This year, the High Holidays fall later than usual, with Rosh Hashanah just a few days before the anniversary of Oct. 7, 2023 – the most tragic date in the history of modern-day Israel.
The High Holidays offer special opportunities for reflection and renewal, reaffirming what matters most, pursuing positive change and strengthening our connections with others.
As we look back on 5784, we should examine our own actions, reflecting honestly on our challenges and successes, and seeking lessons we can take from our experiences to carry into the year ahead. It’s a time to consider which elements of our lives and our relationships with others need improvement.
This leads naturally to an opportunity to contemplate our intentions and priorities and plan for the future. It is a means of charting a course that aligns with our values and contributes to the strength of our families and our communities.
While Canada remains one of the safest places for Jewish communities, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs’ advocacy – especially since Oct. 7 – has been fueled by a profound dedication to tackling the disturbing rise in antisemitism.
The alarming surge in antisemitism, both online and on the streets, has been deeply shocking. Yet, it has also driven us to forge essential connections with all levels of government, law enforcement, educational institutions and community organizations representing the majority of Canada’s Jewish population and other vulnerable minorities.
Just as the High Holidays are arriving late this year, so too are long-awaited protections from the government. We have seen some progress, but there is much to be done to ensure “bubble legislation” (safe-access laws to protect defined areas from protests, harassment and hate) becomes common, if not ubiquitous, across Canada. Vaughan, Ont., has adopted an encouraging example, and many other municipalities have expressed serious interest in following suit, but there is still much work ahead.
Federal online hate legislation has been in development under various ministries for years, and we are not backing down on contributing to and securing this fundamental legislation that will enhance security measures.
The accusations against Israel of war crimes from the International Court of Justice (ICJ) are both absurd and detrimental to Canada and the West’s long-standing policies aimed at achieving peace in the Middle East. If the Canadian government wants to rescue the reputation of the ICJ, it must denounce this evidence of its politicization.
Antisemitism is not a “Jewish” problem. Jew-hatred poses a grave danger to all who cherish our core Canadian values. We know from history that, wherever antisemitism is allowed to thrive unchecked, social malaise and political oppression follow. Its defeat requires a concentrated, multi-pronged approach involving many cultural, political, ethnic and faith organizations, as well as individuals from across the country. Together, we are working to combat antisemitism while building relationships with many partner groups, promoting the Canadian values of dialogue and understanding, tolerance and respect.
As Canada’s special envoy on preserving Holocaust remembrance and combatting antisemitism, Deborah Lyons, wrote in a July op-ed in the National Post: “Jews did not create antisemitism and … it is not on them to fight it alone.”
As we approach the sad and sombre anniversary of the Oct. 7 massacre, many will join us in honouring the memories of those murdered by Hamas and in praying for the safe return of the hostages and for the restoration of peace to the region. And, if we are so blessed to have welcomed home the hostages by the time you are reading this, we’ll have more to celebrate as we begin the new year.
In the meantime, I wish you a sweet, healthy, peaceful and happy 5785.
Judy Zelikovitzis vice-president, university and local partner services, at the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs.
Clockwise from top left: Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alex Lubanov, Ori Danino, Almog Sarusi. (photos from internet).
This article is an edited version of a blog posted on Sept. 2, 2024.
Carmel Gat, Hersh Goldberg-Polin, Eden Yerushalmi, Alex Lubanov, Ori Danino, Almog Sarusi. The cursor has been blinking below these six names and faces.
I haven’t known where to begin because there are so many emotions swirling, yet, despite the tears of devastation and despair that come to the surface and back away again, my predominant emotions are rage and frustration.
Rage at the savage and violent ends for these beautiful men and women, and frustration that, even in Israel, many have assumed that so few hostages could possibly still be alive, that only 30 or 40 are likely still alive. Well, here we had six, who were all held in tunnels, where just oxygen is tough to find, surviving a Middle Eastern summer with practically no food or water or personal hygiene for close to a year, and they are not dead because they couldn’t survive – they did survive. They are dead because they were murdered by Hamas at close range and, although it is customary in Judaism not to say details that will hurt the families or the memories of their loved ones, due to the level of urgency of this situation for now close to a year, I feel it is crucial to state that it is known that these particular six hostages were tortured badly before they were shot.
It is important to point out the brutality of Hamas. It was an incredibly bold move for Hamas to select two young women and an American man, whose mother was on the cover of Time magazine and whose parents just gave an electrifying speech on Aug. 21 at the Democratic National Convention, as hostages to murder so savagely. This speaks volumes to me. Hamas is fearless – and why shouldn’t they be? All of the pressure for a ceasefire has been on Israel. All of the pressure for the war to end has been on Israel. How about: “Give us back our people” instead of “Bring them home now,” why not, “Send them home now”?
