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Jewish performers at upcoming Winnipeg Fringe Festival July 17-28

Alli Perlov: One Human Being Potentially Comedic Performance of The Nightmare Before Christmas

By BERNIE BELLAN As has been my long-time custom, I try to find Fringe shows that feature Jewish performers or playwrights – or, as is sometimes the case – plays that have a Jewish theme.
This year will see a very large number of Jewish performers, many of whom are repeat Fringe performers, but we will also have one play to be performed by one of the Fringe Festival’s most popular performers: Jem Rolls who, while he is not Jewish, has chosen for his theme this year a most unusual subject
(For information about venues and show times go to Winnipegfringe.com)

Alli Perlov: One Human Being Potentially Comedic Performance of The Nightmare Before Christmas
Alli Perlov has been a theatre kid her entire life. Her experiences include training at Manitoba Theatre for Young People, a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Winnipeg, and a brief career in film and television in her teens.
For the past 13 years, Perlov has been a performing arts teacher in Winnipeg, teaching courses in musical theatre, improv and drama to students from Grades 6 to 12. In an effort to continue practicing what she teaches, Alli Perlov has mounted three one-person Fringe plays starting in 2017 and brings her fourth to this year’s festival with a new work for her most favourite film, “A One Human Being, Potentially Comedic Performance of The Nightmare Before Christmas”.
Some teachers take the summer off to recharge, while others mount a one-person Fringe festival show. In a similar approach to her 2018/2023 show, Perlov tackles her favourite film of all time in,
“A One Human Being Potentially Comedic Performance of The Nightmare Before Christmas”. Local performing arts teacher Alli Perlov aims to leave the audience in stitches as she performs dozens of creepy characters from the iconic 1993 Tim Burton stop-motion film.  
In a musical parody full of charm and can-do spirit, Perlov tackles the task of making “try-hard” a compliment. Condensing the score to 50 minutes of music, and weaved with narrative, critiques and silly puns, everyone in the theatre is guaranteed a good time and a load of laughs. 

Melanie Gall (3 separate shows): FORBIDDEN CABARET, STITCH IN TIME, ROCKIN’ BLUEBIRD (kids’ show)
Melanie Gall has been a Fringe favourite for years. Last year she performed in 3 separate shows – and she’s back doing 3 shows again!

FORBIDDEN CABARET
Hidden in the back alley of a Broadway theatre is the grittiest, most decadent club in New York. The year is 1934. Unlicensed musical entertainment is prohibited and the Dirty Blues are banned. But not at Club Hirondelle – and when the midnight hour strikes, the forbidden cabaret begins with some of the naughtiest songs from (almost) 100 years ago.
Featuring a dozen (real!) banned hits, including: “Boobs,” “What Can You Buy a Nudist on His Birthday?” and the Yiddish Theatre hit, “Mein Butcher.”
Melanie Gall is the award-winning performer of sellout hits Ingenue (5 STARS), American Songbook Experience (5 STARS) and Toast to Prohibition (5 STARS).

STITCH IN TIME
Excitement! Drama! Romance! And…knitting? A scintillating cabaret featuring ‘lost’ knitting songs of World War I and World War II.
Bring your knitting (or crochet) and stitch along to these funny, toe-tapping, needle-clicking tunes. Come out and have a ball! Melanie Gall presents over a dozen quirky historic songs, including “More Power to Your Knitting, Nell!” and “The Knitting Itch.”
During the wars, millions of women knit for soldiers and dozens of knitting songs appeared. After the wars, these songs were close to disappearing forever. But now, this music — a clever, sweet and entertaining footnote in history — will live again.
FIVE STARS – Glam Adelaide, Southside Advertiser
“Divine voice, highly recommended” – Fringe Review UK
“Cute, charming and funny” – Plank Magazine

ROCKIN’ BLUEBIRD (kids’ show)
Bluebird Scraps has always wanted to be a rock star. She dreams of bright lights, a cool costume, and thunderous applause. But the other birds just don’t understand! All the robins and sparrows sing together in their trees, but Scraps has a squawk that just doesn’t fit. With your help, she’ll find her voice and rock the show!

