translation and I would commend anyone to read even the Wikipedia summary of how the Kings James Bible came about.

Below is one of the evocative phrases that is seen over and over when referring to the death of a king. So for example when Jehosaphat died:

"And Jehosaphat slept with his fathers"

What a poetic way of speaking of death - suggesting death is not such a final and isolating event but a gentle return to the family.

Or after recounting some gruesome record of a particular king's apostacy and cruelty (the Bible is not really all that in favour of the monarchy and makes it clear that the preferred form of leadership was the charismatic prophet) the text not wishing to visit on the reader too much of a litany of sins simply refers the reader to another source for all of the gory detail by saying:

" Are they not written in the Book of Chronicles of Judah?"


As if to say "this is all very bad and tiresome and we could go on and on, but you get the picture and in any event there is already another Book that records all of this tiresome detail for posterity and we have already made the point that this king was an apostate and cruel so lets get on with it and for those of you who need the details- check out the Book of Chronicles"!


And then finally, for tonight- a line I came across from Melville's Moby Dick a few weeks ago and thought intriguing:

"Though in many of its aspects this world seems formed in love, the invisible spheres were formed in fright"

Observations: Elder Abuse

James Hillman, the noted psychologist needs to be more of a household name. One of his works on The Soul's Code was a New York Times bestseller although his other works are less known. In that work he wrote brilliantly of the "acorn" theory of development wherein each of us is born with a psyche blueprint for our own " calling. In his work "The Force of Character and the Lasting Life" this is what he says about aging on page 15

"The disparagement of values generally associated with the old- tricks, skills and know-how; familiarity with local lore, songs and phrases, and superstitions; and just plain slowness- lowers their value. In the context of these diminished values, we more easily justify geronticide. We call this "putting them out of their misery" and cover it over with more antiseptic language such as
"DNR" ("Do Not Resucitate") euthanasia, death-hastening and assisted suicide. These practices take place in private homes, nursing homes and hospitals far more often than reach the public eye. Even if our society does not condone beating, stabbing and strangling the aged, in some hearts the wish is often there".

Dr. Hillman often speaks in "extreme" language to make his point- however these words written in 1999 do bear serious reflection.

News Release: Rogers OMNI 10/BC Welcomes First Board of Multi-faith Community Advisors Enhanced Dialogue & Outreach Mechanism

For immediate release:

Rogers OMNI 10/BC Welcomes First Board of Multi-faith Community Advisors Enhanced Dialogue and Outreach Mechanism to Benefit All

SURREY (January 30, 2007) – Terry Mahoney, General Manager of Rogers OMNI Television British Columbia, is pleased to welcome the station’s first board of Multi-faith Community Advisors. Like the system of Community Advisors put in place 20 years ago by multilingual/multicultural stations Rogers OMNI.1 and OMNI.2, the new advisory board for Rogers OMNI.10/BC will play an essential role in station’s feedback mechanisms. Collectively, OMNI.10’s multi-faith advisors reflect the various faith and cultural communities served by the station’s programming and will assist in maintaining two-way communications, for the ultimate benefit of viewer and broadcaster alike.

“Rogers OMNI.10/BC has grown rapidly in the relatively brief time we’ve been on-air and the formation of our new board complements this growth,” says Terry Mahoney. “As we evolve, our Community Advisors will bring further reflection to OMNI, its programming and its policies.”

“The process of identifying candidates for OMNI.10’s board of Multi-faith Community Advisors was launched, essentially, with the launch of the station itself,” he continues. “Top of mind for us were individuals with a good understanding of the intricacies of their own faith as well as healthy respect for, and appreciation of, the beliefs of people of differing religious persuasion.”

To put a name to those individuals and briefly introduce OMNI.10’s inaugural board of Multi-faith Community Advisors, they are:

• Mason Loh Q.C., Chair, OMNI B.C. Advisory Board – a lawyer with a long and distinguished record of service to the community; volunteer with one of Vancouver’s largest social service organizations, SUCCESS, for over 25 years, serving as their Chairman of the Board from 1994 to 1998;
• Canon Bernard “Bern” Barrett – Anglican priest; bible scholar and teacher; currently President and Executive Director of the Multi-Faith Action Society of B.C;
• Nusrat Hussain – founder and editor of the first Muslim newspaper of British Columbia, The Muslim Miracle News; award-winning poet; former General Secretary of the Canada Urdu Association;
• Ron Kuehl - Ron Kuehl is currently Senior Vice President of External Relations at Trinity Western University (TWU) and previously, its Vice President of Advancement and Enrolment; TWU is partner with OMNI.10 to explore the impact of religious diversity on cultures around the globe through a series of interfaith forums entitled, Faith Forward: Exploring Religion, Culture and Conflict;
• Jean LaRose - First Nations citizen from the Abenakis First Nation of Odanak; currently Chief Executive Officer of the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network (APTN); former Director of Communications for the Assembly of First Nations;
• Sukhvinder Vinning – Member, Multi-Faith Action Society of British Columbia, involved with inter-faith initiatives such as developing and maintaining dialogue among communities and managing peace and justice issues; also, coordinating producer for their multi-faith calendar;
• Mark Weintraub - Current Chair of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region, and a partner of the Law firm Clark Wilson; internationally renowned keynote speaker at such auspicious events as the Tokyo Conference (on) War Crimes & Redress.

Among the Multi-faith Community Advisors’ many key functions is that of maintaining two-way communications: providing OMNI.10/BC with information, feedback and advice from their own particular community – and enhancing the community’s awareness of the station. All Rogers OMNI Television stations value the input of their Community Advisors, all of whom take an active role in their respective community.

About OMNI TV BC:
OMNI TV BC is the re-branded and renovated licence resulting from Rogers’ purchase of NOW TV (CHNU) and the subsequent approval by the CRTC Decision Public Notice 2005-207 (http://www.crtc.gc.ca/archive/ENG/Decisions/2005/db2005-207.htm). This decision also included the approval of a rebroadcast transmitter for Victoria to be in place mid-2007 and operate on channel 21B. NOW TV Vancouver formally re-launched as OMNI TV BC/OMNI.10 (over-the-air, UHF channel 66) on September 5th 2005, continuing its mandate to deal with the religious and spiritual concerns of the Christian and other faith communities in its broadcast coverage area.

