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What would the late Yoram Hamizrachi have made of the lack of discussion of Israeli government policies within our Jewish community?
By BERNIE BELLAN Many readers are undoubtedly aware of the name “Yoram Hamizrachi,” a.k.a. Yoram East. Yoram was a big man and his somewhat menacing appearance belied his warm nature. For several years Yoram was also a columnist for the Jewish Post – when my late brother, Matt, was editor.
Yoram Hamizrachi was born in Jerusalem, Israel on February 20, 1942. He worked for many years as a newspaper, radio, and TV journalist for Israeli and foreign media in Israel and abroad (South Africa, Iran, Turkey, Egypt, and Germany).
Yoram also spent many years of his life in the service of the Israeli Defense Force (IDF). As a reserve officer, he took part in the Battle of Jerusalem during the Six-Days War. After the war of Atonement in 1973, he moved with his family to northern Israel where he rejoined the IDF and became the first Israeli commander of the now defunct South Lebanon Security Belt (from Mount Hermon in the east to the Mediterranean in the west).
Yoram immigrated to Canada (Winnipeg) in 1982 and in 1984 played a crucial role in the rescue of Ethiopian Jews – ‘The Lost Tribe’.
Premiers, mayors, elected and high-level officials from all levels of government actively sought out Yoram’s wise counsel on many issues. He was a personal advisor to several Canadian foreign ministers on counterterrorism and a sought-after expert on terrorism, instructing courses for the Canadian and US military and police forces across North America.
Throughout his time in Winnipeg, he was a leading voice of Zionism and defender of Israel, and he initiated the annual Remembrance Day service for Jewish veterans.
But Yoram was also an iconoclast, often challenging the accepted wisdom of the day. In May 1991, shortly after the first Gulf War, during which a coalition of forces led by the U.S. expelled Iraqi forces from Kuwait – which Iraq had invaded in 1990, Yoram spoke to a gathering at the Gwen Secter Centre.
The event was sponsored by the United Jewish People’s Order. (In fact, Hamizrachi spoke several times at events sponsored by UJPO. He also spoke on occasion to the Winnipeg chapter of “Peace Now.”)
To be sure, while Hamizrachi was an advocate for peace between Israel and her Arab neighbours, he was also totally realistic about the obstacles that stood in the way of peace.
At that May 1991 talk, my late brother noted how controversial some of Hamizrachi’s views were – and how eager several in the audience that day were to pose questions to Hamizrachi.
The title of Matt’s article was “The question askers’ take on Yoram Hamizrachi’, with the subtitle: “When the provocative former Jewish Post columnist spoke to a local Jewish crowd, some were ready and willing to challenge him.”
Here are some excerpts from that article:
‘The ‘question askers’ were out in full force May 13 for Yoram Hamizrachi’s lecture on the Gulf War and its aftermath.
“The question askers in Winnipeg’s Jewish community aren’t always the same, although three or four show up at almost every community event where Israel is the topic.
“They come partly to hear the lecture. But at least as important is the ‘question and answer session’ that follows.
“The burly Hamizrachi has a controversial reputation in Winnipeg’s Jewish community.
During the time he was a columnist for the Jewish Post, Matt wrote, “He delighted in taking aim at Israeli targets some more conservative elements in Winnipeg’s Jewish community considered off limits – subjects like some of the more bizzare practices of the Israeli ultra-Orthodox.”
At one point during his talk, Hamizrachi took aim at then-Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir, saying “Shamir is contributing to President George Bush’s heart condition: ‘Every time his hear beats, it goes Shamir, Shamir’.”
“But when the speaker aimed a more stinging barb at Shamir, he fell into a trap,” Matt continued. “The ‘question askers’ were ready and waiting.
” ‘Shamir is still stubborn and vicious,’ Hamizrachi said. ‘His agenda isn’t changed – It’s ‘We love peace, we want to negotiate peace. We’d like to have peace with the Palestinians, but what our conditions? Our conditions are that nothing will change.’
” ‘Why don’t you criticize the Syrian leader?’ a heavyset, whitehaired man in the audience bellowed.
” ‘ What do you think of dividing Jerusalem?’ someone else in the audience demanded – ignoring calls from the somewhat timid moderator to ‘wait for the question and answer session.’
“Hamizrachi answered again. He was born there and fought to capture East Jerusalem during the Six Day War. He was in favour of giving that back for the sake of peace. if that were possible.
” ‘What will be the economic future of an independent Palestinian state’ another audience member asked.
