Israel
The war with Hamas reverberates in a most personal way for all of us
By BERNIE BELLAN October 9, 2023 How to do you begin to write about a situation that is so volatile that you know what you’re writing will likely be hopelessly out of date by the time that is read?
That is the challenge inherent in writing for a bi-weekly newspaper – or even a daily newspaper, given the lightning speed at which events have been moving in Israel since Hamas launched its surprise attack in the early hours of Saturday morning, Israel time.
In fact, our newspaper was largely laid out at the time that the attack began. It was going to be a relatively small 16-page issue with not much news about Israel at all.
But, by the time the war had been on for 36 hours I realized that I would have to rip up what I had done and begin anew. Still, as questions about what to report in the paper were circulating in my mind, news hit that someone whose name is well known to many of our readers had been among those taken hostage by Hamas in the first few hours of the terrorists’ incursion into communities close to the Gaza Strip.
That individual is Vivian Silver, daughter of the late Meyer and Ros Silver, and sister to Rochelle Gamliel of Winnipeg and Neil of Calgary. The fact that Vivian had been among the hostages taken was first brought to my attention by Martin Zeilig, who phoned me to say that Irwin Cotler had just tweeted about her being taken hostage at 11:49 am Winnipeg time. (Cotler in fact got the name wrong in his initial tweet when he referred to Vivian as “Lilian,” but he corrected that quickly.)
Many of us have friends and relatives in Israel and the wonder of modern-day communication technology is that you can feel as close to anyone as if you’re living next door. No doubt, just as almost all Israelis were checking up on friends and relatives to see whether they were all right, many Winnipeggers were doing the same.
While I have known Vivian Silver for years – and had actually gone on a tour of Bedouin schools and training centres for women in 2013 with her, it didn’t occur to me that she herself was living in close proximity to the Gaza Border (on Kibbutz Be’eri it turned out). One of the problems of receiving an email from someone – as I had on occasion from Vivian, is that it doesn’t really give you an idea where that person is when she’s corresponding with you.
So, to learn that someone with whom you have more than a passing acquaintance is among the early victims of a sudden war is a cold dose of reality in a way that watching all those terrible videos of innocent Israelis either being gunned down on the street or in their cars – or being led away by Hamas gunmen – while shocking – to say the least, didn’t hit home quite the same way as learning that someone you know has been taken hostage.
And, I’m sure like many of our readers, the moment I was awakened on Saturday morning to the news of what was occurring, I immediately turned on my television set and began scanning my iPhone for as much information as I could gather.
I was looking at and reading from multiple sources. Whether it was CNN or the BBC on TV (with an occasional nod to CBC and CTV – mostly to see how politically correct the CBC would be in its reporting – more about that on page 7) or I24 News and Arutz Sheva on the internet, I was glued to electronic media for reporting and video footage.
At the same time I was scouring Israeli news sites for information, including The Jerusalem Post, Israel Today, and my favourite, Haaretz – which, despite its overtly leftward slant , still offers some of the best analysis of Israeli affairs as you’re going to find anywhere.
The news was unremittingly harsh – and upsetting. By the time I finished putting the paper together – which was Monday afternoon, the death toll in Israel had surpassed 900, with more than 1300 wounded. As well, although the exact number is not known as of the time of writing, an Israel Defense Forces spokesperson used the term “dozens” with reference to the number of hostages taken.
Video clips of hostages were circulated constantly on various media and several were identified as a result of their being recognized on those clips.
It didn’t take long for the fallout to begin over what was immediately described as Israel’s worst military disaster since the 1973 Yom Kippur War. Critics lambasted Prime Minister Netanyahu and the IDF for a total lack of preparedness for an attack of this sort. The same themes were echoed over and over: Israel had concentrated too many of its forces on the West Bank with the result that the Gaza border was all too vulnerable; the infighting over judicial reform had diverted an inexperienced and right-wing government from external threats as it advanced the preoccupation of its most radical members to build more settlements; finally, there was a serious lack of human intelligence that would have alerted the IDF to what Hamas was planning while, at the same time, it was far too complacent about whatever security measures it had in place next to the border with Gaza.
Yet, as much as Hamas may have been tactically brilliant in how they carried off their initial attack, they may have now left Israel with no choice but to respond with violence on a scale that may yet lead to a much wider conflagration. The possibility that Hezbollah may enter the war is awful to contemplate, but that is a real possibility given the level of Israel’s response to Hamas that is being readied as this is being written.
Post script: It is now seven days since the massacre of Israelis and taking of hostages occurred. Rallies have been held throughout the world by Jews and their friends, yet as I write this we’re all bracing for what is to come – and thoughts of the hostages are uppermost on most of our minds.
Israel
Join the Masa Canadian Professionals Volunteers Program!
You are invited on a 4-week volunteer program in Israel from October 14th to November 10th. Help rebuild Israeli society post-October 7th over Canadian Thanksgiving, Sukkot, and Simchat Torah. Spend three weeks based in Tel Aviv and one week based in Eilat!
This program is exclusively for Jewish professionals aged 22-50, working at Jewish organizations or remotely in any field.
The cost of the program is $150 USD to the organizer and $50 USD to Masa. Participants will receive a Masa grant of $2650 USD that is applied to participation and to cover additional costs. The cost of the program includes housing, meals while volunteering, transportation on travel days, health insurance, leadership training, and more. Volunteers are required to commit to the volunteer schedule, with the understanding that there will be the flexibility to work remotely for 8 specific days during the program. Flights are not included but you get a 15% discount from El Al.