LEAPIN’ LOUIE LICHTENSTEIN
We sent an email to a Fringe performer by the name of Louie Lichtenstein, asking him if he was Jewish. The answer was yes. Here’s what Louie sent back:

Hello hard working Manitoba Jewish Media folks,

Leapin’ Louie, the most explosive Lithuanian Jewish Cowboy Comedian to ever come out of Oregon, is on his way to Winnipeg Fringe.
It’s Kids Fringe but awesome for adults too. An environmental theme no less.
Fly Through Time
with Leapin’ Louie Lichtenstein
A cowboy comedy circus show about animals who fly
Kids Fringe Manitoba Theatre For Young People
Pay what you can
Leapin’ Louie uses circus, cowboy tricks, a six-foot unicycle, and lots of comedy to explore all those wild critters, including us, who fly.
In 400 million years five amazing groups of animals developed flight: Insects, pterosaurs, birds, bats and finally humans. Only 66 years after the Wright Brothers invented the airplane, —we landed on the moon. We’re moving so fast! Can we leave enough room for our amazing wild ecosystems as we jet into the future? It’s a biodiversity science education show that’s really fun for adults and kids.
Leapin’ Louie is a master of physical comedy, trick roping, whip cracking, and juggling. He has performed one-person Leapin’ Louie shows in 35 different countries around the world, including many tours of Europe, Japan and Australia. He is considered the most explosive Lithuanian Jewish Cowboy Comedian to ever come out of Oregon, USA. This is his first time at Winnipeg Fringe.

“‘Awesome’ is a terrible word, but there’s no shame using it – in the truest sense – to describe Leapin’ Louie” Broadway Baby ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ (Edinburgh Fringe Festival)

Keir Cutler: JOAN OF ARC ASCENDING
“Joan of Arc is easily and by far the most extraordinary person the human race has ever produced.” Mark Twain
A new work, created and performed by Keir Cutler. For his 17th presentation at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, Keir Cutler will perform a captivating world premiere show that invites audiences to rediscover the legendary true story of Joan of Arc. His portrayal defies contemporary doubt and invites wonder, probing Joan’s life through the lens of the miraculous.
The show also features live music by University of Manitoba musicology grad student, Manitoban Kyla Kelsey, and onstage original art work by Michael Cutler, Keir’s brother.

Montrealer Keir Cutler has been called “a masterful entertainer,” (Winnipeg Free Press) “a marvel to watch,” (Toronto Sun) and “a phenomenal performer!” (winnipegonstage.com)
Keir has a PhD in theatre from Wayne State University in Detroit, a playwriting diploma from the National Theatre School of Canada, He is the writer/performer of twelve solo works, and the author of multiple plays and books. He is a veteran of more than 100 fringe and theatre festivals.

Jem Rolls: THE KID WAS A SPY
The true story of Ted Hall.
Brooklyn, October 1944. The youngest physicist in the Manhattan project asks himself a very big question.
Will the world be safer after the war if he gives the bomb to the Russians?
And he does.
• Events take place in the world of OPPENHEIMER
• Jem Rolls has done more Fringes than anyone else on earth … [Except Alex Dallas.]

This show takes the audience from the murky world of spies to the idyll of young love. From teenage friendship to stark treason. From big decision to deep consequence. From high idealism to extreme cynicism. And from pure science to Hiroshima and the electric chair.

The show also brings in the stories of Klaus Fuchs, the greatest atomic spy; and Ethel Rosenberg, executed yet innocent.
THE KID WAS A SPY is the third in Jem Rolls’ series of shows about Jewish Nuclear Physicists no-one has ever heard of.
Which is, to put it mildly, the niche of a niche of a niche.
One only realistically enterable in the unique world of Canadian Fringe.
Which most Canadians do not realize is unique.

The first two shows in the series, THE INVENTOR OF ALL THINGS, about Leo Szilard, and THE WALK IN THE SNOW, about Lise Meitner, have each seen multiple sellouts and five star

reviews.

