November 10, 2006
Friday, November 10, 2006
Scholars for Peace in the Middle East
November 10, 2006
Thursday, October 5, 2006
Terry Glavin's blog: Mark Weintraub on Darfur and Fake Progressives
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
Tuesday, October 3, 2006
Canadian Jewish Congress Yesterday in Parliament
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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Friday, September 22, 2006
Jewish Independent: Darfur still needs aid
Friday, September 1, 2006
Jewish Independent: Showing their support for Israel
Saturday, July 22, 2006
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=1853Sunday, July 9, 2006
The Province: B.C. judge's partner hit with libel penalty of $250,000
Thursday, June 29, 2006
Vancouver Sun: Op-eds
An exclusive forum, an intolerant forum: 'World peace' gathering didn't want to hear other voices
By: Mark Weintraub and Michael Elterman
This week marks a disappointing milestone for the principles of pluralism, inclusion and participatory democracy.
As the World Peace Forum draws to a conclusion, regardless of what the organizers may claim, it is evident for those who believe in balance and openness that the event has not met the mark.
Instead of serving as a true forum for ideas, engagement and identifying shared values -- everything that such a forum ought to be -- this initiative determinedly excluded those who bring a different perspective to the table.
The organized Jewish community was one of those groups excluded from the proceedings, notwithstanding our best efforts over a period spanning more than a year to play a constructive and meaningful role.
For the record, our concern is specifically directed to the WPF board and directors and the Middle East Working Group. We applaud the hundreds of participants who engaged in activities and open discussions that aimed at promoting world peace. Indeed, many Jewish community members were active participants. However, those principals did not apply on the subject of the Middle East.
In essence, as Paul Tetrault, chair of the WPF Mideast Working Group, explained to the WPF executive in a letter written on behalf of his committee, our participation in the event would show "bad faith" to the other participants. The rationale for the call to exclude our organizations was our support for Israel. In further elaboration, Tetrault confessed that when it called for open participation, the WPF's Middle East Working Group did so "without the least expectation that the [organized Jewish community] would be a participating group in the forum." The arrogance of that attitude, shared by others around the WPF executive, is matched only by its hypocrisy.
Recognizing the potential maelstrom its Middle East subcommittee created, the WPF executive half-heartedly sought to resolve the situation. Our organizations were told "Take an 'oath of allegiance to the principles of the WPF' and we will support a parallel program or workshop in which you can participate."
Effectively, their solution amounted to blatant discrimination.
To our knowledge, not a single other prospective participant organization or individual was asked, let alone required, to swear fealty to a resolution.
The irony is that for the better part of a year we worked to organize and sponsor a series of programs and workshops at the WPF that spoke directly to interfaith dialogue and relationship building between Palestinians and Israelis.
Examples included potential workshops focusing on grassroots initiatives to build understanding and mutual respect, and the role of women and education in peace. Yet in the eyes of the "progressive" organizers, we were tainted because of our support for Israel. Although they professed that the content of our proposals was excellent, we could not be included in the conference program because of who we are.
Well, we don't apologize for our support for the only liberal democracy in the Middle East and the repatriation of a displaced indigenous people to their ancestral homeland after 2,000 years of exile. Indeed, the organizers of the WPF would have done well to take a lesson from the Jewish state.
In Israel, Jews and Arabs sit together in parliament -- in many cases as colleagues in the same political party. In Israel, Jews and Arabs sit together on the supreme court -- as colleagues and equals. In Israel, Jews and Arabs lie in adjoining hospital beds as they heal from the wounds of terrorist attacks.
Throughout this experience, we have held to the "high road," earnestly trying to find space for the contribution we felt we could offer to the discussion.
Each rebuff by the WPF was answered with another attempt to demonstrate our goodwill. However, prejudice is simply not responsive to reason, discrimination is unreceptive to inclusion.
For us in particular, our profound disappointment is threefold.
First, we truly believed we had a legitimate contribution to offer -- on interfaith dialogue toward peace in the Middle East as well as the dozens of conflicts raging in places like the Congo and Sudan.
Second, we truly believed others could benefit from hearing our perspective and discovering that we share more in common than they might otherwise think, and they were denied that opportunity.
And finally, we grieve that the best efforts of some noble individuals associated with the World Peace Forum, like the Reverend Dr. Barry Cooke, Executive Director of the BC Multifaith Action Society and WPF board member, who tried valiantly to work within the leadership of the WPF to shift their internal process to a positive and inclusive approach, but fell on deaf ears.
We, however, will not give up. We will look for partners across the entire political spectrum with whom we can collaborate in building momentum for peace.
We will search for voices that share our dream of a safe Israel living in peace alongside her neighbours. We will seek out those forums where all are welcome to contribute to the call for peace.
