By MYRON LOVE I have known John Plantz for 25 years or so.  I first met him in the late 1990s when he was volunteering as a librarian at the old Jewish Public Library on north Main Street. While he is a devout Christian – for as long as  I have known him, he is also passionate about supporting Israel and the Jewish People.
Along the way in his life’s journey, John Plantz did learn that his zaida was Jewish – a revelation that further strengthened his identification with the Jewish people.
On the evening of Thursday, November 14, in his long time role as the Friends of Israel Canada Church and Fields Ministries Canada director, Plantz emceed a “Stand With Israel Night”, the highlight of which was the presentation of $25,000 in cheques to five Israel-based  charities.
The event, which was held in the Multipurpose room at the Asper Campus, attracted about 100 people – comprising both members of our Jewish community and Christian supporters of Friends of Israel. Plantz noted that the funds were raised over the past few months by FOI supporters across Canada.
The evening began with music by Myron Schultz and his Klezmer Trio.
“On October 7, 2023, the world changed” Plantz observed in his opening remarks, “not just for Israel. I have a lot of Israeli friends. Israelis are stressed out. They are not sure what to do. We at FOI are praying for Israel and also redoubling our efforts to help.”       
Plantz then introduced Robert Gottselig, FOI’s Canadian director.  Gottselig, who lives in Regina, pointed out that FOI was founded in 1938, fully ten years before the establishment of the Jewish State, in response to the plight of the Jews of Europe.
“At the outset,” Gottselig noted, ”FOI formed a relief committee to raise funds for food, clothing and shelter for Europe’s endangered Jews. We also worked to provide passports for those who wanted to escape.
“Our mission remains constant,” he continued.  “Unlike some other Christian groups whose religious philosophy is based on replacement theology (that Christianity supersedes Judaism), we stand in solidarity with our Jewish brethren.  After all, the Jews gave Christians both our bible and Jesus.”
Gottselig spoke about how his own passion for Israel developed.  He also spoke about FOI’s recent successful efforts, along with Regina’s Jewish community and other national Jewish organizations, to persuade Regina City Council not to raise the Palestinian flag at City Hall. 
Following a  break for refreshments, John Plantz introduced one by one the recipients of the $250,000 in donations.  The first was the Canadian Magen David Adom, Israel’s world leading, largely volunteer, national  emergency medical, disaster, ambulance and blood bank service.
Accepting the cheque on behalf of Canadian Magen David Adom Canada was Israeli-born Sharon Fraiman, the Calgary-based CMDA director for western Canada.
“The Magen David Adom’s history reflects the history of Israel,” she commented.  “Every dollar CMDA raises counts.”
She noted that CMDA raises money in Canada to buy ambulances, medical equipment, supplies and blood testing kits to support the life saving efforts of MDA in Israel.
The second recipient was the Jewish National Fund.  Plantz observed that he himself has been a supporter of the JNF for many years.  Speaking on behalf of David Greaves, the JNF’s executive director for Manitoba and Saskatchewan, Nola Lazar thanked the FOI and noted how much she appreciated being in a room full of welcoming allies.
The third recipient was an organization that I am not familiar with: Christian Friends of Leket Israel, which raises funds in support of Leket Israel – which has been feeding the hungry in Israel since 2003. In a video appearance, Ray MacDonald, the director of Christian Friends of Leket Israel, expressed his appreciation for FOI”s donation and spoke about the organization’s work on behalf of disadvantaged Israelis.
 “We provide about 255,000 Israelis weekly with nutritious food and meals,” he reported.  “We supply 330 non-profit partners that deal with poverty.”
He added that, surprising, there is a high level of homelessness in Israel and that 20% of Israeli children go to bed hungry, also that the situation has worsened over the past year due to the war.
MacDonald described Leket Israel as a “food rescue” organization that gathers its food from a variety of sources.  “We work with 500 farmers (at least that was the situation before the war) that share their crops with us,” he said. “we also source food from hotel and resorts.”
