Avi Benlolo of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative was in Vancouver Nov. 5 to screen the AGPI\u2019s new film, Heart of Courage, about Jewish resilience in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. (photo by Pat Johnson)<\/i><\/i><\/p>\n
Against a \u201ctsunami\u201d of anti-Israel and antisemitic content online and in the broader society, Jews and pro-Israel voices need to do a better job getting their message out, according to Avi Benlolo.<\/p>\n
Benlolo is founding chair and chief executive officer of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative (AGPI), whose mandate is to study and research international human rights, fundamental freedoms, democracy, global peace and civil society in Canada, Israel and around the world. He was previously founding president and CEO of Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre and writes weekly in the\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n National Post. He was in Vancouver screening AGPI\u2019s new 40-minute film, Heart of Courage<\/i> and spoke with Rabbi Jonathan Infeld at Congregation Beth Israel Nov. 5. He was introduced by Diane Friedman, the congregation\u2019s adult program director.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The film features a soldier playing John Lennon\u2019s \u201cImagine\u201d on a piano in Tel Aviv\u2019s Hostages Square.<\/p>\n \u201cHis music becomes his voice, a testament to the resilience of his spirit and the strength of his people,\u201d the narrator intones. \u201cHis teary eyes remain wide open, reflecting the weight of his generation\u2019s struggle. He plays for a world he longs to see, a world of peace. In that moment, his dreams reach beyond the darkness, yet his resolve remains unshaken. This soldier is part of a chain, a line of defenders stretching back through history, each bound by an unyielding commitment to Israel\u2019s survival.\u201d<\/p>\n Produced prior to the ceasefire, the film includes Benlolo interviewing people at the weekly rallies that drew hundreds of thousands of people in Tel Aviv, many of them family members of hostages. Some have risen to prominence as voices for those held in Gaza and their relatives.<\/p>\n Benlolo visits an art installation that serves as a memorial monument adjacent to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs\u2019 building in Jerusalem. The work, titled \u201cMemory Pomegranate 7.10.2023,\u201d is a sculpture of a pomegranate with multi-coloured glass and ceramics, visual shards and fragments that metaphorically reference broken lives, trauma and loss, but together form a hopeful whole, emphasizing life, resilience and collective memory. The artwork integrates electronic tags that allow a smartphone or other device to access digital content to learn more about the events of 10\/7 and the people and communities affected.<\/p>\n Sharing stories of non-Jews who saved lives on 10\/7, the film declares, \u201cIn Israel, heroism knows no bounds of religion, ethnicity or background. On Oct. 7, amid the chaos, countless stories emerged of Muslims, Druze, Christians and Bedouins risking everything to protect their fellow citizens.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n After the screening, Benlolo and Infeld spoke of the hurdles to getting the message out.<\/p>\n Benlolo, who has worked extensively in multicultural and interfaith sectors, plans to screen Heart of Courage<\/i> for diverse audiences, as his organization has done with previous films.<\/p>\n The biggest challenge, Benlolo said, may be reaching younger audiences, for whom anti-Israel activism has become \u201ccool.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe have to go to them and get to them through the technology that exists today,\u201d he said. \u201cSocial media in particular.\u201d<\/p>\n This presents its own challenges, he noted, as there is a \u201ctsunami\u201d of anti-Israel and antisemitic content.<\/p>\n The silver lining of this era, according to Benlolo, is a new generation of engaged Jewish young people.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat we all saw as a result of Oct. 7 was Jewish youth for the first time ever walking proudly with Magen Davids around their necks, fighting back, distancing themselves from people who have rejected them and reject the state of Israel,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n While the film paints a picture of a unified Israeli society, Benlolo acknowledged divisions, rifts that will likely be exacerbated in next year\u2019s national elections.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n One of the most visible points of discord is the debate over Haredi conscription. Benlolo is unequivocal on this topic. Asked by Infeld what he would say to the Haredi community, Benlolo said, \u201cWhat\u2019s wrong with you? I mean, honestly.\u2026 To not participate in defending the country and to insist that others do it for you, I think, is wrong.\u201d<\/p>\n Benlolo also pulled no punches on issues closer to home. He said Canada\u2019s government is \u201cpretty much siding with Hamas\u201d and other leaders, such as Toronto\u2019s mayor, are \u201cemboldening the other side.\u201d This inspires violent people to act out, he said, citing a vicious attack on Jewish students near Toronto Metropolitan University earlier that day.<\/p>\n \u201cWhat gives them permission to do that?\u201d Benlolo asked. \u201cIt\u2019s the environment that feeds it. It\u2019s the political leadership that allows it. That is the central problem.\u201d\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Responding to a question from Infeld on the future of Jewish life in Canada, Benlolo noted that Jewish schools and other institutions in parts of Europe are protected by armed guards and he warned that North American Jews may find themselves \u201cin a much more defensive posture.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cI can\u2019t promise you that there\u2019s going to be a good future here in Canada,\u201d he said. \u201cBut, in Israel, at least, we have an ability to wear the uniform and protect ourselves, and that\u2019s an important distinction. It doesn\u2019t mean Israel is 100% safe, as we all know, it doesn\u2019t mean that\u2019s an easy life, but at least it\u2019s a place where we can stand up for ourselves.\u201d<\/p>\n He has plenty of hopefulness for Israel.<\/p>\n \u201cI think that the next chapter for Israel is an optimistic one,\u201d he said, suggesting that more countries will normalize relations with Israel and join the Abraham Accords. He suggests also that Israel\u2019s economy will skyrocket, in part because of all the technology developed as a result of the war. He also predicts continued increasing levels of aliyah.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Avi Benlolo of the Abraham Global Peace Initiative was in Vancouver Nov. 5 to screen the AGPI\u2019s new film, Heart of Courage, about Jewish resilience in the wake of the Oct. 7, 2023, terror attacks. (photo by Pat Johnson) Against a \u201ctsunami\u201d of anti-Israel and antisemitic content online and in the broader society, Jews and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":47954,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[22073,24459,801,1373,547,24460,4330,1025,22725],"class_list":["post-47953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","tag-abraham-global-peace-initiative","tag-agpi","tag-antisemitism","tag-avi-benlolo","tag-beth-israel","tag-heart-of-courage","tag-israel","tag-jonathan-infeld","tag-oct-7"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":8}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=47953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/47953\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/47954"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=47953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=47953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.jewishindependent.ca\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=47953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}