The tunnel these hostages were found in was located less than a mile from the tunnel in Rafah from which Farhan al-Qadi, a Bedouin-Israeli hostage, was rescued, so it is possible that the Israel Defence Forces’ proximity led Hamas to make this horrific decision, but, had the IDF been “permitted” to enter Rafah sooner and more aggressively, perhaps more could have been done to save these human beings and the rest of the hostages months ago.
The anger I feel is complicated. I traveled alone to Israel last November to write about the hostages and got so involved there that I stayed until March. It is hard being in the diaspora right now, as I am realizing more and more regularly that Jews outside of Israel aren’t understanding how Israeli Jews feel right now and what they need so badly from us. I’ve tried to communicate this through my piece about Alon Ohel which can be read at melanie-preston.com. (His mom’s words put it so perfectly.)
The vast majority of Jews in the diaspora love Israel, and so they visit and they donate and they believe that if there ever were an emergency in the world, Israel would welcome them. But this isn’t something that can be taken for granted – that Israel will always be the safest country for Jews. It has not felt that way for Israelis since Oct. 7.
If such a brutal attack can happen in Israel, and the government won’t do everything in its power to bring the hostages home alive, then Iran can perhaps win this war because Israelis will start to leave. This is something Hezbollah’s Hassan Nasrallah has said in his speeches lately. He has said Israelis will lose faith in their own government, tourism will stop and the economy will be destroyed. We already know that Iran is winning the propaganda war.
If Israelis no longer have faith in their system and feel they are not cared for as the top priority, which was happening before Oct. 7, and which many feel led to the Oct. 7 attack in the first place, then they won’t want to continue risking their lives or their children’s lives for the ideals of the Zionist state.
It is the belief of many in Israel that these six beautiful souls did not need to die, and these six are beautiful souls. I knew a lot about two of them and have spent the past days learning about the other four. My eyes are swollen from crying.
The hearts of Israelis have been shredded for close to a year, and there is still no healing in sight. Rarely do they ask for help from the diaspora, but, more than any other time in modern Israel’s history, they need us. They need all the Jews of the world putting all the pressure we can muster to get a deal done to bring the remaining hostages home alive. Anything else we need to do for the country’s security can still be done after this first priority – life – is once again prioritized.
***
I am going to start with Carmel Gat from Kibbutz Be’eri, the woman with the infectious smile, because I feel like I have gotten to know her through her friend Adam Rapoport, who took me to see Be’eri after I met him when I was writing about a different hostage who was murdered in Gaza back in January (Itay Svirsky). Adam, Itay and Carmel went to the same school.
Carmel was raised on the kibbutz but lived in Tel Aviv and worked as an occupational therapist.
“She was such a loving person, such a peace-loving person. She has friends who speak all languages and are from all backgrounds,” said her cousin, Gil Dickmann, on CNN. “She was always looking for ways to treat others, and to take care of them during their most horrible phases and times of their lives. We know that, in captivity, she actually took care of two youngster hostages who were with her, and she practised yoga with them and meditation with them to make sure that they came through this horrible experience OK, and … when they came back, we were so glad to hear this because this is exactly what Carmel is, and she managed to stay herself in captivity and to take care of others … that was such an amazing thing for us to hear. And, to know that after all this, after 11 months in captivity, she lost her life in such a horrible way and we missed getting her back by so little, is devastating.”
Imagine mastering a practice with such grace that you could be stolen by a terrorist group and manage to not just sustain your own light but spread it, teach it, bringing light into the darkest tunnels of horror – that is nothing short of holy work.
On Oct. 7, Carmel was in Be’eri visiting her parents, and witnessed the murder of her mother before she was ripped away from her life and taken to Gaza. Throughout her time in captivity, “Yoga for Carmel” was done all over the world, with people not knowing if she was alive or not, but choosing to send her strength through yoga.
Well, she was alive. She was alive in a tunnel. For almost 11 months. Not only was Carmel slated to be released on day one of any new deal, but she was on the list to be released at the end of November. Had the ceasefire not been broken by Hamas, she would have been out at the beginning of December.
Carmel turned 40 years old in Gaza, in May, a couple of days after my own birthday, and I felt this strong connection and kept wondering if that meant she was alive. How I wanted her to come back. How I wanted to meet this woman of strength when I returned to Israel, when I would spend more time on Be’eri. Instead, the number of dead from Be’eri has increased to 102.
May the memory of Carmel be a blessing to all who were lucky enough to have known her, and especially to the children she taught yoga to in Gaza to help them during their two months of terror. May they find someone with Carmel’s light to get them through this.
***
Hersch Goldberg-Polin was supposed to embark on a globetrotting backpacking trip last December, like I did at 23. The kid who loved maps and atlases, who so many Americans feel like they know, thanks to his incredible parents, Rachel Goldberg-Polin and Jon Polin.
Through the sharing of fun facts about Hersh, we have grown to love him, and creative ideas to keep his name out there included giving the name Hersh when ordering coffee at Starbucks, just to hear “Hersh!” whenit’s ready.