” ‘I asked Arafat the same question,’ Hamizrachi replied. ‘He said: “The same as yours. The Americans are helping you (Israelis). The Arabs will help us.
” ‘Do you think Palestinian brainpower is any less than Israeli brainpower?’ Hamizrachi asked the audience.
” ‘Yes!’ a question asker snapped back.
” ‘I say it’s the same,’ Hamizrachi replied.
” “So why don’t they use it?’ the questioner demanded.
At that point the lecture and question and session were over, and audience members were “invited to stay for coffee and cookies, and ask Hamizrachi more questions.
” ‘I am ready for my execution,’ he said jokingly.”
My point in excerpting from an article written 34 years ago is to show readers that there was a time when someone extremely well respected within not just the Jewish community, but the wider community as well, could challenge accepted dogma on Israel. Here was someone who had fought for Israel, but who still respected Palestinians. Even further, he was someone who had fought to liberate Jerusalem, but who was ready to give it back for the sake of peace.
Of course, that was many years ago, but Israel had already begun its rightward tilt, which has only continued and become even more extreme under the current Netanyahu-led government. One wonders what Yoram Hamizrachi would have to say today, if he were still alive, about Israel’s never ending war in Gaza – and the absolute silence that our Jewish Federation, along with other establishment Jewish organizations, insist on maintaining when it comes to criticism of Israeli government policies?
Yoram Hamizrachi was someone who retained an open mind about issues – and insisted on looking at events through as clear a lens as possible. One can only imagine what he would have thought about how the Jewish Federation forced the resignation of BB Camp co-Executive Director Jacob Brodovsky – over Brodovsky’s alleged “anti-Israel views.” Finally, what would he have thought about how his son, Ron East, has taken it upon himself to be the self-styled “protecter” of Winnipeg Jews, also someone who is eager to swat down anything Ron labels “antiZionist?”
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Most Jewish Israelis Say Israel Is the Safest Place for Jews, New Survey Shows
Pro-Israel demonstrators gathered at Bebelplatz in central Berlin on Nov. 30, 2025, before marching toward the Brandenburg Gate. Participants held Israeli flags and signs condemning rising antisemitism in Germany. Photo: Michael Kuenne/PRESSCOV/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Most Jewish Israelis view Israel as a safer place for Jews than anywhere else in the world, according to a new end-of-year survey, as Jewish diaspora communities continue to face unabated antisemitism, marked by a surge in targeted attacks and rising anti-Israel hostility.
On Tuesday, the Israel Democracy Institute released a December survey conducted by the Viterbi Family Center for Public Opinion and Policy Research, showing that 76 percent of Israeli-born Jews consider Israel the safest place for Jews, up almost 10 percent from earlier in 2024.
In contrast, Arab Israelis expressed mixed opinions, with 32 percent saying Israel was safer for Arabs than abroad, 35 percent saying life abroad was safer, and 29 percent saying both were equally safe.
The survey also found that most Jewish respondents believe Israel should work with foreign governments to protect Jewish communities, deploy official emissaries — representatives who coordinate with local authorities — and play an active role in planning security for Jewish events.
Half of respondents also backed financial aid for the Jewish diaspora, representing the most widely supported option in the survey.
Jewish communities around the world, especially in Europe, have faced a troubling surge in antisemitic incidents and anti-Israel sentiment since the Hamas-led invasion of and massacre across southern Israel on Oct. 7, 2023.
Jewish leaders have consistently called on authorities to take swift action against the rising wave of targeted attacks and anti-Jewish hate crimes, ranging from the vandalism of murals and businesses to violent physical assaults, that their communities continue to face.
With global antisemitism continuing to skyrocket, Israel recorded a surge in Jewish immigration from Western nations in 2025, despite an overall decline in Jews abroad moving to their ancient homeland.
According to data from Israel’s Immigration and Absorption Ministry, over 21,900 Jews from more than 100 countries arrived last year amid ongoing hostility abroad, a decline of roughly one-third from 2024, largely driven by a sharp drop in Russian emigration.
However, aliyah – the process of Jews immigrating to Israel – from the United States, France, the United Kingdom, and other Western countries surged sharply in 2025. Continuing a steady upward trend, arrivals from France jumped 45 percent last year to 3,300, up from 2,200 in 2024, while immigration from the UK rose almost 20 percent to 840 immigrants.
Ministry data also showed 420 newcomers from Canada, 220 from South Africa, and 180 from Australia.
These latest figures come as Jewish communities worldwide warn of escalating threats in the wake of a deadly attack on a Hanukkah celebration at Sydney’s Bondi Beach that left 15 dead and at least 40 injured.