Randy Ross: TALES OF A RELUCTANT WORLD TRAVELER 
Novelist and Fringe veteran Randy Ross provides an unflinching look at world travel and the writing life, while bringing new meaning to suffering for one’s art.
 The Show: Tales of a Reluctant World Traveler is the story of how a Boston homebody turned a rotten, solo trip around the globe into a comedy novel and an acclaimed one-man play. The show is part travelogue, part performance, and part off-kilter author talk. A must-see for book lovers, writers, travelers, whiners, kvetches, and misanthropes. Please note: The show carries content warnings for gooey diseases, heartless publishers, and liquor made from cobras.
 The Performer: Randy Ross is a Boston-area novelist and story-teller. He has performed at more 30 fringe festivals around the U.S., Canada, and in Edinburgh, Scotland. In 2007, Ross took a four-month, solo trip around the world and learned to say in three languages: “Speak English?” “Got Pepto-Bismol?” and “Is this the evacuation helicopter?” His shows and novel were inspired by the trip.

Adam Schwartz (producer): NEUROHILARITY EXPOSED
SHOWCASING INTERSECTIONAL COMEDY AT FRINGE FEST
Neuodivergent Cast of Winnipeg Comics Includes Indigenous, 2SLGBTQ+, Asian, and Other Perspectives

About Neurohilarity
Neurohilarity is a non-profit organization created to give neurodivergent artists a stage to share their stories and promote a more positive representation of neurodiversity.
It was started in 2022 by Adam Schwartz.
Award-winning comedy showcase Neurohilarity is back again at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, but this year, it’s taking its mandate of amplifying underrepresented voices one step further with an ultra-diverse cast that highlights the intersectionality of neurodivergence.   
This is the third year that Autistic comedian and producer Adam Schwartz has brought Neurohilarity to the Winnipeg Fringe Festival, and he’s excited to show how neurodivergent and disability-centric comedy can look so many different ways. At the crossroads of disability, race, gender, and sexuality, there is no shortage of weird things to laugh about.

The stellar lineup includes a few familiar faces from last year’s festival run—which earned the Jenny Revue Mind and Body: The Health and Wellness Award. Returning performers include Danielle Kayahara, whom the Winnipeg Free Press called “self-deprecating, sympathetic and downright adorable as she describes her compulsion to ‘overthink everything’ while pausing to second-guess her comments.”
This year’s newcomers to the Neurohilarity stage include up-and-comer Kaitlynn Brightnose (IndigE-Girl Comedy), and comedy veteran Rollin Penner (Yuk Yuk’s, CBC, Winnipeg Comedy Festival). The show will be hosted by ADHD dynamo Carole Cunningham, a regular host at Yuk Yuk’s Comedy Club who is often accompanied onstage by her chihuahua, Karen.

Willow Rosenberg: A LESBIAN IN A BEAR STORE
From new playwright Willow Rosenberg, comes a deeply personal, funny, and emotional journey through her mom’s Beanie Baby collection. “A Lesbian in a Bear Store” has something for everyone. Including adorable animals, all of the gay, some of the Jewish, and a special appearance by one of the most angsty teenage poems you’
Tickets are $12 in advance, or bring your favourite plushie for discounted $10 tickets at the door.

Jay Stoller: UBUNTU
Visiting musicians from South Africa join local drumming group
Local African drummer Jay Stoller is thrilled to announce the upcoming production of Ubuntu, an interactive performance that brings to life the power of working together as a community.  This exciting show is set to take place at the Winnipeg Fringe Festival from July 18 – 26.
 Ubuntu will be a highly unique production at this year’s Fringe.  Not only is it a collaboration of musicians from Winnipeg and South Africa, the audience will be fully participating in the show:  everyone in attendance will have an African djembe drum to play along with the musicians on stage.  Yes, there will be 200+ drums in the theatre!
 Jay and his local drum group members are excited to welcome drummer extraordinaire Tiny Modise and vocalist Nosipho Mtotoba, both from Soweto, South Africa.
Ubuntu is a Southern African philosophy that says ‘I am because we are’.  Through the interactive show, the power of drumming together will be demonstrated as Winnipeg’s Fringe community makes amazing music together.
(And yes, we asked Jay whether he’s related to any Stollers in Winnipeg, to which he replied, “Yes, we do have some family with the same last name, although probably second cousins.”) 

Benji Rothman: REVIEWING THE FREE PRESS

The Winnipeg Free Press has run amok, reviewing each and every Fringe show for decades, completely unabated and without recourse. Well now, it’s their turn.