About Rogers OMNI Television:
Rogers OMNI Television is a free over-the-air system consisting of four regional broadcasters covering nine markets in British Columbia (Victoria, Vancouver, and Fraser Valley), Manitoba (Winnipeg), and Ontario (Ottawa-Gatineau, London, Kitchener-Waterloo, Hamilton and the Greater Toronto Area). All Rogers OMNI Television stations are owned and operated by Rogers Communications in the Rogers Media division, and have the collective mandate to reflect Canada’s diversity through the airing of inclusive and accessible programming. In addition to specializing in Canadian multicultural, multilingual and multi-faith programming, OMNI TV also carries well-known American and International series and films.

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Media Contacts:

• Sandy Zwyer - Programme Information Coordinator - (416) 260-3590 sandy.zwyer@rci.rogers.com
• Andrea Gagliardi – Director of Public Relations – (416) 260-3803 andrea.gagliardi@rci.rogers.com
  
  
  
  

Vancouver Sun: Spiritual thinkers, leaders look at fostering peace activism

A noted group of thinkers and spiritual leaders will gather in Vancouver on Saturday to explore how the public can cope when confronted by often-overwhelming conditions in the world, particularly following the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001.

A one-day conference, titled Finding Hope in a Time of Despair, will look at fostering peace activism and interfaith dialogue in a time of increasing global tension, violence, poverty and destruction of the planet.

Speakers include Donald Grayston, an Anglican priest and former director of Simon Fraser University's Institute for the Humanities; Toni Pieroni, who leads groups in eco-spirituality; Ron Dart, a political scientist and religious studies instructor at University College of the Fraser Valley, and Mark Weintraub, chair of the Canadian Jewish Congress Pacific Region.

Sponsored by the Thomas Merton Society of Canada and Canadian Memorial Church Centre for Peace, the event takes place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. at 1825 West 16th Avenue, Vancouver.

For more information, go to http://merton.ca/HOPEconfguide.html

BC News Release: Premier Marks Holocaust Memorial Day

NEWS RELEASE

For Immediate Release
Office of the Premier

2006OTP0079-000481

April 25, 2006

PREMIER MARKS HOLOCAUST MEMORIAL DAY

VICTORIA – The Province paid tribute today to the more than six million victims of the Holocaust in a ceremony attended by over 90 Holocaust survivors at the provincial legislature to mark Holocaust Memorial Day.

“The lingering scar of the Holocaust stands out in human history as a profound and painful reminder that we must all stand united in the goal of stamping out hate and upholding the fundamental rights of every individual,” said Premier Gordon Campbell. “Today is a day to remember and reflect. We are honoured to be joined by those who endured so much and we pledge that their suffering and sacrifice will always be remembered.”

As part of the ceremony, six survivors lit six candles to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children killed by the Nazis between 1933 and 1945. Holocaust Memorial Day is also a day to remember the over five million people who died during the same time period because of their physical or mental disabilities, race, religion or sexual orientation.

“It is through commemoration and remembrance that we pass on the lessons from this dark time in history to future generations,” said Mark Weintraub, chair of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region. “We must combat racism and dehumanization in our time, so the millions of people who paid the ultimate price of hatred and fear did not make their sacrifice in vain.”

“In British Columbia, we value the diversity and equality that is demonstrated in our multicultural communities,” said Wally Oppal, Attorney General and Minister Responsible for Multiculturalism. “Today we reflect on the painful lessons of history and remind ourselves that hate and racism have no place in our society.”

Holocaust Remembrance Day is marked around the world. The Holocaust Memorial Day Act, passed in 2000, declares Yom Ha’Shoah, the Day of the Holocaust as determined each year by the Jewish calendar, as Holocaust Memorial Day throughout British Columbia.

British Columbia was the second province in Canada to enact legislation marking Holocaust Remembrance Day as an official day on the provincial calendar. Ten provinces have now passed this legislation.

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Media contact:
Mike Morton
Press Secretary
Office of the Premier
250 213-8218

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.

Vancouver Sun: Two arrested in connection with synagogue vandalism

Kim Bola

Relieved members of the Jewish community were praising the RCMP Monday after two men were arrested in connection with an anti-Semitic attack on a Richmond synagogue a week earlier.

Richmond RCMP confirmed there were two arrests but said they would not provide any details because charges have not yet been laid.

Cpl. Peter Thiessen said Monday he could not comment because "we are still in the midst of an investigation."

But the head of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region, said video camers at the Beth Tikvah synagogue that captured images of the suspects during the April 15 attack were instrumental in identifying the two people picked up in the case.

"Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region and Beth Tikvah synagogue have worked closely with law enforcement throughout the investigation and we are pleased to say that the RCMP demonstrated to our community from the outset that the incident was being treated very seriously," regional congress chair Mark Weintraub said. "We are thankful to the RCMP and the BC Hate Crimes Team for all of their effort and are relieved that the perpetrators were caught."

The synagogue, on Geal Road, was defaced with anti-Semitic graffiti including a picture of a hanging man, with the word Jew written over it, swastikas, and anti-Jewish profanity.

It was the second time in recent months that Richmond RCMP have been called to investigate anti-Semitic vandalism.

kbolan@png.canwest.com

Holocaust Remembrance, April 16, 2007

Jewish Independent Opinion: Canada's security weakened

MARK WEINTRAUB

After the 9/11 attacks, the Canadian government came to the start realization that Canada was wholly unprepared to respond effectively to the now undeniable threat of international terrorism and its domestic manifestations. By the end of that year, Canada's legislative response, the Anti-Terrorism Act (ATA), was on the books. Since then, Canadians have been passing judgemen ton how well it met the most fundamental challenge facing any democracy: how to provide for the safety and security of its citizens while minimally impairing the basic civil liberties that underpin their society.

The Parliament of the day "sunsetted" two of the most contentious measures, mandating their expiration in five years in the absence of votes to renew by both the House of Commons and the Senate. These two provisions - recognizance with conditions (placing express constraints on the activities of suspects or permitting their preventive arrest for up to 72 hours as sanctioned by a judge to prevent an imminent terror attack) and investigative hearings (compelling individuals to testify and provide documents about a terror attack that has occurred or will take place) - seemed to epitomize the difficult balance of protection of security versus protection of human rights. Five-and-a-half years later, after heated, acrimonious debates, the measures died on the floor of the House of Commons.

We believe that these two powers were critical elements to be used judiciously to head off future attacks, or successfully investigate ones that had already occurred.