His mother came up with counting the days of this war by ripping off a piece of masking tape every day, writing in marker the day number of captivity and sticking the piece of tape on her shirt. Her Instagram videos have discussed the process of the number changing from two digits to three, as well as how it feels when one roll of tape ends and another begins.
Hersh was seen on video being taken on Oct. 7. The video showed him being loaded onto a truck, and made clear that his arm was blown off. This was all his parents knew about their only son for a long time.
As Passover began, Hamas released a video of Hersh, in which you could see that his left arm – his dominant arm, his mom would always stress – was now a stub. In that video, he stated that he was living without sunlight, food or water, and that he would not have peace on the holiday, but hoped they would.
Hersh’s parents spoke clearly and strongly to those involved in the hostage negotiations: Qatar, Egypt, the United States, Hamas and Israel. “Be brave, lean in, seize this moment and get a deal done to reunite all of us with our loved ones and end the suffering in this region,” said his father, with respect to all involved. His mom added: “And Hersh, if you can hear this … we heard your voice today for the first time in 201 days … and if you can hear us, I am telling you, we are telling you – we love you. Stay strong. Survive.”
These words resonated with the hostage families and became a mantra for their loved ones. But, less than two weeks after Rachel and Jon spoke with such power and grace, they learned that Hersh came to a torturous end.
May we hold his family in the light and love that they have demonstrated to all sufferers in this conflict on both sides, since the very beginning.
May the memory of this young man, with the adventurous spirit he didn’t get to use nearly enough, be a blessing for all who knew and loved him, and for those of us who feel like we did.
***
Eden Yerushalmi was from Tel Aviv and studying to be a pilates instructor. She was bartending at the Nova festival and sent her family multiple videos as the attack began. According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, the final texts she sent her family that day were “They’ve caught me,” and then “Find me, okay?” These are the chilling words they were left to grapple with.
The striking photo of her at the beach always stopped me in my tracks in Israel, whenever I came across it in Hostages Square or on a supermarket window or café wall. It forced me yet again to take in the enormity of this tragedy, and to imagine something so sick and horrifying happening to someone.
May Eden’s memory be a blessing for all who knew and loved her.
***
Alexander Lubanov was a bar manager at the Nova Festival and the father of a 2-year-old on Oct. 7. His wife was pregnant at the time and gave birth alone while he was in Gaza. Their baby is now five months old. May Alex’s memory be a blessing to his wife, his very young children and all who knew and loved him.
***
Ori Danino was escaping the Nova festival on Oct.7, but turned his car around to rescue more people. He was from Jerusalem and had five younger brothers and sisters.
He was happiest when he was out in nature and around people, and “the best partner you can imagine,” his girlfriend, Liel Avraham, told the Jerusalem Post.
Ori left the festival with his friend in separate cars, to help as many people out as possible. He phoned his friend to ask for the phone number of festival-goers they had just met. He returned to get them, and this was the last his friend heard from him. It was determined that those Ori turned around to get were also taken hostage.
May his memory be a blessing to all who knew and loved him.
***
According to the Hostages and Missing Families Forum, Almog Sarusi loved traveling around Israel in his white Jeep with his guitar. His girlfriend of five years was murdered at the Nova festival, and he stayed by her side, hoping to help her. He was captured and taken hostage into Gaza.
May Almog’s memory be a blessing to all who knew and loved him.
Melanie Prestonis a Canadian-born, American-raised, Jewish writer and traveler who discovered Israel at the age of 26, immigrated to the country and stayed for seven years. She flew to Israel alone on Nov. 16, 2023, from her home in Charlotte, NC, and was there to March of this year. She is saving to move back to Israel to continue writing about the hostages. She intends to work with the children of Be’eri at Kibbutz Hatzerim and cover the rebuilding of Kibbutz Be’eri. For more information, visit melanie-preston.com. To support her work, go to gofundme.com.