In this brand new show, Benji Rothman takes the Winnipeg Free Press to task, diving deep into their history and casting judgement on their performance as Manitoba’s leading news outlet.

Local News

New play structure – “Gan Reut” (Friendship Garden) opens at Asper Campus

By BERNIE BELLAN It was a gorgeous Friday afternoon, October 3, when Lori Binder, Gray Academy Head of School (also Board of Jewish Education CEO) welcomed about 40 individuals to the opening of a brand new play structure on the Asper Campus – situated exactly where the old play structure (which had opened in 1997 with the opening of the campus) had been.
Most of the individuals who were there that day had played a role helping to see the new play structure built – either as donors, or as members of organizations that had participated in the planning and construction of the new play structure.

Gray Academy CEO Lori Binder

As Binder explained, “We wanted to call this the Friendship Garden. We wanted it to have a Hebrew name. ‘Reut’ – play, is the language of friendship and it’s also the language of learning. And so today for the very first time, as our kids were watching the structure be built – and that too was also an amazing learning tool, they began to learn to use the structure.”

Why was there a need for a new playground, some might wonder – when the old one was only 28 years old?

Binder cited several reasons for wanting a new play structure: “A lot of injuries were happening because there was pea gravel, and the pea gravel was surrounded by a border of wood. And if you did not have the ability to step over or walk through the pea gravel, you could potentially have an injury.”
She added that “pea gravel is only used in 3% of playgrounds today because you might skid and need a bandaid or have a cut.”

“But we also recognized that with the broken structure and the inability for all children in our community to play we wanted to begin to envision a new structure,” Binder added.

The actual project took shape in a relatively short period of time. Design and construction was handled by a company known as Playgrounds R Us. President of the company, Matt Lacroix, noted that “typically a playground of not even this size” would take much longer to plan and build.
“We typically work with schools probably three to five years, sometimes two. So, from start to finish, for us to start a year and a half ago to now is pretty phenomenal,” Lacroix observed.

The structure can even accommodate a child in a wheelchair – as seen in the photo above, where the young girl seated has casts on both one of her arms and one of her legs

There are many new innovations included in Gan Reut, including the resilient rubber foundation, the handicap accessible play structures (that can even accommodate children in wheelchairs) and, on an unexpectedly hot October day – something that proved to be most welcome: shade everywhere you went.

Getting the project done required cooperation among Gray Academy, the Rady JCC, and the Asper Campus. When Binder first approached the Jewish Foundation for funding assistance, however, she said that initially, “we got denied.” However, rather than that being an impediment to moving forward, Binder said “it turned out to be a blessing.”

The reason, she explained, is the Jewish Foundation “plays such an integral role in matching us with potential donors, helping us bring something to light or getting something started.”
In the case of the playground project, it was the Rich family, led by Gavin Rich, who stepped up as lead donors. There were many other donors as well. (You can see all the donors’ names in the accompanying photo.) Also, the Jewish Foundation did come through with a grant – for the rubber foundation.

Names of all the donors

Binder spoke of the important role that play serves in children’s development: “Diane Ackerman states that play is the brain’s favourite way of learning. And if you go into the daycare or into any of our early childhood classrooms, you will see that they learn through play. Dr. Stewart Brown notes that nothing lights up a child’s brain-like play. And I bet some of you will want to also play because even at as adults, we like to play.”

The blue and white colour of the playground was also a deliberate choice, Binder noted. “Blue and white,” she suggested, was “very purposely chosen to match the colour of the Israeli flag and give us a reminder every day of coming to this amazing Jewish community campus.”

When it came to planning what would go into the playground, Binder thanked Rob Berkowits from the Rady JCC and Curtis Martin from the Asper Jewish Community Campus, “who were along for the journey…We also have many of our educators, an occupational therapist, early childhood specialists, elementary specialists, student life coordinators, all coming together with all of the different ideas.”

“I have to say it is overwhelming,” Binder added. “I’ve not really been involved in such a renovation project; it’s hard to make decisions. You can have a million different kinds of playgrounds.”

Not only will the playground, however, serve as a major enhancement to be enjoyed by students at Gray Academy and the Rady JCC daycare during weekdays, it will be open to everyone in the community 24/7, Binder noted.