The fact that neither provision had actually been implemented since the fall of 2001 proved grist for both mills: "They are totally irrelevant," said some. "See they have not led to widespread abuse," countered others. From the perspective of Canadian Jewish Congress, though, it is most unfortunate that a compromise could not be struck to extend the two measures with additional safeguards put in place.

We would argue that one need not approach the debate from the "either/or" perspective of security versus rights. If terrorism is rightly regarded as an assault on human rights, it stands to reason that the implementation of counter-terrorism measures necessarily protects the highest priority right of life, liberty and the security of the person, the foundation of all other rights and freedoms.

These actions themselves must always be rooted in the rule of law. A properly framed and implemented counter-terrorism policy enhances civil liberties and core Charter of Rights values and protects them as part of our way of life whose essence is threatened by terrorism.

As a package deal, the ATA met this challenge, but the failure to renew the two sunsetted provisions has eroded Canada's safety and security from both international and domestic attacks. As such, it is incumbent upon the government and all parties to work co-operatively toward crafting new legistlation to replace the two ATA measures on which the sun has now set.

These powers may be gone, but Canadians should not be lulled into a false sense of security - the threats that these provisions were intended to combat is most assuredly still with us. It would be the ultimate irony if, in striving to maintain civil liberties, we strip authorities of the necessary powers to stop terrorists from destroying our open and free society.

Mark Weintraub is chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region.

http://www.jewishindependent.ca/Archives/Mar07/archives07Mar16-12.html

Victoria Times Colonist: Religious leaders urge B.C. to lead on climate change

Religious leaders urge B.C. to lead on climate change: Churches of all stripes ask province to set targets in battle against greenhouse gas emissions

Page: A3

Section: News

Byline: Judith Lavoie

Religious leaders of all stripes are coming together in a coalition of strange bedfellows to fight the overarching threat of global warming.


A letter asking that B.C. set mandatory, provincewide targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, sent to Premier Gordon Campbell this week, is signed by 45 community leaders including Rt. Rev. James Cowan, Anglican Bishop of B.C (which includes Vancouver Island); Mark Weintraub, chairman of the Pacific Region Canadian Jewish Congress, and ministers from the United Church of Canada.


Other signatories range from Stewart Philip, president of the B.C. Union of B.C Indian Chiefs and Jim Sinclair, president of the B.C. Federation of Labour, to leaders of environmental and business organizations.


The letter says B.C.'s emissions are up 30 per cent since 1990 and the mountain pine beetle is threatening the future of dozens of forest-dependent communities while extreme weather is disrupting B.C.'s economy and society.

"We therefore call on you to help B.C. become a leader by legislating worldleading, provincewide targets for mandatory emissions reductions," the letter says.

The letter follows a demand by Rt. Rev. Michael Ingham, Bishop of the Diocese of New Westminster, that the province set binding targets for reducing emissions.


Ingham said in a letter to Campbell that care of the planet "has become one of the most pressing ethical, moral and spiritual issues of our time." The push by churches, synagogues and mosques to stand up for the Earth is welcome said former environment minister David Anderson, a practising Anglican.


"I have been puzzled and saddened by the reticence of the Church to speak out forcefully and frequently on this issue," he said.


"I think this is a fundamental moral issue. Our civilization has to face up to its responsibility and we are not doing so.

What right do we have, for the benefit of our highly selfish lifestyle, to destroy the lives of people in third world countries." Anderson, who led climate change debate for five years as Liberal environment minister, said his insistence on the urgent need for action was the reason he was fired from cabinet in 2004 by former prime minister Paul Martin.


"I was pressing far too hard. I know that's why I was fired as environment minister and dropped from cabinet," he said.

Muslim Naz Rayani said climate change was the hot topic this week when he took a group of about 60 people to visit his mosque in Vancouver.


"Man has been given the responsibility to look after Mother Earth for future generations. It's up to us," he said.

In Islam, the biggest struggle is keeping a balance between the spiritual and wordly life and the environment must now become part of that personal equation, Rayani said.


In Victoria, faith-based climate change action is being led by the recently formed Care for Creation Committee, a joint effort by the Anglican Church of St. John the Divine and First Metropolitan United.


"This is a problem that will affect everyone on Earth and it is an issue we can work on together, regardless of our belief systems," said St. John the Divine parishioner Clare Attwell.


The Care for Creation Committee is putting on a presentation of Al Gore's An Inconvenient Truth followed by a community discussion at First Metropolitan, Feb. 12 from 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.


Between Feb. 21 and April 4, there will be a series of Wednesday noon forums at St. John the Divine on "God, Climate Change and Us."


Edition: Final
Story Type: News
Length: 575 words

Vancouver Sun: B.C. environmentalists seek global warming controls

Published: Thursday, February 01, 2007

Global warming is heating up into a major issue in British Columbia politics with a warning Thursday from a broad coalition of labour, environmental, aboriginal and religious leaders that Premier Gordon Campbell must set tough standards on green-house gas emissions.

In a public letter on the eve of today's release of a United Nation's International Panel on Climate Change, which concludes humans are "very likely" contributing to global warming, the B.C. group is demanding Premier Campbell take local action to reverse the province's upward trend in greenhouse gas emissions believed to accelerate climate change.

The coalition's letter -- which was distributed by Vancouver environmentalist David Suzuki's foundation -- warns "there can be no doubt that bold and immediate leadership is required of governments around the world to combat global warming."

The leaders -- who include B.C. Federation of Labour president Jim Sinclair and Grand Chief Stewart Philip, president of the Union of B.C. Indian Chiefs -- say British Columbians have already gotten a taste of global warming's potential havoc with the recent wild winter weather as well as the relentless march of the mountain pine beetle, the tiny insects that are destroying much of the province's pine forests thanks to warmer winters.

http://www.canada.com/vancouversun/news/story.html?id=ed8d3dff-a16e-4863-98d9-bb485a5df4a2&k=80969

Jewish Independent: A hope for peace in Darfur

A hope for peace in Darfur

"We need to continue to put the pressure on," says CJC chair.

RON FRIEDMAN

Darfurian Peace negotiator Nouri Abdalla recently returned from peace talks in Abuja, Nigeria. Advocacy leader Mark Weintraub from Canadian Jewish Congress met with him in order to hear about the current situation in Darfur and strategize about future co-operation.