ראש ממשלת קנדה, ג’סטין טרודו, נועד עם מפקד משטרת טורונטו על רקע העליה החדה במספר האירועים האנטישמיים בקנדה. טרודו ציין כי הוא דן עם מפקד משטרה להבטיח את שלומם של היהודים בעיר ולפעול בכל דרך נדרשת כדי להתמודד עם השנאה על כל ביטוייה
בנוסף, נפגש טרודו עם מנהיגים בקהילה היהודית בטורונטו המודאגים מהעליה בהיקף האנטישמיות בעקבות מתקפת חמאס והג’יהאד האיסלאמי נגד ישראל בשבעה באוקטובר. ובעקבותיה המלחמה הקשה שישראל מנהלת בעזה שהביא למותם של עשרות אלפי אזרחים בהם נשים וילדים רבים. טרודו אמר לראשי קהילה היהודית כי הוא מודה להם על שהביעו בכנות את הכאב, הזעם והיגון שלהם. “אני מקשיב לכם. אני רוצה שתדעו שיש לנו מחויבות בלתי מעורערת לכם ולישראל כמדינה יהודית ודמוקרטית”
טרודו הוסיף: “אני רוצה שתדעו, כי אני נמשיך להיות ממוקדים במאבק באנטישמיות ולהבטיח שאתם וכל היהודים בקנדה יהיו בטוחים מפני אלימות אנטישמית. זו פעולה שכולנו, ובפרט קנדים שאינם יהודים, חייבים לעשות ביחד”
מאז אוקטובר נרשמה עליה חדה באנטישמיות בקנדה, ובכלל זה דווח על שני אירועי ירי ושני אירועי השלכת בקבוקי תבערה לעבר מוסדות יהודיים במונטריאול, חבלה וניסיון להצית סופרמרקט בבעלות יהודית בטורונטו, ונדליזם בחנות ספרים בבעלות יהודית בטורונטו, ניפוץ שמשות של מכונית שעליה דגל ישראל מצפון לטורונטו, התנכלות והשמעת ביטויים אנטישמיים כלפי יהודים שיצאו מבית כנסת מצפון לטורונטו
טרודו, ציין כי הוא אינו מביע תמיכה בתביעה שהגישה דרום אפריקה בבית הדין הבינלאומי נגד ישראל בטענה שהיא מבצעת רצח עם ברצועת עזה. בשיחה עם עיתונאים אמר טרודו, כי תמיכתה של קנדה בבית הדין הבינלאומי ובהליכים שהוא מנהל אין משמעותה שקנדה תומכת בהנחה שבתביעה שהוגשה על ידי דרום אפריקה
ואילו שרת החוץ של קנדה, מלאני ג’ולי, ציינה כי קנדה ממשיכה לגנות בחריפות ובאופן חד משמעי את מתקפת הטרור של חמאס על ישראל. לדבריה, חמאס היא ישות טרור מוכרזת שממשיכה לקרוא במפורש לחיסול יהודים ולהשמדת מדינת ישראל. לישראל הזכות להתקיים ולהגן על עצמה מפני התקפות טרור בהתאם לחוק הבינלאומי. בהגנה על עצמה, ועל ישראל לכבד את המשפט ההומניטרי הבינלאומי. ג’ולי: “קנדה נותרה מודאגת עמוקות מהיקף המשבר ההומניטרי בעזה ומהסיכונים המתמשכים לכל האזרחים הפלסטינים. יש להגביר ולשמור על גישה הומניטרית בטוחה וללא הפרעה. קנדה תומכת במאמצים בינלאומיים דחופים לקראת הפסקת אש בת קיימא. זה לא יכול להיות חד צדדי. על חמאס לשחרר את כל בני הערובה, להפסיק להשתמש באזרחים פלסטינים כמגנים אנושיים ולהניח את נשקו”
גם שרת החוץ ציינה כי התמיכה הבלתי מעורערת של קנדה במשפט הבינלאומי ובבית הדין הבינלאומי אין משמעותה שהיא מקבלת את הנחת היסוד של התביעה שהגישה דרום אפריקה. “אנו נעקוב מקרוב אחר ההליכים בתיק של דרום אפריקה בבית הדין הבינלאומי לצדק”, אמרה עוד ג’ולי
על פי אמנת רצח העם של האו”ם משנת אלף תשע מאות ארבעים ושמונה, הפשע של רצח עם דורש כוונה להרוס או להרוס חלקית קבוצה בגלל הלאום, האתניות, הגזע או הדת שלה. עמידה ברף הגבוה הזה דורשת ראיות משכנעות
שרת החוץ הקנדית הזהירה מפני סכנת האנטישמיות. “עלינו להבטיח שהצעדים הפרוצדורליים במקרה זה לא ישמשו לטפח אנטישמיות והטרדה של שכונות יהודיות, עסקים ואנשים פרטיים. במקביל, נמשיך לעמוד נגד האיסלאמופוביה והרגשות האנטי-ערביים. קנדה נותרה מחויבת בתוקף להילחם בדעות קדומות, שנאה וקיצוניות אלימה”
This week’s suggestion of a time-limited ceasefire that would free remaining hostages in Gaza and return the bodies of the dead to their families seems, in the context of a bleak historical moment, encouraging. The optics of bartering for the lives (and dead bodies) of Jews is something that should (but won’t) make the world recoil in revulsion. Nonetheless, anything that brings the hostages home is worthy of consideration.
A comprehensive agreement brokered by third parties could have positive results, even as it includes the releasing of Palestinians imprisoned in Israel, including those who are guilty of terrorism. At a minimum, it would not be the vague “ceasefire” some have been calling for, which others might view as letting Hamas off the hook for their atrocities. A blanket ceasefire without a release of hostages is, and should be, out of the question.