Last year, a string of deadly terrorist attacks also targeted Jewish communities abroad, including the Yom Kippur assault in Manchester that killed two Jewish men, the firebombing of a march for Israeli hostages in Boulder, Colorado – which killed one and injured 13 – and the murder of two Israeli Embassy staffers in Washington, DC.
According to Nefesh B’Nefesh (NBN), a nonprofit that promotes and facilitates aliyah from the US and Canada, overall North American immigration rose about 12 percent in 2025 to 4,150 new arrivals, the highest annual total the organization has seen in four years.
However, even as antisemitic incidents worldwide reach levels not seen in decades following the Oct. 7 atrocities, Jews and Israelis continue to emigrate to Europe, reshaping the heart of today’s Jewish diaspora.
Despite an increasingly hostile social and political climate, Jewish life in much of Europe is not shrinking. In some places, it is holding steady — and in others, growing.
According to recent demographic reports, Israeli immigrant communities in Europe are among the fastest-growing Jewish communities in the world.
Europe is home to nearly 30 percent of all Israelis living outside the country — roughly 190,000 to 200,000 people — with their population steadily increasing across the continent, according to a report from the Institute for Jewish Policy Research (JPR).
JPR data shows that Israel-born Jews now make up nearly 50 percent of the Jewish population in Norway, 41 percent in Finland, and over 20 percent in Bulgaria, Ireland, Spain, and Denmark.
Over the past decade, the number of Israeli-born Jews has grown significantly in Baltic countries (135 percent), in Ireland (95 percent), in Bulgaria (78 percent), in the Czech Republic (74 percent), in Spain (39 percent), in the Netherlands (36 percent), in Germany (34 percent), and in the UK (27 percent).
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Actor Proposes Casting Anti-Israel Star Melissa Barrera to Replace Gal Gadot in Next ‘Wonder Woman’ Film
(L-R) Simu Liu and Melissa Barrera attend ‘The Copenhagen Test’ Season 2025 New York Screening, at the Whitby, New York, NY, December 16, 2025. Photo: Anthony Behar/Sipa USA via Reuters Connect
Canadian actor Simu Liu said he thinks Mexican actress Melissa Barrera, his costar on “The Copenhagen Test,” would be a great Wonder Woman to replace Israeli actress Gal Gadot in the upcoming DC Universe film by James Gunn about Diana Prince.
“James Gunn or anybody else out there, I think she really pushes herself,” said Liu, who starred in Marvel’s “Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings,” during a recent interview with JoBlo. “There were a couple of moments during stunt training where I was like ‘That’s Wonder Woman-esque.’ I’m just throwing it out there. I don’t know who’s watching or listening to this interview, but I just think she’s a total badass. And she puts in the work.”
Barrera came under fire in November 2023 for sharing posts on social media that accused Israel of genocide and criticized the Jewish state during its war against Hamas terrorists in the Gaza Strip, following their deadly rampage across southern Israel on Oct. 7 of that year. The actress uploaded posts on Instagram that described Israel as a “colonized” land and suggested that the Jewish state controls the media. She reshared a post that accused Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing,” and also shared posts from other accounts that featured messages calling for “every civil institution” to boycott the country. She additionally shared a post that includes claims about manipulating facts related to the Holocaust “to boost the Israeli arms industry,” according to the BBC.
“Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp,” Barrera wrote in one post on her Instagram Story in 2023. “Cornering everyone together, with no where to go, no electricity no water … People have learnt nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING [sic].”
Barrera was fired from the film “Scream 7” following her social media posts against Israel. In a statement to Variety magazine, a spokesman for the movie’s production company Spyglass said its stance was “unequivocally clear.”
“We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech,” the statement noted.
Hours after her firing was announced, Barrera shared a statement on Instagram claiming that she condemns antisemitism and Islamophobia, and all forms of hate and prejudice.
“Every person on this earth … deserves equal human rights, dignity and, of course, freedom,” she added. “I believe a group of people are NOT their leadership, and that no governing body should be above criticism. I pray day and night for no more deaths, for no more violence, and for peaceful co-existence. I will continue to speak out for those that need it most and continue to advocate for peace and safety, for human rights and freedom. Silence is not an option for me.”
Barrera and Liu were among the the many celebrities who signed an open letter by Artists4Ceasefire in October 2023 that called for an immediate ceasefire to end the Israel-Hamas war, a release of the hostages taken by the terrorist organization after its invasion of Israel on Oct. 7, and an end to “the bombing in Gaza.” The letter makes no mention of the Hamas terrorist organization by name, which slaughtered 1,400 Israelis, took more than 200 civilian hostages from Israel and led to the start of the Israel-Hamas war.