Rady JCC CEO Rob Berkowits

Following Binder’s remarks, attendees heard from Rob Berkowits, CEO of the Rady JCC, who acknowledged the key role Binder had played in bringing the project to fruition: “I want to extend a heartfelt thanks to Lori Binder, Head of School at Gray Academy, for unwavering leadership in bringing this vision to life.”

Member of Asper Jewish Community Campus Board Jill Winograd

Finally, Jill Winograd, who was representing the Asper Jewish Community Campus, offered remarks: “Spaces like this are more than slides or swings. They’re about belonging, imagination, and giving kids a safe place to grow together. So this project wasn’t about starting fresh, but renewal, taking something well used.

“So what makes this playground matter isn’t just the newer equipment or the safer surfaces, but the thoughtfulness behind it. Accessible roots, quiet corners. And spaces that welcome kids, parents and grandparents together. It’s built for inclusion and community. And I think grandparents is such a key word here because it’s really so lovely to see from our sponsors how many are in memory of grandparents and how special that time is at the playground for them.”

Ribbon cutting by Gavin Rich and Marni Slonim

And, with that – and a ceremonial ribbon cutting by Gavin Rich and Marni Slonim, Grade 2 students from Gray Academy descended upon the structure – many with parents in tow, to demonstrate all the many features of the beautiful new playground.

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Gray Academy registration numbers continuing their upward trajectory

Gray Academy Head of School Lori Binder

By MYRON LOVE Lori Binder, Gray Academy’s Head of School and CEO of the Winnipeg Board of Jewish Education, is happy to report that this year’s enrolment stands at 517 – the highest back-to-school number since 2013-2014.  “We have had to add a second Junior Kindergarten class and, for the second consecutive year, a third kindergarten class,” she says.
Gray Academy students speak of feeling safe and being able to connect with their roots.  As Binder points out, many of the students have parents and even grandparents who attended Gray Academy or its founding high school, Joseph Wolinsky Collegiate. In addition, 25% of the staff are Gray Academy alumni. 
 
The school also plays an integral role in helping families moving to Winnipeg from Israel, Argentina, Brazil and other countries to adapt to their new homes.  Over the past two years, the EAL (English as an additional language) program has expanded significantly to accommodate growing needs.
Gray Academy is one of the only JK-12 Jewish day schools in Canada. The school remains committed to academic excellence, along with programming that builds community and connection. Gray Academy was the first Jewish day school in Canada to receive accreditation from Canadian Accredited Independent Schools (CAIS), a community of independent schools that meet and exceed rigorous national standards that inspire excellence and ongoing school improvement.
 
New this year, Binder notes, is the just-built AJCC Gan Re’ut (Friendship Garden), a fully accessible playground that children of all ages and abilities can use and enjoy. A new rubber foundation and accessible equipment make the new playground safer and more accessible for everyone.
She further reports that the four-year-old Gray Academy-Tough Duck Community Ice Rink, located on Danzker Field, has been enhanced with an asphalt base so that the facility can be used year-round for a wider variety of activities.
The school has also expanded its after-school music programs this year. In addition to traditional band and drumline programs, students can also take part in jazz, rock and vocal ensembles.
 
Binder notes that parents and grandparents of children are welcome to engage with the school.  “Last year we launched a new “Grandpals” program for grandparents,” she says.  “We offer several different ways for grandparents or any special seniors in students’ lives to engage with the school while being able to see their grandchildren.”
 
And did I mention that, over the years, Gray Academy’s outstanding debating program has been placing very well in national and international competitions?
In terms of tefillah and spirituality, Binder reports that the school is building on past informal connections with local clergy to allow more student interaction with our community’s rabbis and cantors.  Throughout the year, clergy from various congregations will be coming in to the school in a more formal way.
 
A very important part of Gray Academy’s mission is fostering a love of Israel.  Over the years, quite a few Gray Academy graduates have made Aliyah.
 