Mark Weintraub is chair of the Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region; Dr. Michael Elterman is the chair of the Canada-Israel Committee, Pacific Region.
Friday, June 2, 2006
Jewish Independent: Discrimination kills
Friday, May 26, 2006
Globe and Mail: Air tycoon flies medicine into Darfur
By: Colin Freeze
Air tycoon flies medicine into Darfur
Libyan-born businessman says people should not wait for governments to act.
"What the news says is happening [in Darfur] is exactly what is happening, sometimes a little bit worse," said Walter Arbib, president of Toronto-based SkyLink Aviation. "People are using different terms, but what I have to say is there's a need to give help."
The immigrant tycoon said he is acting because people shouldn't wait for governments and relief agencies to sort out humanitarian problems. And people close to Mr. Arbib are urging other Canadians to follow his lead and do what they can.
"Individuals can make a powerful difference," said Mark Weintraub, who, like Mr. Arbib, is a member of the Canadian Jewish Congress.Mindful of the terrible lessons of the Holocaust, the group has been lobbying to make Darfur an urgent issue. "We say to all Canadians, dig deep, your individual contribution can make a difference and save lives," Mr. Weintraub said.
Conflict in Sudan's war-torn Darfur provinces has killed at least 200,000 people -- and displaced 10 times as many survivors. While the international community is struggling to help refugees, basic needs are still not being met.
With some help from friends in Jewish groups and international humanitarian agencies, Mr. Arbib has arranged for the shipment of more than $400,000 (U.S.) worth of medicines now on the way to Sudan. The drugs -- which include antibiotics, deworming medicine and penicillin --are expected to arrive in Darfur by next week.
Mr. Arbib, a Jew who fled violence in his homeland of Libya, started a highly successful company after he immigrated to Canada. Privately held SkyLink holds aviation-related contracts around the world. They include business interests in Sudan, such as a contract to provide Canadian-funded helicopters to African Union peacekeepers.
With a head for business and a heart for philanthropy, Mr. Arbib has sent previous shipments of medicine to Darfur, and to disaster zones in Pakistan, Indonesia, Iraq and Sri Lanka.
The Canadian Jewish Congress lent logistical support to the shipment of medicines. A U.S.-based organization called Counterpart International is taking the lead in making sure it gets to the refugee camps.
The aid group often works closely with Mr. Arbib.
"Whenever we're in trouble, Walter's my first call," said president Lelei LeLaulu. He added there are many advantages in working with a tycoon -- including the fact that SkyLink operates airports in Sudan.
The situation in Darfur is "dreadful" he said. "They need everything. They need more and more. It's pretty desperate."
http://www.cjc.ca/template.php?action=issues&item=160CJC News Release: CJC works with Skylink to deliver medical supplies to Darfur
May 26, 2006 - CJC works with Skylink to deliver medical supplies to Darfur
TORONTO – Following Canada’s recent $40 million aid commitment to Darfur, Canadian Jewish Congress (CJC) has facilitated a private shipment of $430,000 worth of medical supplies to the Darfur region of Sudan which were donated by Walter Arbib, President of Canada’s Skylink Group of Companies and a CJC lay leader, in partnership with Counterpart International and Medicines for Humanity.
The shipment is expected to arrive in Khartoum by May 29. International Medical Corporation (IMC), a non-governmental humanitarian organization providing aid in Darfur, will meet the shipment and distribute the supplies as needed in the region.
“As citizens of the world, Canadians have a moral obligation to help stop the tragedies unfolding around them,” said CJC National President Ed Morgan. “CJC has long worked to bring attention to the needs of the people suffering in Darfur – Walter Arbib has answered that call,” he said.
“I am proud to do what I can to help,” said Arbib. “The legacy of the Holocaust is a constant reminder to me, as a Jew, that we must protect those who cannot protect themselves.”
“We welcome Canada’s latest aid commitment to Darfur, but we recognize more needs to be done. We hope this altruistic gesture by a private Canadian citizen will be replicated by others,” added CJC National Darfur Committee Chair Mark Weintraub. “We are also grateful to the American Jewish World Service for its assistance in connecting CJC with IMC to ensure delivery of the medical supplies to those who need it most,” he said.
Since 2003, millions of Darfurians have been forced from their homes and hundreds of thousands of men, women and children have been tortured, raped or slaughtered by the Janjaweed militia in Sudan.
-30-
Contacter:
Stephen Adler
Director of Public Policy, Ontario Region
Canadian Jewish Congress
416-635-2883 ext. 175 (office)
416-728-6376 (cell)
sadler@on.cjc.ca
www.cjc.ca
http://www.cjc.ca/template.php?action=news&story=803
Friday, May 5, 2006
Jewish Independent: Sacred memories are shared
May 5, 2006
Sacred memories are shared
About 90 survivors honored by B.C. as Yom Hashoah is marked.