According to the Leket website, “millions of tons of healthy, fresh food are wasted or destroyed because of excess quantity, minor imperfections, or financial cost. 
“Food waste has severe consequences for society, the environment, and the economy. Food rescue addresses these problems by productively using surplus food instead of destroying it.  With Leket’s fleet of 27 refrigerated trucks and vans, our staff and volunteers transport thousands of tons of rescued food throughout the country.
“All rescued produce is brought to the logistics center or other cold storage facilities, where it is sorted, stored, and prepared for delivery to one of our 330 nonprofit partners.
“All rescued cooked food is either brought directly from where it was cooked to a recipient nonprofit partner, or brought to one of our regional hubs to be stored overnight and reheated the following morning for timely service of a hot lunch. The food rescued by Leket Israel is distributed to 296 nonprofit organizations, including homeless shelters, soup kitchens, elderly centers, battered women’s centers, community help organizations, and schools for at-risk youth.”
Ariel Karabelnicoff is well known to many in our community.   He came to us from Argentina by way of Israel and held a series of high profile positions here – including as the State of Israel Bonds’ point man here,  executive director of the local chapter of the Canadian Associates of Ben-Gurion University of the Negev – followed by filling the same role for the JNF here.  In 2019, he was lured to Toronto by former employer Israel Bonds to serve as national sales director.
About two years ago, Karabelnicoff left Israel Bonds for a new gig as executive director of Canadian Friends of Haifa University.  It was in the latter capacity that he thanked FOI for its substantial donation to the university.
“We are honoured to be the recipient of your generous donation,” he said.
In an earlier interview with the Jewish Post, he noted that among the largest universities in Israel, the University of Haifa is the youngest.  Fully accredited in 1972, the university has an enrolment of 18,000 students – with a student body that reflects the diversity of Israel’s population.  About 40% of the students come from the Druze, Circassian and Arab communities and – among the Jewish students – there are many whose families are from Ethiopia.
The University of Haifa , he adds, also boasts the highest percentage among Israeli universities – of students who are the first generation in their families to attend university.
Among the feathers in the university’s cap is the Leon H. Charney School of Marine Sciences that offers the only graduate program in Israel in that field..
Coming soon for the University of Haifa,  Karabelnicoff reported, will be a new school of medicine.   “There is a serious doctor shortage in Israel,” he pointed out.  “The University of Haifa is proud to lead in the efforts to train medical doctors and to be able to serve and take care of the population in the North of Israel.”
The final recipient of the FOI’s largesse was another organization I am not familiar with: Operation Lifeshield. Operation Lifeshield’s mission is to provide bomb shelters for threatened Israeli communities. Rabbi Shmuel Bowman, Operation Luifeshield’s executive director, was in Winnipeg to accept the FOI cheque.
He reported that the organization was formed 18 years ago by a small group of American olim and Israelis who were visiting the Galilee during the second Lebanon war in 2006 and found themselves under rocket attack – along with thousands of others – with no place to go.  Th y decided to take action.
“Our shelter construction design and manufacturing process conform with the strictest guidelines and approval of the Israel Defense Force Home Front command,” Bowman reported.  “Several types of shelters are available in order to best protect schools, kindergartens, synagogues, parks, sidewalks, bus shelters and senior centres.”
He noted that Lifeshield’s more than 1,000 shelters have been donated  by caring individuals and organizations – both jewish and Christian – from around the world.
He closed his remarks with a “dvar Torah” based on God’s admonition to King David that he “will not fear terror that comes by night or the arrow that flies by day”.
owman wondered aloud how that is something that Hashem can command?  “David understood that to mean that he should find a solution that would remove the threat,” the rabbi commented.
 This admonition also applies to Israel and Operation Lifeshield’s bomb shelters.
John Plantz concluded the evening with the hope that we can all gather again next year to celebrate other Israeli non-profits that will be benefitting from Christian Friends of Israel’s largesse.