Sign up here: https://www.masaisrael.org/go/canada-jp/ space is limited!
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make a difference and connect with fellow professionals. For more information, contact Mahla Finkleman, National Manager of Partnerships and Outreach, Masa Canada, atmfinkleman@ujafed.org and/or Sam Goodman, Senior Manager of Israel Engagement, sgoodman@ujafed.org.
Save the Dates for Info Sessions:
- Thursday, September 5th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
- Wednesday, September 11th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
Join us in Israel for a meaningful and impactful experience with Masa!
weeks based in Tel Aviv and one week based in Eilat!
This program is exclusively for Jewish professionals aged 22-50, working at Jewish organizations or remotely in any field.
The cost of the program is $150 USD to the organizer and $50 USD to Masa. Participants will receive a Masa grant of $2650 USD that is applied to participation and to cover additional costs. The cost of the program includes housing, meals while volunteering, transportation on travel days, health insurance, leadership training, and more. Volunteers are required to commit to the volunteer schedule, with the understanding that there will be the flexibility to work remotely for 8 specific days during the program. Flights are not included but you get a 15% discount from El Al.
Sign up here: https://www.masaisrael.org/go/canada-jp/ space is limited!
Don’t miss this unique opportunity to make a difference and connect with fellow professionals. For more information, contact Mahla Finkleman, National Manager of Partnerships and Outreach, Masa Canada, atmfinkleman@ujafed.org and/or Sam Goodman, Senior Manager of Israel Engagement, sgoodman@ujafed.org.
Save the Dates for Info Sessions:
- Thursday, September 5th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
- Wednesday, September 11th, 12:00 – 12:30 EST
Join us in Israel for a meaningful and impactful experience with Masa!
Features
New website for Israelis interested in moving to Canada
By BERNIE BELLAN (May 21, 2024) A new website, titled “Orvrim to Canada” (https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/ovrim-en) has been receiving hundreds of thousands of visits, according to Michal Harel, operator of the website.
In an email sent to jewishpostandnews.ca Michal explained the reasons for her having started the website:
“In response to the October 7th events, a group of friends and I, all Israeli-Canadian immigrants, came together to launch a new website supporting Israelis relocating to Canada. “Our website, https://www.ovrimtocanada.com/, offers a comprehensive platform featuring:
- Step-by-step guides for starting the immigration process
- Settlement support and guidance
- Community connections and networking opportunities
- Business relocation assistance and expert advice
- Personal blog sharing immigrants’ experiences and insights
“With over 200,000 visitors and media coverage from prominent Israeli TV channels and newspapers, our website has already made a significant impact in many lives.”
A quick look at the website shows that it contains a wealth of information, almost all in Hebrew, but with an English version that gives an overview of what the website is all about.
The English version also contains a link to a Jerusalem Post story, published this past February, titled “Tired of war? Canada grants multi-year visas to Israelis” (https://www.jpost.com/israel-news/article-787914#google_vignette) That story not only explains the requirements involved for anyone interested in moving to Canada from Israel, it gives a detailed breakdown of the costs one should expect to encounter.
(Updated May 28)
We contacted Ms. Harel to ask whether she’s aware whether there has been an increase in the number of Israelis deciding to emigrate from Israel since October 7. (We want to make clear that we’re not advocating for Israelis to emigrate; we’re simply wanting to learn more about emigration figures – and whether there has been a change in the number of Israelis wanting to leave the country.)
Ms. Harel referred us to a website titled “Globes”: https://www.globes.co.il/news/article.aspx?did=1001471862
The website is in Hebrew, but we were able to translate it into English. There is a graph on the website showing both numbers of immigrants to Israel and emigrants.
The graph shows a fairly steady rate of emigration from 2015-2022, hovering in the 40,000 range, then in 2023 there’s a sudden increase in the number of emigrants to 60,000.
According to the website, the increase in emigrants is due more to a change in the methodology that Israel has been using to count immigrants and emigrants than it is to any sudden upsurge in emigration. (Apparently individuals who had formerly been living in Israel but who may have returned to Israel just once a year were being counted as having immigrated back to Israel. Now that they are no longer being counted as immigrants and instead are being treated as emigrants, the numbers have shifted radically.)
Yet, the website adds this warning: “The figures do not take into account the effects of the war, since it is still not possible to identify those who chose to emigrate following it. It is also difficult to estimate what Yalad Yom will produce – on the one hand, anti-Semitism and hatred of Jews and Israelis around the world reminds everyone where the Jewish home is. On the other hand, the bitter truth we discovered in October is that it was precisely in Israel, the safe fortress of the Jewish people, that a massacre took place reminding us of the horrors of the Holocaust. And if that’s not enough, the explosive social atmosphere and the difference in the state budget deficit, which will inevitably lead to a heavy burden of taxes and a reduction in public services, may convince Zionist Israelis that they don’t belong here.”
Thus, as much as many of us would be disappointed to learn that there is now an upsurge in Israelis wanting to move out of the country, once reliable figures begin to be produced for 2024, we shouldn’t be surprised to learn that is the case – which helps to explain the tremendous popularity of Ms. Harel’s website.
Features
Message from a Palestinian in Gaza to protesters: “You’re hurting the Palestinian cause”
A very brave Palestinian who was willing to put his name to paper and write an article for Newsweek Magazine has exposed the utter hypocrisy of all those students – and others, who have been setting up encampments across the U.S. – and now Canada, too.
You can read the article at https://www.newsweek.com/message-gazan-campus-protesters-youre-hurting-palestinian-cause-opinion-1894313