"The best-case scenario is to have a robust UN peacekeeping force, highly experienced, well funded and equipped," said Abdalla.In August, the United Nations Security Council adopted Resolution 1706, ordering the expansion of the current African Union (AU) mission in Western Sudan to a 22,000-strong hybrid UN and AU peacekeeping force. China, the main consumer of Sudanese oil, has not signed the resolution, even though it contributed to the peace talks. It claims that the resolution impinges on Sudanese sovereignty.

However, Darfurians like Abdalla view the implementation of the resolution as their only hope after the collapse of the Darfur Peace Accord (DPA), which was signed in May.

"We were hoping that after the signing of the DPA, peace, stability and tranquillity would come to Darfur," said Abdalla. "As a matter of fact, what has happened is exactly the opposite, the situation actually got worse."

Since 2003, more than two million people have been internally displaced, another 250,000 refugees have crossed the border into neighboring countries and 400,000 people have been killed as a result of the violence.

Units of the Janjaweed militia, who are responsible for some of the worst atrocities of the conflict, are constantly raiding the villages and terrorizing civilians and aid workers. While the Sudanese government, led by Omar al-Bashir, denies responsibility for the actions of the Janjaweed, reports indicate that the Khartoum government recruits, arms and pays the militias, often performing co-ordinated attacks with them.

"The Sudanese government is trying to resolve this conflict militarily; they are still using their helicopter gun ships, their Antonov airplanes, bombing villages and still mobilizing, arming and unleashing the Janjaweed militias," said Abdalla.

Sudan peace talks
The main sticking points in the DPA concern issues of wealth and power sharing. The Darfurians want economic autonomy, equitable representation and adequate compensation for victims and survivors.

"We calculated an amount of $800 million to be put in the compensation fund on account of resident population and villages destroyed. They [the Sudanese government] ended up putting $30 million in," said Abdalla, who was part of the power-sharing commission at the peace talks.

"Just as important as protecting innocent civilians and trying to reverse the humanitarian and security situation in Darfur, is addressing the key fundamental demands for the people of Darfur and trying to resolve the root causes of the conflict," he said.

Peace efforts are becoming more challenging due to the splintering of the rebel groups: two out of the three have refused to sign the treatise.

"We do not refuse negations, but how can we negotiate with someone who [is] committing genocide against our people," asked Abd-al-Wahid Muhammad Nur, a leader of the Sudan Liberation Movement in a recent interview with the BBC.

The Khartoum government is currently implementing a separate peace accord with its southern region, also under UN supervision.

World needs to act
In addition to supporting the peace talks and taking the issue to the UN, the international community provides billions of dollars for humanitarian aid to Sudan. Canada alone has provided assistance of approximately half a billion dollars.

Abdalla credits this achievement in part to the work done by advocacy groups and CJC in particular."

I take some measure of satisfaction in that the media in Sudan and the leadership of Sudan points the finger at the Jewish communities of Canada and the United States as being behind the advocacy efforts," said Weintraub, chairperson of CJC, Pacific Region, and of the national Darfur committee of the CJC. "That tells me that we have made some progress."

The North American Jewish community has made it a priority to advance awareness of the situation in Darfur and attempt to bring a peaceful end to what many refer to as a genocide.

"The reasons for that are obvious - we are a people living under the shadow of our own genocide. We are the people who have demanded from the world a commitment to the formula 'Never again,'" explained Weintraub. "All aspects and dimensions of the Jewish community have always been supportive because it was intuitively understood that if we remained silent here, we were really abdicating our principles as a people."

The main thrust of the advocacy effort surrounds the notion of individual responsibility to action, said Weintraub.

"We have tried to communicate throughout that, if grassroots movements [and] ordinary individuals can have an impact on one crisis, then that gives us optimism for working together as a world community for all of the other tremendous problems that face us," he added. "If we can get one success under our belt in terms of shifting world opinion and intervention, then that will give us confidence to go to deal with the next."

The Darfur crisis has already expanded to neighboring Chad and the Central African Republic, with the Janjaweed raiders attacking villages in these countries. According to Abdalla, if something is not done, the whole region may go into a situation that the international community will be unable to maintain.

"There is much more to be done, and what we have to do is communicate, not only to our Jewish community, which has been quite solid on this, but to other communities, that we need to continue to put the pressure on," said Weintraub. "The media and political leadership have a short attention span. Darfur is no longer on the radar screen because, in some sense, we have been successful in institutionalizing the pressure through the peace talks.

"We are hoping that, in this final stage, the media, political leaders and educators will pay attention again."

Ron Friedman is a reserve officer in the Israel Defence Forces and a student in the master's program in journalism at the University of British Columbia.

For more information on Darfur

darfurwall.org

www.csfdarfur.net/home/index.php

www.darfurassociation.ca

www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2006/sc8821.doc.htm

Scholars for Peace in the Middle East

GLOBAL NEWS SERVICE OF THE JEWISH PEOPLE

BREAKING NEWS

VANDALS ATTACK HILLEL HOUSE
November 10, 2006

Vandals threw rocks and shattered windows at Hillel House at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.

Mark Weintraub, chair of the Canadian Jewish Congress’ Pacific region, noted that the vandalism occurred earlier this week during Holocaust Awareness Week, a coincidence that “further highlights the heinous nature of this crime.”

“This week is the anniversary of Kristallnacht, or the Night of Broken Glass, when the Nazis began their attacks on German Jews in 1938,” Weintraub said. “Clearly, there are still lessons to be learned.”

http://www.jta.org/page_view_breaking_story.asp?intid=5530&ref=daily_briefing

Terry Glavin's blog: Mark Weintraub on Darfur and Fake Progressives

Terry Glavin

Chronicles & Dissent

Thursday, October 5, 2006

Mark Weintraub on Darfur and Fake Progressives

I hope at least some of the readers of Chronicles and its weblog will have taken the advice of StandNow about what we might do today in aid of the people of Darfur (explained here). If you prefer stylish indifference, this guy will make you feel better about yourself.

But following upon what I wrote here, Mark Weintraub of the Canadian Jewish Congress writes something in today's Georgia Straight that I think warrants some close attention. So I'm reprinting the letter here, with links:

Last week’s article by Terry Glavin “Left is strangely silent on tragedy in Darfur” [Sept. 28–Oct. 5] reveals the hypocrisy and moral corruption of a group of extremists who call themselves progressive. It is disheartening that individuals or groups have decided to ignore a three-year genocide in Darfur simply because the Jewish community is a strong advocate, among many others, for innocent Darfurian victims of one of the worst humanitarian crises in the world.