PAT JOHNSON
In a moving and momentous ceremony of remembrance, Premier Gordon Campbell greeted almost 100 survivors of the Holocaust on Yom Hashoah, Holocaust Remembrance Day, last week.
The annual ceremony at the legislature April 25 saw two busloads of survivors from Vancouver joining survivors from Vancouver Island in a ceremony of remembrance and a commitment to never forget.
"It's a very important day for British Columbia and it is an important day for Canadians," said Campbell in welcoming the guests. "We remember the most unbearable losses that millions faced. Six million lives stolen from the world. Six million lights extinguished by the darkest of shadows. Six million hearts and minds and souls filled with light, laughter and love. So filled with ideas, passions and dreams and then denied the most basic of human rights and, ultimately, the fundamental right to live. So many faces, so many children, so many families who now only live in faded black and white photographs ... and in the memories of the survivors we are so honored to welcome here today."
The premier promised the survivors that Canada would not forget."It is critical for them to know that those memories will carry on," Campbell said. "Their stories will not be forgotten.... We cannot escape its legacy and, indeed, we must not try. It is our shared duty, our shared responsibility and our shared desire to remember."
Wally Oppal, the attorney general and minister responsible for multiculturalism, emceed the noon-hour event."
It's a day to remember the six million Jewish men, women and children killed by the Nazis," Oppal said. "Holocaust Memorial Day is also a day to remember the more than five million people who died during the same time because of their physical or mental disabilities, race, religion or sexual orientation."
Survivors were called forward to light six candles representing the six million.
Rita Akselrod, president of the Vancouver Holocaust Centre Society, spoke on behalf of survivors.
"The Holocaust deprived me of my childhood," she said. "The world was indifferent and uncaring."She said she was heartened by the show of solidarity made by legislators.
"As a survivor, I can tell you that one of our greatest concerns is that the Holocaust may be forgotten," she said. "This event offers an important opportunity to ensure remembrance and help us to reflect on the moral responsibility of individuals as well as communities and governments."
Mark Weintraub, chair of Canadian Jewish Congress, Pacific Region, which helped organize the event, said the lessons of the Holocaust remain profoundly relevant.
"How is it possible for so many to refuse to see the humanity of their neighbors?" asked Weintraub, whose organization had distributed green ribbons to remind people of the current humanitarian disaster in Darfur, Sudan. "A 2,000-year teaching of contempt laid the fertile soil for the Nazi pathology, which began with the most vile hate speech. As our own Supreme Court of Canada opined, 'the Holocaust did not begin in the gas chambers. It began with words.' "
The "Final Solution," Weintraub said, was the culmination of a longer process of dehumanization that "incubated in one of the best educated, the most modern and the most technically competent of all nations. Every aspect of German and other societies were complicit, including the legal and medical professions, business and academia, the military and civil service."
Richard Kool, president of the Victoria Holocaust Remembrance and Education Society, raised the profound question of life after the Holocaust.
"Our parents were not meant to live," he said. "We were not meant to exist. How did those of the second generation, children of Holocaust survivors, how do we live with the grief in our past? The question, of course, is what do we do in the post-Shoah world? How do we live in the post-Shoah world?"
Isa Millman, another member of the second generation, told the hushed audience that she has always dreaded the inevitable day when the actual survivors and witnesses are so few that those who came just after the scene must maintain the memory.
"But this is how history continues and, for Jews, it is how we have handed down our history, from parent to child throughout all the generations of our being a people," she said.
Millman spoke of growing up in the shadow of the Shoah.
"Here's what I knew: we were alive by the skin of our teeth," she said. "We lived in a foreign land. We spoke a dying language. We were very much alone. I asked my parents, what was a bubbe, a zayde, a grandmother, a grandfather, because I had none. Now, I am a grandmother, a grandmother who has no choice but to want to speak about my lost family, those who were forbidden to leave a trace. For this fleeting moment, I restore them to life by speaking their names. Who else will remember them? And they are in the minutest fraction of the sum of everyone murdered and they are my Holocaust."
Peter Gary, a survivor who lives on Vancouver Island, was the keynote speaker at the first Yom Hashoah held at the legislature. He was moved by this year's ceremony.
"It was very, very beautifully done," he said. "Everyone was speaking from the heart. It doesn't get any easier when you're 82 years old. But it has to be done, because that lousy four-letter word 'hate' is still ruling our little shaky planet."
Pat Johnson is editor of MVOX Multicultural Digest, www.mvox.ca.
http://www.jewishindependent.ca/archives/May06/archives06May05-05.html