An important part of Israel education has been the nearly 30-year-long Jewish Federation of Winnipeg P2G (Partnership 2Gether) student and teacher exchange programs linking Gray Academy high school students with their counterparts at Danciger High School in the northern Israeli community of Kiryat Shmona and Nachshonei Hachula Elementary School in Yesod Hamala in the Hula Valley. For many years, Gray Academy would send groups of six to eight Grade 10 and 11 students to visit Danciger. Likewise, Danciger would send students to visit Gray Academy. 
In fact, a group of Danciger students and faculty happened to be in Winnipeg on October 7, 2023. When the group was forced unexpectedly to extend their stay in Winnipeg until flights to Israel could resume, Danciger students and staff participated in our community’s subsequent show of support for our brothers and sisters in Israel.
 
While the program has been paused since then, Binder reports that she was in Israel in July and visited both schools.  “With many Israelis having been able to return to their homes in the north after nearly 18 months of displacement, we are hoping to restart the exchange programs in the spring,” she says. 
 
Binder adds that two young Israelis volunteering with Shaarey Zedek Congregation in something called the “ShinShinim program” (which is a year of service in the Diaspora prior to serving in the IDF) have recently arrived in Winnipeg and will be paying weekly visits to the school. The Jewish Agency for Israel’s ShinShinim program sends Israeli Grade 12 graduates to Jewish communities in the diaspora to enhance the teaching of Hebrew and love for Israel. 
 
To commemorate October 7, the school – for the third year in a row – will be holding “Havdallah for Hope,”  a memorial program for high school students, followed by Havdalah for the entire student body and community guests.
Binder points out that the school has a strong focus on affordability.  “It is very important to us that no child is turned away because a family can’t afford to pay,” she says.
 
She notes that Manitoba is one of only a few Canadian provinces that fund independent schools such as Gray Academy, with the school receiving approximately 50% of comparable public school funding per student.  Binder adds that the school offers a robust Bursary Assistance program, strongly supported by funding from the Jewish Federation of Winnipeg’s Combined Jewish Appeal. “Over 60% of our families receive some level of bursary support,” she reports.  “We work with every family to ensure that no child is ever turned away because of inability to cover the full parental contribution.”
 
Just weeks into the new school year, Gray Academy is already looking ahead to enrolment for next September. 
 
For more information about what Gray Academy has to offer and application dates, phone 204 477-7425 or email admissions@grayacademy.ca.

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Former Prime Minister Stephen Harper headlines B’nai Brith Canada’s 150th anniversary celebration