It should be noted that many organizations and individuals within the left and progressive communities have been partners with the Canadian Jewish Congress on Darfur-related advocacy, including many NDP MPs and MLAs and B.C. labour unions who have worked to convince our government to take a leadership role in ending the suffering in Darfur.

Tragically, these groups of extremists are using the genocide in Darfur as part of their political efforts to advance an anti-Israel agenda. Clearly, the two issues have no relationship whatsoever.

Canadian Students for Darfur—a group that works in coalition with the CJC to raise public awareness about the genocide—has been named a “sellout” by these extremists for its work with the Jewish community on this issue. Such name-calling and intimidation against groups working together with the Jewish community to end the crisis expose these extremists for who they really are. We have to look long and hard at any group that would stand in the way of this effective and collaborative work.

That the groups refer to themselves as “antiwar” and peace-building organizations makes a mockery of anything with which they are associated. Over the past three years, more than 300,000 people have died, hundreds of thousands more have been injured, untold numbers have been raped, and entire villages have been destroyed in Darfur, creating millions of refugees. Yet these so-called antiwar groups would rather ignore this genocide than work with Canadian Jews.

Sadly, in their attempt to avoid working with Jewish advocacy organizations, these groups not only expose their disdain toward the Jewish community but they add to the needless suffering of innocent civilians in Darfur who desperately need all the help they can get from progressive and fair-minded people everywhere, regardless of their religion, ethnicity, or politics.

Until our government hears from all of us with one loud and clear voice, we will have failed in our responsibilities as both Canadians and world citizens. Canada must continue to advocate powerfully for what could be a resolution to monumental crisis in Darfur.

posted by Transmontanus at 2:54 PM
6 Comments:
Scout said...
it's all getting so convoluted....groups mistrusting jews and americans, americans and jews mistrusting groups. the political hangovers of iraq and lebanon/isreal don't seem to be inviting any 'hair of the dog'. it's difficult to know motiviation behind anything anymore.....war has become a private enterprise game with too many benefitting financially, and the reasons for any intervention does raise questions.....we have been betrayed as a natiion and continent. does this not warrant mistrust as a natural outcome?hurling names back and forth to 'blame' isn't really taking the higher road, it only perpetuates the type of mentality that provokes war......it's an easy trap and i can't say i never fall into it. we're faced now with 'picking and choosing' where daddy warbucks places his dollars, a strange position to be in. one dare not answer the phone without screening calls in fear of yet another solicitation for yet another natural disaster or strife-torn country. interesing that weintraub says the left helps, but points the fingers at the extremists. perhaps that answers you questions on 'where's the left on dafure'?at any rate, i vowed to myself to do prayers for dafur today and am about to commence.
11:01 PM
Stephen said...
I think I agree with Scout, if I read him/her correctly. Everyone has an agenda. Some people on the left are averse to Darfur because of the support of the CJC. Conversely, the CJC... well, kudos to them for supporting Darfur intervention, but do they really have to use it as an opportunity to bash the left, which of course it loathes because the mainstream left opposes Israeli government misdeeds.Everybody has an agenda. Meanwhile, the people of Darfur continue to suffer and die.So, I have to say, the letter from CJC does not impress me at all.
12:41 AM
Dirk Buchholz said...
This post has been removed by a blog administrator.
10:51 PM
tglavin said...
I deleted the last comment, not because it was anti-Semitic, but because it was exceedingly vicious and skirted close to a libel against the Canadian Jewish Congress. There'll be no more of that here. Nothing even close.
5:40 PM
Memphis Belle said...
Hi Terry -- I'm not sure what to make of this one. Have you seen: http://ww4report.com/node/2582I'd be interested to know what you think. Thanks for your work.
1:11 AM
tglavin said...
Hi Memphis Belle:Indeed I did see it. A thorough survey, you might say, but I'm not sure how helpful all this is, when the more important matter of giving force and effect to the UN resolution is at hand. There's a lot of connect-a-dot stuff in the piece, which will please the conspiracists and anti-Semites. I suppose one might enumerate each and every Jew who is queazy about a UN intervention, just to disprove the point, but after a while it all gets so silly. . .My guess is that open-minded and intelligent readers of the essay will come away more or less with Jen Marlowe's point, at the end, even though her equation of Israeli and Sudanese "human rights abuses" is completely over the top.My take on the fact that some Zionists may somehow see strategic advantage as well as moral obligation on the question of Darfur is: So what? The Americans didn't join the fight against the Nazis until Pearl Harbour was bombed. By then, Canada and the Commonwealth allies had already been in the thick of the fighting for two years. If the Yanks saw both strategic necessity and moral obligation in joining the fight, so what? Where would we have been without them?If indeed "Zionists" are inordinately represented in the cause for Darfur, then good for them, I say. They would deserve our gratitude, not our resentment.
7:20 PM

Taken From: http://transmontanus.blogspot.com/2006/10/mark-weintraub-on-darfur-and-fake.html

Canadian Jewish Congress Yesterday in Parliament

WHAT WAS SAID IN PARLIAMENT

ON ISSUES OF CONCERN TO THE JEWISH COMMUNITY

Past editions of Yesterday in Parliament

In the House of Commons – Oct. 3, 2006

Government Orders

Situation in Sudan

NOTE: A lengthy all-party debate on the humanitarian crisis in the Darfur region of Sudan took place in the House Tuesday evening. We are including an exerpt from the debate in which Canadian Jewish Congress Pacific Region was cited for its involvement in this critical issue. For a complete text of this debate click here and then click on the last item of the index listed as "Government Orders"

Mr. Bill Siksay (Burnaby—Douglas, NDP): [Siksay.B@parl.gc.ca]
“There are 450,000 people who have been killed, 3.4 million people who have been affected by the conflict, 2 million are internally displaced, and 250,000 have fled to Chad. In the past two months alone, 50,000 have been displaced and more than 200 women and girls raped. These are stark statistics that describe the terrible human suffering in Darfur.

“The situation in Sudan and Darfur weighs heavily on many people in Canada. This matter was first drawn to my attention as a newly elected MP in 2004 by the Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific region. Its work with members of the Darfurian community in the greater Vancouver area has been very important and stems from its commitment that genocide must never again be part of humanity's common history..."

* * *

# # #

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Jewish Independent: Darfur still needs aid

September 22, 2006

Darfur still needs aid

Global day of action highlights ongoing trauma.