All this talk of ceasefire, though, should raise a question almost no one seems to be asking. With so many calls for Israel to declare a ceasefire, why is no one – seemingly no one, including Israel-supporting voices – calling for Hamas to surrender?
Conceivably, this particular war could end tomorrow if Hamas conceded. Why aren’t the voices who want to end this war now calling for the one step that could realize that goal?
Certainly, the idea of Hamas surrendering and their leaders facing justice is unpalatable to sympathizers in the West. There is a not-negligible number of activists and commentators who not only support the Palestinian “resistance” in theory, but support it at its most brutal, celebrating the kidnappings, rapes and murders as “amazing” and “brilliant” (in the words of just one college instructor on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery in October).
There is also the slightly more convincing idea that, while a democratic government like Israel’s may be swayed by overseas public opinion, a terror regime will not be. As fair as this assumption may seem on its face, evidence debunks it. Millions of people marching worldwide, dressings-down by the United States’ president and top diplomat, a show trial over “genocide” at the International Court of Justice and what seems like a world aligned against it seems to have altered the Israeli resolve not a gram.
The inevitable fallback position in these discussions is that Israel is the powerful party here and so holds the cards. The power differential does not mean, though, that Israelis either are not vulnerable or that they are to blame for the war. For the families of those murdered on Oct. 7 and the Israeli soldiers killed in this conflict, power differentials are a pile of dirt next to empty chairs at their tables. For whatever power discrepancies might exist, Hamas has shown its ability to breech Israel’s defences, and its resolve to do so again, if it can. Hamas has the one card up its sleeve that could end this war: surrender.
Calls for a ceasefire imply that Israel should surrender itself to a future of perpetual terror, because Hamas has repeatedly expressed the determination to fight until Israel is eliminated – setting up a zero-sum situation in which anything short of the complete eradication of Hamas is a defeat for Israel. On the other hand, Israel has made unilateral moves in the past – disengaging from Gaza in 2005, for example – and will likely be forced to do so again as perpetual war is untenable on several levels.
As numerous commentators recently have suggested, total de-Hamas-ification of Gaza is probably unlikely. Perhaps the endpoint will be a situation in which Israel has achieved a position of unequivocal strength, with the likelihood of a repeat of Oct. 7 eliminated, and some as-yet-unimagined political structure in place in Gaza. While street activists and diplomats worldwide think they have all the answers to what Israel should do, not one group has stepped up to suggest they would serve as peacekeepers or otherwise oversee Gaza’s transition away from Hamas’s regime. There are, of course, larger geopolitical imperatives, including the maintenance and expansion of the Abraham Accords, which Saudi Arabia has said depend on a two-state solution. Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu, to the consternation of American and other officials, is insisting Palestinian statehood is off the table for now.
Another realistic reason why Western observers may not be calling on Hamas to give up is the understanding – intuitive, if not conscious – that Hamas will never surrender because it is determined to continue this fight regardless of cost and futility. Their stated goal is the eradication of Israel even if that takes generations. Hamas leaders have indicated that thousands upon thousands of dead Palestinians are a small price to pay for a centimetre’s advance toward that ultimate goal. The embedding of terror infrastructure in civilian areas, the use of human shields and child combatants are evidence that Hamas will fight to the last person.
In Jewish cyberspace and in Israel-minded media, there have been millions of words spilled in recent weeks about the necessity of victory, the justness of the war even in the face of the mounting casualties and much more. There also have been calls for a ceasefire as a way to get the beloved hostages back home with their families and their hurting nation.
Given what’s at stake, we hope and pray for what seems impossible, a Hamas surrender. We also hope and pray for the possible – that Israel will be victorious in achieving its security, that there will be a world in which both Israel and Palestine coexist in peace. And, more immediately, that the hostages will be returned.