Ben Mulroney with former Prime Minister Stephen Harper

By MYRON LOVE There have been very few – if any – Western leaders who have been more supportive of Israel and the Jewish people than Stephen Harper.  On Wednesday, September 10, Canada’s former prime minister (2006-16) was the guest of honour at B’nai Brith Winnipeg’s gala evening in celebration of B’nai Brith’s 150th anniversary.
In a fireside chat with media personality Ben Mulroney, Harper demonstrated that he continues to maintain his moral clarity.
Two hundred B’nai Brith supporters showed up at the Fort Garry Hotel to celebrate the longevity of Canada’s oldest human rights organization. The discussion between Harper and Mulroney was preceded by about 90 minutes of fine dining and shmoozing.  The formal program began with Dr. Ruth Ashrafi, B’nai Birth Canada’s Winnipeg Regional Director, reciting a prayer for the release of the remaining hostages held in Gaza.
Ashrafi introduced B’nai Brith Canada COO Judy Foldes and Jay Harris, Chair of B’nai Brith Canada’s Board, – who were both in town for the event – along with Simon Wolle, BBC’s new CEO, who is replacing the late and much appreciated Michael Mostyn.
Just before Harper and Mulroney began their conversation, Mulroney  spoke with Jay Harris via video about the organization’s storied history and ongoing wrap-around services.  Mulroney highlighted B’nai Brith’s long record of fighting antisemitism  and advocating for human rights and its many programs aimed at bringing people together and  helping the needy – not only in the Jewish community but in the broader community as well.    
Stephen Harper congratulated B’nai Brith on its 150th anniversary and praised the organization for its unflinching efforts in pushing back against antisemitism and fighting for human rights.
“I really grieve for the Jewish people” he continued.  “I understand how tough it is out there right now. When I took strong stands in support of Israel as prime minister, I always believed that the great majority of Canadians supported my positions.  They were just quiet about it.  While the loudest voices get all the attention,  I still believe that most Canadians still quietly support Israel and understand that not only is Israel a democratic sates and an ally, but also that the Jewish people in Canada have made such a disproportionate contribution to our business life, charitable life, and public service. So just know that you are widely appreciated across the country.”
Following some discussion on the assassination of young American conservative leader Charlie Kirk a couple of weeks ago, the dangerous state of public discourse in the United States and concomitant worsening situation in that regard in Canada as well, Harper commented that “I just hope that people on both sides of the border will begin to pull back and can engage in vigorous arguments without ostracization, cancellation and assassination,” he said.
In response to a question from Mulroney about what is driving antisemitism in Canada, Harper suggested that “we have allowed certain institutions to make antisemitism – framed a certain way – socially and politically acceptable.  After the Second World War,” he noted, “we, as a society, agreed that what we considered far right ideology– the idea that dividing people into categories – with some groups considered  superior to others –  and the people in inferior groups could be discriminated against, marginalized and, ultimately, killed – was socially and politically unacceptable – beyond the pale. 
“But we have permitted in our universities and media the idea to germinate far left ideology, but that is the mirror image of the far right – that people can be divided into oppressors and oppressed – and that the oppressors can be ostracized, marginalized and killed.  This is rampant in academic institutions – institutions that we overwhelmingly fund with public money – given on the basis that they represent free and democratic values such as individual, human dignity and small l liberal values. This should not be acceptable”
“This is not just about the Jews,” he added. “It is an entire intellectual framework and people who propagate it should be defunded and removed from their posts.   My father taught me that antisemitism, no matter from the left or the right, is the first sign of a political movement and a society going to a dangerous extreme,” Harper said.
Mulroney observed that anti-Israel, antisemitic groups can never be propitiated. (Ed. note: I had to look up the meaning of “propitiated.” Here’s what I found:
Mulroney continued: “We have the most pro-Palestinian government in our history, yet we still see protests popping up in front of government ministers’ homes.”
In response to Mulroney’s questions, Harper pointed out the long-standing and close friendship between Canada and Israel (at least up until this current federal government).  “There should be no question that Israel has the right to exist,” he stated, “and every country should be fighting terrorism.”
In response to a question about why Canada should support Israel, Harper noted that it is not about geopolitics or religion, it is a matter of basic common sense.  “Israel and Canada are both free and democratic countries,” he pointed out.  “The friends of Israel are friends of Canada. The enemies of Israel are enemies of Canada – who are also intent on destroying Canada.  If the leaders of a country don’t get that, I don’t know what they understand about international affairs. To me, it is distressing that you have to explain this to so many world leaders.”
Mulroney asked Harper about the worldwide condemnation of Israel for “escalating the conflict by taking out Hamas leaders in Qatar. 
“This not escalation,” Harper said. “This is de-escalation. By taking out Hezbollah, Israel has made Lebanon a better place. And the subsequent fall of Assad in Syria has made Syria a better place – although the jury is still out on that.  The Israeli and American bombing of Iran has made the world a safer place.
“When I was prime minster, I was in virtually daily battles with the people in Canada’s Foreign Affairs department who wanted to oppose Israel,” he recalled.  “It was just so ingrained.  I saw it in a lot of other Western foreign affairs departments.” 
One of Israel’s challenges, Harper pointed out, is that while there are 50 Muslim states (not all of them hostile to Israel ) in the  world and 25 Arab states, there is only one Jewish state.  He recalled that, “Too often, diplomats see their responsibility not in representing the interests of their home countries but rather, representing the global community.
“With so many more Muslim and Arab states, he observed, “it is all too easy to go along with the consensus to get along.”
Harper noted that in many of his meetings with foreign leaders, they privately agreed with him – but they didn’t want to fight the media and the academic establishment, so they just went along.  “That is not leadership,” he said. “And leaders who don’t support Israel are jeopardizing their own countries’ future.”
Turning to the political situation in Canada, Harper was strongly critical of the Trudeau government which, he said, left Canada in a really bad place.  He is hopeful that Mark Carney, our current prime minister, will adopt many of the policies that Conservative Leader Pierre Polievre is proposing, and make the necessary changes. If not, he noted, there will be a change in government.
In closing, Ruth Ashrafi thanked Earl and Cheryl Barish, the honorary gala co-chairs, noting how much their generosity and leadership has enriched both our Jewish and the wider community at large.  

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