By Steve Kelman, FSWC Senate

Oneof the unexpected pressures of being President is the requirement to writethese articles. I am conscious of tryingto write something that will be meaningful and always searching for interestingtopics.  Well, I was lucky enough to takepart in a mission to Israel from April 15-19, organized by Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre (FSWC) – a wonderful organization promoting tolerance andadvocating effectively on issues of importance to Jews and Israel, and certainlyworthy of support – and have a lot to write about! 

Thoughthe mission only lasted five frenetic days, we had many memorable experiences,thanks to the organization and influence of FSWC.  We had dinner with the Canadian Ambassador toIsrael, Deborah Lyons, who is clearly a friend of Israel and inspired by itsenergy and motivated to educate the Canadian public about its strengths. We received military and security briefingson the Syrian, Lebanese and Gaza borders from retired and ranking IDFrepresentatives.  We attended a moving Yom Hazikaron ceremony(Remembrance Day) in Ashkelon and experienced an indescribablemoment of silence where a siren pierced the air for two minutes and everyonestopped to remember and pay tribute to those who lost their lives defendingIsrael or who were victims of terror.  Weattended an inspiring ceremony for Yom Ha'atzmaut (Independence Day) andwitnessed the magical way the country shifts from mourning the fallen to theexuberance and pride for all that Israel has accomplished in 70 short years;that night we also wandered the mobbed streets of Jerusalem, attended manyoutdoor parties and made it to the Kotel at 1 a.m.  We visited a major air force base and metwith its inspiring commander who confidently, but in an understated way,assured us that Israel could meet any challenge that may confront it andmentioned how much Israelis appreciate support from the Diaspora.  And, the foregoing is not even an exhaustivelist of the things we were lucky enough to see and do! 

I have been fortunate to visitIsrael many times and from different perspectives, including as part of theMarch of Living.  On each trip, I learnmore and feel as if I have a more nuanced and textured understanding of thecountry.  But this trip allowed me to reachnew depths.  Though I am still processingthe experiences we had, there are three particular events that had the mostprofound impact on me and that illuminated the soul of a country beset byseemingly insurmountable challenges but that remains self-assured, optimistic, creative,resolute and, most of all, humane.

My wife and I drove throughGaza on our way to Egypt more than 30 years ago at a time when that waspossible.  I had never made it back tothis part of Israel again.  I have read alot about the challenges facing Sderot and the other communities adjacent tothe Gaza border, particularly of late, and knew that residents of the area hadonly five seconds from the time an air raid siren signalled incoming missilesto seek shelter.  However, I wascompletely unprepared for what I saw – bomb shelters next to swimming pools andbasketball courts, and a school with no windows on the side where missilesmight hit.  It made you marvel at theresilience of the inhabitants and outraged that they were compelled to endurethese hardships.  We were escorted by aretired Brigadier General who made two interesting observations.  First, he recounted how he often had meetingswith visiting U.S. military officials who, when they realized that the Palestiniansin Gaza were purposefully aiming at civilians (including children in schools),said the U.S. would not tolerate that situation and would have turned Gaza intoa “parking lot”.  Secondly, andincredibly, though he certainly empathized with this visceral reaction, the BrigadierGeneral said that the Israeli mainstream would not tolerate such an extremeresponse, even in the face of such wanton aggression.    

We had the unique opportunityto participate in a “training” session led by an elite special forcescommander, who reminded me of some of the soldiers who have come through ourShul as part of the Peace of Mind program. He was fiercely patriotic, stating with palpable resolve that Jews willnever “walk in lines” to their death again, and that we waited 2000 years tohave the safety of our own land and that we cannot rely on anyone other thanourselves for protection.  He used theinfamous terrorist attack in which Udi and Ruth Fogel and their children Yoav(11), Elad (4) and Hadas (three months old) were murdered in their beds byterrorists to illustrate the incomprehensible hatred that can drive a humanbeing to commit such unspeakable acts. At the same time, he was quick to impress upon us that Israel’s enemiesare terrorists, and not all Arabs or Muslims. This is, to say the least, a measured sentiment from someone who istasked with confronting those enemies and one I have heard repeatedly fromsoldiers that have stayed with us.  Hepoignantly concluded by saying that Israeli soldiers are motivated by the needto protect the land and people that they love and how this always triumph overthose motivated and consumed by hatred. 

We had the privilege of meetingthe commander of the IDF base responsible for the implementation of the “Good NeighborProgram” on the Syrian border, which includes medical treatment for, and humanitarianaid to, neighbouring Syrian communities, as well as providing logisticalsupport and security for a clinic run on the border by an evangelical Christianorganization.  This commander described,in the most moving terms, that these operations were undertaken at considerablerisk to his troops, but were simply the right and humane thing to do,especially amidst the carnage and desperation afflicting the Syrians in thearea.  He was emphatic that a soldier whoexperiences the feeling of helping a child in these circumstances will make abetter warrior when it comes time to fight Hezbollah.  He showed us a picture of an Israeli flagdrawn by a Syrian child that had his name and her name on the top of it andtold us how this was one of his most prized possessions.  He also showed us a photograph that I willnever forget of a young Israeli soldier, with a determined but compassionatelook on his face, carrying a Syrian child to safety through the night. 

These examples of principledrestraint, balanced patriotism, compassion and humanity, especially in the faceof existential challenges, were compelling and moved me in ways that areimpossible to adequately articulate.  Ican say, with certainty, that I have never been prouder of Israel or the Jewishvalues that infuse it.