חמישה חברי פרלמנט ליברלים בקנדה שלחו מכתב לראשי עשרים וחמש אוניברסיטאות במדינה, בו ביקשו מהם להצהיר האם קריאה לרצח עם נגד יהודים או חיסול ישראל מפרה את מדיניות האוניברסיטאות שלהם
שאלה דומה שהופנתה כלפי ראשי שלוש האוניברסיטאות היוקרתיות בארה”ב נתקלה בתשובה מזעזעת של יתכן, תלוי בהקשר, מה שהוביל לזעם וביקורת ציבוריים רחבים ואף התפטרות של נשיאת אוניברסיטת פנסילבניה
חברי הפרלמנט הקנדי גם דרשו במכתב ששלחו לראשי האוניברסיטאות להגן על הסטודנטים היהודיים בקמפוסים בעקבות העלייה הדרמטית באנטישמיות גם בקנדה
מה שקורה ליהודים ברחבי קנדה, ובמיוחד בקמפוסים של אוניברסיטאות ברחבי המדינה, הוא בלתי מקובל לחלוטין. ראינו יריות שנורו לעבר בתי ספר יהודיים, פיגועי ירי לעבר מוסדות יהודיים, איומים בחרם על עסקים בבעלות יהודית ודיווחים ברחבי הארץ על סטודנטים יהודים שחשים לא בטוחים בקמפוסים שלהם. זה מלווה בחוסר פעולה מצד הנהגת האוניברסיטאות כדי להגן על סטודנטים יהודי. כך כתבו חברי הפרלמנט בקנדה: אנתוני האוספאט’ר, דיוויד למטי, בן קאר, מרקו מנדיסינו ואנה גייני
המכתב גם פורסם על ידם באופן פומבי ברשתות החברתיות. חמשת חברי הפרלמנט הקנדי ציינו עוד במכתבם כי שמענ על סטודנטים יהודיים שהוטרדו ונתונים לסביבה עוינת בקמפוסים, וכן על עיתוני סטודנטים המסרבים לפרסם מאמרים של תומכי ישראל מאז פרוץ המלחמה בין ישראל לחמאס בשבעה באוקטובר
חברי הפרלמנט מבקשים מראשי האוניברסיטאות להעביר להם תשובה עד סוף החודש (ינואר), לרבות פירוט הצעדים שנקטו ראשי האוניברסיטאות על מנת להגן על הסטודנטים היהודיים בקמפוסים שלהם
שיחה בן טרודו לגנץ
השר בני גנץ שוחח לאחרונה עם ראש ממשלת קנדה ג’סטין טרודו. בהודעה מטעם גנץ נמסר כי הוא הביע בפני טרודו הערכה על תרומתה ומחויבותה של קנדה לביטחון ישראל ולשחרור החטופים משבי ארגון הטרור חמאס
עוד נמסר כי גנץ עדכן את טרודו בהתפתחות המלחמה בעזה ובגבול הצפון. הוא הביע את חשיבות התמיכה הבינלאומית בשלילת יכולותיו הצבאיות והשלטוניות של חמאס, בכדי להביא ליציבות האזור כולו. השניים שוחחו גם, כך נמסר, על הצורך לחזק את הארכיטקטורה האזורית, בדגש על הכוח הימי
בכדי להתמודד עם האיום של החות’ים, שליחי איראן, המאיימים על הכלכלה העולמית במעשי הטרור שלהם בים האדום. לפי ההודעה, גנץ וטרודו סיכמו להמשיך ולעמוד בקשר בהמשך
הפדרציות היהודיות בקנדה גייסו שמונים מיליון דולר לטובת ישראל
עד כה גייסו יהודי קנדה באמצאות הפדרציות ברחבי המדינה סכום של שמונים מיליון דולר קנדי שינותבו כסיוע לעיר שדרות, תושבי העוטף והמדינה. מדובר בגיוס הגדול ביותר של הפדרציות היהודיות בקנדה עבור ישראל מאז מלחמת לבנון השנייה, אז גויסו כארבעים ושישה מיליון דולר קנדי
היעד של ארגון הפדרציות היהודיות של צפון אמריקה הוא להגיע לתרומות של כחצי מיליארד דולר עבור ישראל, לאור המלחמה עם החמאס. התרומות יוקדשו לסיוע כספי עבור נפגעי הטרור, שיקום היישובים שנפגעו ונהרסו ומימון ציוד חירום רפואי, מזון ואספקה על מנת לסייע למפונים והפצועים בשיתוף פעולה עם הסוכנות היהודית והג’וינט. סכום גדול יעבור לשיקומה של העיר שדרות, שמקיימת קשר ארוך שנים עם יהדות קנדה ופדרציית טורונטו בפרט, שתרמה לעיר כחמישה עשר מיליון דולר קנדי לאורך השנים. הגיוס הנוכחי התאפיין בהתגייסות רחבה של חברי הקהילה היהודית מכלל שכבות החברה, כאשר משפחות רבות התעקשו לקחת חלק בתרומה. במגבית קנדה ישראל אומרים: ישראל היא הבית של העם היהודי. אנחנו רוצים להרגיש בטוח בבית שלנו
Weekly vigils calling for the release of hostages held in Gaza continue weekly at the Vancouver Art Gallery.
On Nov. 26, the vigil spotlighted female victims of the atrocities and emphasized the hypocrisy of many groups, including UN Women, an entity ostensibly dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women, which took 50 days to express any concern about Israeli women.
The vigil took place a day after the United Nations International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women.
Rebeka Breder, a lawyer in Vancouver who specializes in animal law, addressed the assembled crowd. She reflected on how, as a child, she looked up to the United Nations as a humanitarian organization.
“Laughable, I know,” she said. “As I have come to learn, and as many of the people standing here have come to learn … the UN is a humanitarian organization – but not for Jewish people.”
The world seemingly cares about women’s rights, she said, except for Jewish women.