CASSANDRA SAVAGE

As roughly 200 participants huddled for warmth in the rain outside the Vancouver Art Gallery last Sunday, a speaker at the Global Day of Action for Darfur noted that Darfuri refugees in Chad and displaced people across Sudan endure much worse conditions on a regular basis, without the possibility of heading home to get warm at the end of the day.

Framed most often as a humanitarian crisis, the situation in Darfur, Sudan, has warranted only an occasional blip on the media screen over the past three years. Since 2003, Janjaweed forces (armed fighters claiming Arab descent) supported by the Sudanese government, have exerted brutal control over the Darfuri people and tortured them at will.

Although statistics vary, a 2005 report by the Coalition for International Justice estimates that 400,000 people have died in the conflict. In addition, thousands more have died from starvation, disease and fighting within refugee camps and thousands of women and girls have been systematically raped. The numbers increase daily.

The Global Day for Darfur was a gathering of people around the world to show support for the Darfuri people and encourage governments to take action. In Vancouver, participants were encouraged to put pressure on the Canadian government by sending letters and postcards to Prime Minister Stephen Harper – calling for Canada to uphold its promise that human slaughter would never again be allowed to take place in today's world. At Toronto's gathering, which attracted thousands of people, Sen. Roméo Dallaire (force commander of the United Nations mission to Rwanda, made famous by the film Hotel Rwanda and the 2004 documentary Shake Hands with the Devil) said the crisis in Darfur is indeed shaping up to become a case of history repeating itself.

As Stephen Schachter of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region, noted, "Today is not about remembering the horrors of Darfur. Today is about political leadership and the will to end this suffering."

"Canadian Jewish Congress has been lobbying for action in Darfur for close to three years," said CJCPR chair Mark Weintraub after the event. "The genocide is not over. The numbers are increasing. As a community, we have a responsibility to ensure that Canadians do not ignore this issue. On Sunday, organizations and individuals across the country gathered to call on the government of Canada to not only recognize what is happening in Darfur, but to lead the international community with a sense of urgency to stop the killing, rape and displacement."

Representatives from Canadian Students for Darfur, who played a key role in organizing Vancouver's rally, noted that we are witnessing just the kind of tragedy that never should have happened again after close to a million people were slaughtered during the 1994 ethnic conflict in Rwanda.

"Activists and social justice organizations have been calling for an end to this crisis for far too long now," said Shamus Reid of the Canadian Federation of Students, "and so it is somewhat frustrated and with a heavy heart that I stand before you again today, urging the Canadian government to heed the call of the global community and of victims of violence, rape and murder in Darfur."

Don Wright, regional development co-ordinator of Amnesty International Canada's B.C./Yukon chapter, reported on Sunday that the government of Sudan refuses the deployment of UN peacekeepers into the region, while eyewitnesses claim that Janjaweed militia continues to dominate the region. "The Sudanese government has persistently failed in its duty to protect civilians in Darfur from gross and systematic human rights violations," claimed Wright. "That responsibility has now devolved to the international community."

Vancouver rapper Babaluku, who performed at the event, asked people to also think of the many positive things happening in Africa. People tend to think of Africa as a place of poverty and suffering, he said, when there are also millions of bright, healthy, motivated and talented individuals working toward change on the continent.

Babaluku, who was born in Uganda and immigrated to Canada at the age of 12, performed "I'm from Africa," an upbeat piece that had everyone's head bobbing. The message was one of hope, pride and encouragement for other African immigrants to stay proud of their heritage, acknowledge the good in what's happening on the African continent and use whatever talents they have to make a difference back home.

Cassandra Savage is an MA candidate in the School of Communication at Simon Fraser University.

Jewish Independent: Showing their support for Israel

Showing their support for Israel

Vancouver souple on WZO mission tours sites most affected by war with Hezbollah.

KATHARINE HAMER EDITOR

Mark Weintraub and Rory Richards were midway through a vacation in Ontario's cottage country early last month when they got the e-mail. Mercaz, the Conservative movement's Zionist wing, was seeking North American Jews to join the three-day World Zionist Organization (WZO) Solidarity Mission mission to Israel – right in the middle of the war against Hezbollah and Hamas.

Recognizing the importance of visiting the Jewish state as it faced one of its biggest threats in years, the couple immediately cut short their vacation to join more than 100 other Jews from around the world on a tour of the areas most affected by the conflict.

Though Richards and Weintraub are both deeply involved with the Vancouver Jewish community (Weintraub is chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region), this was an expedition they felt it necessary to take as individuals, rather than as representatives of any organized group.

"I hadn't been to Israel for several years," said Weintraub, "and I know how easy it is to lose perspective when you just have your connection with Israel through the media. So just to be there and realize that this is an extraordinary country, an extraordinary people, just gives it a different perspective and balance."

With the help of the Jewish Agency, 150 Jews – lay people and community leaders – from 18 countries, including Canada, the United States, Uruguay, Romania, South Africa and Great Britain took part in what Weintraub said was one of the first missions organized during the war.

"It was wonderful," he said, "to be with Jews from so many different countries who were so committed to being in Israel at that time."

He said that among the trip's objectives were to offer spiritual and financial support to the country. "Israelis feel the need for tourists to continue to come to Israel," said Weintraub. "It's very critical for the economy. The fact that you're in hotels and buying food and gifts, that's considered to be absolutely vital by Israelis. I think more importantly, though, it was psychologically important for Israelis to know they're not isolated during this time."

"There were signs up in windows saying thank you for your support and courage in coming to visit us," Richards observed. "Shopkeepers and taxi cab drivers and the civilian population that we interacted with, there was just nothing but gratitude expressed for you being there, which was quite unlike any other time visiting Israel.

"I think that those [Israelis] who interact with the tourist population were definitely humbled to know that we'd travelled all this distance for 72 hours just to show solidarity with Israel. I think that one of the motivating factors of the tour – and one of the important parts – is having the leadership that travelled there just be really informed and briefed on the situation and be able to come back and tell our own communities and our friends what's really going on there."

One of the important messages to relay, said Weintraub, was that, "The donations that we give through CJA have a direct impact on the health and well-being of [children affected by the conflict]. We don't appreciate how directly the economy has been affected by this war. It's been a hugely expensive war; where is that money coming from? It's got to be diverted from other parts of the military and from the social welfare budget.

"It's important that our community know that there's a correlation between the raising of funds for the emergency campaign and these monies going to the Jewish Agency and employing counsellors and paying for the time that these children would have away from the bomb shelter."