Liu is not the first to nominate Barrera as the next Wonder Woman. Several publications have ranked her among the top contenders for the role, and she addressed the topic in an interview with the online publication A Shot Magazine in April 2025.
“I think whoever gets the role, I just hope that they can embody the essence of the character because I think that those movies, whether they’re Marvel or DC, their reach is so big,” she said. “And because those artists that get those roles will inevitably get a built-in fanbase and have the eyes and the ears of so many people, I think that it would be nice if they did something actually positive with the influence that they have to at least be a good example of the kind of human being that you wanna be in the world, instead of just using it for self-serving purposes.”
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Rights Groups Say At Least 25 Dead in Iran Protests
A man walks near an anti-US and anti-Israeli billboard displayed on a building in Tehran, Iran, Jan. 4, 2026. Photo: Majid Asgaripour/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via REUTERS
At least 25 people have been killed in Iran during the first nine days of protests that started in the bazaar of Tehran over the plunging value of the currency and soaring inflation, according to rights groups.
The authorities have acknowledged the economic hardships but accused networks linked to foreign powers of stoking the protests. On Tuesday, Iran‘s police chief vowed to “deal with the last of these rioters.”
The shopkeepers’ protest continued on Tuesday in the bazaar, with about 150 people focusing on economic demands, Iran‘s Fars news agency reported.
The protests have spread to some cities in western and southern Iran but do not match the scale of unrest that swept the nation in 2022-23 over the death of Mahsa Amini, who died in the custody of morality police for allegedly violating the Islamic Republic’s strict dress code.
However, even though smaller, these protests have quickly expanded from an economic focus to broader frustrations, with some protesters chanting against the country’s clerical rulers.
MORE THAN 1,000 ARRESTED, RIGHTS GROUPS SAY
Iran also remains under international pressure, with US President Donald Trump threatening on Friday to come to the aid of protesters if security forces fired on them. Iran‘s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed not to “yield to the enemy.”
Hengaw, a Kurdish Iranian rights group, put the death toll at 25, including four under 18. It said more than 1,000 had been arrested. HRANA, a network of rights activists, said at least 29 had been killed, including two law enforcement agents, in addition to 1,203 arrests, as of Jan. 5.
Reuters has not been able to independently verify the numbers. Iranian authorities have not given a death toll for protesters, but have said at least two members of the security services have died and more than a dozen have been injured.
Authorities have attempted to maintain a dual approach to the unrest, saying protests over the economy are legitimate and will be met by dialogue, while meeting some demonstrations with tear gas amid violent street confrontations.
The police chief, Ahmadreza Radan, was quoted on Tuesday by state media as saying they had drawn a distinction between protesters and what he called rioters, the latter facing arrests on site or following identification by intelligence units.
“I pledge that we will deal with the last of these rioters. It is still time for those who were deceived by foreign services to identify themselves and draw on the Islamic Republic’s greatness,” Radan said.
WITNESS REPORTS HEAVY POLICE PRESENCE
Fars said Tuesday’s gathering of shopkeepers on Saadi street in Tehran ended without “expanding the police’s presence.”
Mohammad, 63, a jewelry shop owner in the bazaar, told Reuters there was a heavy presence of riot police and plainclothes security forces inside and around the area.
“They were forcing shopkeepers who were on strike to open their shops. I did not see it myself, but I heard there were clashes outside the bazaar and police fired tear gas,” he told Reuters by phone. He declined to give his family name.
Footage shared on Telegram on Tuesday by Vahid Online, which posts videos of the protests to more than 650,000 followers, appeared to show dozens of security forces on motorbikes patrolling the street and the unidentified person who took the clip can be heard saying the security forces had fired tear gas.
Reuters confirmed that the video was filmed on Saadi street but could not verify the exact date when it was taken.
GOVERNMENT PROMISES REFORMS TO PROTECT PURCHASING POWER
President Masoud Pezeshkian has promised reforms to help stabilize the monetary and banking systems and protect purchasing power.
The government has announced a subsidy reform, removing preferential currency exchange rates for importers in favor of direct transfers to Iranians to boost their purchasing power for essential goods. The measure will come into force on Jan. 10.
The central bank chief was also replaced on Dec. 29.
The rial fell further to 1,489,500 on Tuesday, representing a 4% fall since the protests started.