“Since Oct. 7, UN Women issued 26 statements about Palestinian women and children versus only three statements about Palestinian and Israelis together,” said Breder. “There is not one statement by UN Women that specifically condemns the brutal rape and mutilation of women’s bodies that was committed by Hamas. Not one. When we look at the photos that are posted by UN Women, most if not all of the pictures are about Palestinian women and children. I’m not saying we shouldn’t care. We should care about all life. But when you see UN Women that is an agency, that is supposed to be standing up and essentially representing women around the world, not post even one — not even one — picture of Oct. 7’s brutal attacks on women and [what] other Jewish people have gone through, it speaks volumes.”
Women’s rights groups and officials in Israel have been working to compile information and evidence about the brutality, rapes, mutilation and other atrocities committed by Hamas, Breder said.
“My understanding is that they have tried a number of times to send this information to UN Women so they can review it and, up until yesterday, there was silence, there was absolutely nothing coming from them,” she said.
Temple Sholom member Shirley Hyman, a board member of ARZA Canada, the voice of Reform Zionism in Canada, paid tribute to Vivian Silver, the Canadian-Israeli woman who was murdered Oct. 7 but who was not confirmed dead until Nov. 14.
“Vivian Silver was a proud Zionist,” said Hyman. “Vivian Silver spent the last four decades working to end the Israeli-Palestinian conflict while advocating for coexistence and harmony between both peoples. She was born in Winnipeg and, after a stint at Hebrew University in Jerusalem, in 1974, she moved to Israel and so began her life as an activist.”
Silver was a founder of Kibbutz Be’eri and oversaw construction projects, while shuttling back and forth to Gaza advancing coexistence.
“When Hamas took over the control of Gaza in 2007, everything changed,” Hyman said. “The closest she got to Gaza was the border, where she picked up sick Palestinians in order to take them to hospitals in Jerusalem.”
Disenchanted with the political left’s inability to end the conflict, Hyman said, Silver “turned to woman power.” She helped found the organization Women Wage Peace (Nashim Osot Shalom, in Hebrew).
“It has today grown to be the largest grassroots organization in Israel composed of both Israelis and Palestinians, numbering over 45,000 and located in 95 different areas,” Hyman said. “Every Monday, they protest at the Knesset, wearing white and turquoise so government officials can identify them. They host peace-building webinars, protests and marches around the country and conduct peace-building activities.”
On Oct. 4, days before she was murdered, Silver was with a group in Bethlehem, protesting at the security barrier in Bethlehem, many wearing T-shirts declaring “Peace is possible.”
Toby Rubin, president of CHW Vancouver, the local branch of the national organization founded as Canadian Hadassah-WIZO, stated, “Violence against women is never resistance.”
“It’s our duty to continue to speak for those who cannot,” she said. “But the silence has been deafening from the international women’s groups. Jewish women, Israeli women, our sisters, deserve the same respect, the same rights, and the same voice as women everywhere. Shame on the global community for deliberately ignoring them. Even if the UN came out yesterday, that was 50 days too late.”
The Canadian branch of the worldwide women’s Zionist organization has raised $2.5 million in emergency relief since Oct. 7, she said.
Rubin paid tribute to Daphna Kedem and others who have organized the weekly vigils since the terror attacks. Kedem read the names of all the child hostages. “Your dedication and your Zionism in helping this community never forget the faces,” she said. “We must never forget and we must continue to fight [until] every single one of the hostages is back.”
The previous week’s vigil, on Nov. 19, occurred a day before UN World Children’s Day. Volunteers stood on the steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery holding posters featuring the children murdered or being held hostage by Hamas.
Noemi Gal-Or, professor emerita of politics and international relations, said international law declares that a child should not be separated from their parents against their will. She called on Canada to redouble efforts to press Hamas to release all hostages.
Rabbi Shmulik Yeshayahu of the Ohel Ya’akov Community Kollel said the world should not accept that 40 children – including an infant born in captivity – are being held hostage.
“And the world is silent,” he said. “This is not acceptable. This is not the world that we envisioned. This is not a world that should be. We’ll do anything within their power to bring them home.”
I was driving home from work the other day. Left the office early to reduce driving time in the evening hours. Hamas likes their 6 p.m. missile barrage and I’m honing my missile-avoidance routine.
I was listening to talk-radio, but have kind of had enough of the news. Too much war talk and it’s getting a bit overwhelming. So, I switched to Spotify and up popped Supertramp, “The Logical Song.” How “wonderful, beautiful, magical” life once felt. Before Oct. 7. Before Hamas.
Then, as if on cue. I gazed towards the sky and saw missiles flying overhead. At first, it didn’t really click. And then, yikes! I quickly switched back to the news where, in a very calming voice, they were announcing areas under missile attack, which is another reason to listen to the radio while driving during war – real-time information. Lesson learned.