In less than three days, the group travelled to Haifa, where they met with the city's mayor and with the president of Haifa University, toured bomb shelters and some of the sites that were hit by Katyusha rockets and went to displacement camps in the middle of the country. Richards and Weintraub were two of just three Canadians on the trip. Some of the more high-profile participants included the chief rabbi of South Africa and Zionist Federation directors from half a dozen countries.

Visiting Haifa clearly resonated with the group.

"What a terrible, terrible impact on a city which is known for its wonderful relations between Arab Israelis and Jewish Israelis," said Weintraub. "Arab Israelis were killed as much as Jewish Israelis, and what we were hearing in Haifa was really the angst of the fact that so much effort had been put into creating a city of wonderful tolerance and here these missiles were coming in and attempting to disrupt that really great model that so many had been working towards."

One of the most insightful briefings they received, said Richards, was from Prof. Aaron Ben-Ze'ev, president of Haifa University. "He said, 'I want to address the idea that we're overreacting.' He said, 'I reject that criticism because it goes on the premise that killing is OK; that if you kidnap two of our soldiers, we can kidnap two of yours. If you kill 10 of our civilians, maybe we can kill 10 of yours. Killing's not OK; murdering's not OK. What's important to look at is the intent. The intent of Hezbollah is to wipe Israel off the map; is calling for a genocide of the Jewish people and, in that context, our reaction is completely proportionate. Our intent here is to protect our civilian population and to protect our right to exist, not just in Israel but as human beings, as Jews.' "

Among Israelis, there was, Richards observed, "some resentment over some of the reporting ... just the naïvete of the international media, not being able to differentiate between a terrorist group and a civilian population. And just being so hoodwinked by a lot of [Hezbollah's] propaganda. I remember seeing [CNN's] Anderson Cooper reporting there from inside Lebanon and they were showing pictures of dead bodies and one of the corpses got up! That kind of thing happened all the time."

"When we were touring Haifa," Weintraub added, "and there had been a missile attack, there was very little to see, because they would try to move as quickly as possible to repair the damage. And that of course, doesn't make great TV, but it was a municipal decision to try and create as much normalcy as possible."

It was in Haifa, too, that the pair found themselves in the middle of an air raid. "We had to get off the bus, up against a wall," Richards recalled. "We saw people running, getting into the closest shelter. We were kind of caught in awkward space because we were on a bus with 40 people. There wasn't anywhere big enough around, so we just had to make the best of it.

Still, she said, "I didn't feel nervous at any point, actually. I felt really that it was up to fate, that if anything happened while we were there, that's how it should be."

Although, since the ceasefire took effect, there has been some protest within Israel against the way the war was handled, Richards said that was not a sentiment the group noticed at the time. "I guess if you really got into it, they were [critical of the war]," she said, "but I think the feeling was solidarity. The right and left, politically, in Israel were completely on the same page. God only knows when the last time that happened."

For Weintraub, it was the face of a little girl in Nitzanim, the "tent city" that played host to 6,000 refugees from northern Israel, that captured the spirit of the country best.

"[She] came up to us with just a beautiful smile and we asked her what it was like," he recalled, "and she just in a very wise and mature way said, 'Look, this is war and this is what we do at this time and it's good, it's fine. We're alive, I'm with my family.' You see the face of Israelis who've endured this, the unpredictability, on a daily basis.

"We were very moved when we went to Sederot, which is the town across from Gaza, and we met with the mayor and he told us about 2,500 missile attacks and how the missile attacks have increased since Israel has pulled out. And his point was that Israel really hasn't stopped fighting the 1948 War of Independence. That yes, there are Palestinians who want peace, but the leadership, those who control the military infrastructure, have not let up on their desire to win the 1948 war.

"He was very proud of the fact that, notwithstanding that 75 per cent of the children are suffering from post-traumatic stress syndrome because of constant bombardment – it's huge psychological damage – he said, 'none of our residents have left. We are not going to be driven out of Sederot. Where are we going to go? Are we going to go to Ashkelon? Well, the missiles can reach Ashkelon. Are we going to go to Jerusalem? Well, they blow up buses in Jerusalem – this is our land and we're going to stay here, we're not going to leave.' "

http://www.jewishindependent.ca/Archives/Sept06/archives06Sept01-01.html

Vancouver Sun: Two sides, imprisoned by their own histories

By: Gerry Bellett
Two sides, imprisoned by their own histories

As the rockets fly and the bombs fall and casualties on both sides of the Israeli-Lebanese border rise by the day -- the vast majority so far being Lebanese -- the repercussions are being felt as far away as the Lower Mainland, which is home to large Jewish and Arab populations.

There are an estimated 40,000 Jews in the Lower Mainland and 20,000 Arabs, of whom 8,000 are from Lebanon.

Neither side gives much recognition to the other's point of view.

To the Jewish community, Hezbollah, the Muslim organization now under attack by Israeli forces, is a terrorist organization that needs to be eradicated. To the Lebanese they are freedom fighters who drove the Israelis out of Lebanon.

To the Lebanese, the deaths of more than 300 civilians is an atrocity and Israel is guilty of war crimes. To the Jews, it's a restrained conflict, not a war, and care is being taken to keep civilian casualties to a minimum.

To the Lebanese the conflict was started by Hezbollah's capture of two Israeli soldiers in an attempt to force Israel to release Lebanese being held since the Israeli occupation ended. To the Jews it was the months of bombardment of civilian areas by Hezbollah rockets from south Lebanon, with the kidnapping of the soldiers being the final straw.

And on it goes, the great divide in perception and attitude.

---

Mousaa Noureddine, whose wife and four children are trapped in the fighting in southern Lebanon, suffers the agony of waiting by the phone in his Burnaby home for a call telling him they are safe.

Noureddine, 42, runs a construction company and sent his family on vacation to his homeland a few weeks ago.

He is a member of the Lebanese Canadian Cultural House based in Burnaby. He was born in a small village in south Lebanon called Ghassnieh and his family were on holiday there staying at the home of his sister.

On the very day his wife left the children behind and travelled to Beirut, the Israelis struck.

With her children in the middle of an area being attacked and all communication cut between Beirut and the south, she was unable to get back, said Noureddine who came to Canada in 1990.

"The other day she almost broke down. She is desperate to get to them, but it's impossible. All the power is out, all the bridges are broken. They are attacking cars on the road.

"The Canadian embassy has said they'll evacuate her, but she's not going without the kids. But I don't know how they will get them out. It's too dangerous to go down there," he said.

Noureddine has three daughters, Israa, 12, Kouther, 10, Kadijah, 8, and a son Ali, 18 months. When talking to his children on the phone, he heard the sounds of explosions in the background.

"I talk to them every day. Sometimes they are crying and I tell them all we can do is wait. We can do nothing for them. When the planes attack they go out into the fields because they are targeting the houses," Noureddine said.

Attached by fear to his telephone, Noureddine said he has to force himself to think rationally.

"Perhaps soon they will cease attacking and we can get the kids out. Right now, I don't think anyone from the embassy will be able to reach them," he said.

His feelings towards Israel are implacable. He will be attending a demonstration against the war to be held today on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery and has been asked to speak.

"People hear about the attacks on Lebanon and after a couple of days they turn it off because they feel nothing can be done. But we live beside an outlaw state.

"Israel has got all the weapons you can imagine and they want us just to surrender. They want a peace on their terms. . . .

"If they want to go after Hezbollah, go ahead and attack them, but why target bridges, the airport, gas stations, houses -- everything that people need in the south to live?"

But he has no bitterness for the Jewish people. He has a Jewish friend who called him a few days ago offering sympathy.

"He was very emotional. All I'm getting from people is support. Even if it was from Jewish people I would appreciate it. It's a tragedy for all of us."

Rafeh Hulays, a fellow Lebanese and a member of the Canadian Arab Federation, agrees. "I count lots of Jews as friends, but enough is enough," Hulays said "There are Jews in Canada who support Arab rights, but they are being brainwashed by Jewish organizations to believe that their rights are worth more than other people's."

---

There is almost nothing in the above that Michael Elterman, a forensic psychologist and chair of the Canada-Israel Committee, Pacific Region, would agree with. Neither would lawyer Mark Weintraub, president of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region.

The Canada-Israel Committee is generally regarded as supportive of the Israeli government line, while the Congress concerns itself with issues such as anti-Semitism and racism and has cross-cultural relations with other ethnic groups in Canada, including Muslim organizations.

Elterman believes the overall feeling among Jews in Canada is much the same as those in Israel.

"I think there's complete solidarity on the right and left in terms of Israel's response to what is happening in Lebanon. Unless you go to the extreme left wing of the Jewish community you will not be hearing a lot of dissent or controversy about Israel's right to defend itself," he said.

He said the kidnapping of the two soldiers followed months of bombardment by rockets launched from areas from which Israel had withdrawn.

"We left Gaza and we got rockets. We left Lebanon and we got rockets. I sense some anxiety in Israel, because the rockets are getting farther south, and there is concern they will eventually be able to hit a major site like Tel Aviv.

"There is a strong feeling that Hezbollah has to be pushed further north and the Lebanese army has to take charge of the southern area," he said.

Elterman said he deplored the damage being done and the number of civilian casualties, but moderate Middle East states appeared to agree that "Israel was doing the right thing in getting Hezbollah out of Lebanon."

"There is also a feeling in the region that the disintegration of Hezbollah will give Iran a black eye and that's not a bad thing," Elterman said.

Given the provocations on the Lebanese border, Israel had been extremely patient, he said.

"They've put up for years with rocket attacks. Once the soldiers were kidnapped, that was the last straw. We had to go in and do something about it once and for all."

As for criticism that Israel's response has been disproportionate, Elterman said it isn't.

The problem with Hezbollah could have been settled quickly if the powerful Israeli army had been sent in right away, he said.

"The population of northern Israel have been living with the threat of having a private army within kilometres of their homes lobbing rockets at them, threatening them -- that's the part the rest of the world hasn't seen," he said.

"It's tragic that civilians have been killed, but Hezbollah intentionally places rockets in civilian areas and puts military equipment in private homes in Lebanon," Elterman said.

When he visited the Beth Israel Synagogue this week, Weintraub prayed for the souls of all who had been killed in the fighting -- Lebanese and Israeli.

"I think it's important that people understand that when the Jewish communities gather in the synagogues, the prayer is a prayer for peace and condolence to all the families suffering by reason of this conflict. We pray for the loss of each precious soul, whether they are of Muslim birth, Jewish birth, or Christian birth.

"I know that might sound Pollyannaish or pro forma, but it's critical to convey what is the mood of the Jewish community," Weintraub said.

(Last week, the Canadian Jewish Congress sent a letter of condolence to the Lebanese community for the deaths of Canadian children killed in Lebanon.)

The Israelis make it clear that civilians are being urged to leave areas, he said.

"If there are civilian casualties it is always accompanied by an expression of remorse, which is different to the terrorist, who will say the civilian is my target," he said.

"Having said that, the loss of life, whether it's a result of war or as an intentional target, matters little to the families who have lost loved ones. There is nothing the Palestinians or Lebanese can say to the Israelis or the Israelis can say to them to give any kind of consolation, because any family who has had to endure such suffering cares little for the explanation," said Weintraub.

"In our hearts, we believe peace is possible. Despair is not an option. There are peace agreements with Jordan and Egypt and there was one with Lebanon, and if the provocateur states of Iran and Syria were brought to heel we would not see the arming of groups who have basically taken over Gaza and southern Lebanon," he said.

As for what this is doing to Jewish-Arab relations in Canada, Weintraub said it is important that whatever happens elsewhere, Canadians deal with such issues "through civil discourse, through listening to each other and not demonizing the other."

"Somehow, human beings are able to go deep inside themselves and carry on. In Canada we must have a way of dealing with these kinds of things and extend mutual support and empathy and solace to each other."

---

Had he been in Mona's -- the Lebanese restaurant at 1328 Hornby -- last Tuesday he would have found his reflections on the magnificence of the human spirit in a small incident that occurred between owner Mona Chaaban and a Jewish customer from the United States, visiting for the first time.

Since the attacks on Lebanon, Chaaban's restaurant has been the clearing house for information on Canadian Lebanese families caught up in the fighting.

She is clearly distraught and disgusted by the destruction of her homeland, but draws a distinction between the state of Israel and the Jewish people.

Her restaurant is popular with faculty and graduates from the University of Arizona, as she earned her degree there, and on Tuesday a group from the university came in for a meal.

"There was a new couple who were Jewish. The gentleman got out of his seat and walked up to me. He hugged me, and all he said was, 'I'm sorry, it isn't fair' and his tears were on my cheeks and my tears were on his."

http://www.cjc.ca/template.php?action=itn&Story=1853