Suddenly, my smartphone’s flashlight started flashing, which was pretty darn cool! And there I was, on Star Trek, standing on the bridge. I even recalled the vessel number, NCC-1701. I was with Captain Kirk. No! I was Captain Kirk, Dr. McCoy by my side, Sulu and Chekov at the controls. The Klingons were attacking and Mr. Spock, standing to the side, was calmly advising the attack coordinates. No, wait! That was the radio announcer. Seriously, this all took place within a split second in my over-active imagination.
The flashing continued. I realized my cellphone was communicating with me, warning of danger. I have the Home Front Command application, which sounds an amazingly loud alarm during a missile attack in my area, but changing between the radio and Spotify prevented the siren from going off. So, instead, the phone activated my flashlight, sending out an SOS. Now how neat is that?! In a geeky sort of way. Like for someone who imagines himself on Star Trek during a real-life missile attack.
Reality set in. There were Home Front Command instructions to follow.
Momentary panic set in. Where was my wife, to tell me what to do? Like she always does … but that’s another story. This time, I wanted her there, instructing me.
All these thoughts raced through my mind in milliseconds. As I calmly slowed the car and veered to the shoulder, like other cars around me, I put on the blinkers. More flashing lights, but the bridge of the USS Enterprise was now a distant thought. Looking both ways, I left the car and hopped over the road barrier, moving away from the car, although probably not far enough, because there was a steep decline just below. It was getting dark and, suffering from poor night vision, I didn’t want to trip and hurt myself. I heard my son laughing at me. “Nerd!” he called out. But that was just my imagination.
I should have laid flat, prostrating myself for maximum protection. But it had rained earlier that day, the ground was wet and I didn’t want to get muddy. “Nerd!” This time, it was my daughter in my mind’s eye. “OK,” I said to no one in particular, “I’ll squat.” Good enough, but not really.
The family in the car ahead were huddling together but too close to their vehicle. I shouted for them to move further away, but they didn’t react. Maybe they didn’t understand me, given my still heavily accented Canadian Hebrew. This time, I heard both my kids teasing me – 30 years and still talking like an immigrant! “Hey, they just don’t hear me,” I said to the darkness.
It was very moving seeing the father crouching down on top of his brood, in a protective sort of way. “Isn’t that touching,” I said to my wife in my imaginings. “For sure,” she responded, somewhat sarcastically, in the back of my mind. “I know you’d do the same.”
Then it was over. The sky went quiet. People returned to their cars. The nestled family broke apart and entered theirs. We should have stayed in place several more minutes. Ten minutes is the recommended time. But it was dark, getting late, also a bit cold. I just wanted to get home, back to the real chiding of my kids and to my wife, somehow longing for her ordering me about.
A few minutes later, my wife called, to make sure I was safe. And then routine set in. “Don’t forget to pick up some milk and bread from the corner store,” she instructed me.
Am Israel chai.
Bruce Brown, a Canadian-Israeli, made aliyah 25 years ago. He works in high-tech and is happily married, with two kids. He is the winner of a 2019 American Jewish Press Association Simon Rockower Award for excellence in Jewish writing.
The steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery were illuminated by lights representing those murdered by Hamas on Oct. 7, as the community gathered Nov. 7 to mark shloshim, 30 days of mourning. Here, Ohad Arazi addresses the crowd. (photo by Pat Johnson)
The steps of the Vancouver Art Gallery were illuminated by hundreds of lights representing lost lives, as the community gathered Nov. 7 to mark shloshim, 30 days of mourning, after the unprecedented terror attacks in Israel.
Among the lives lost on that single day was Ben Mizrahi, a 22-year-old Vancouverite, for whom Rabbi Shlomo Gabay of Congregation Beth Hamidrash recited El Moleh Rachamim.
“The past 30 days have been some of the most difficult of our lives,” said Ohad Arazi, who spoke at the gathering. “They have been difficult for some of us as Jews, for others as Israelis. They have been difficult for all of us as humans.
“There are not two sides here. It is not about politics, history, land, religion or anything in between,” Arazi continued. “This is about one thing and one thing only. This is about humanity. Nothing, absolutely nothing, justifies the horrific crimes that were committed 30 days ago. I do not know what comes next from the region as Israel and its allies must now fight to end Hamas’s regime…. But one thing I do know is that we here in Vancouver, here in Canada and elsewhere, we have a voice. We have a voice to stand up for humanity and to cry out against the senseless massacres that were carried out a month ago.
“For now, we need you, all of you, to stand up for Israel. Speak up. Your voice matters. Call them terrorists, not militants, for crying out loud. Do not give up hope that we will bring home all 242 hostages. These are dark days for Israel, but it’s an even darker time for the world, as many choose to side with evil or to not take a stand unequivocally in support of humanity.”
Another speaker, Moti Kotik, is an Israeli who has lived in Vancouver for 20 years. His friend’s daughter, Agam Berger, was kidnapped to Gaza on Oct. 7.
“Tonight, I don’t want to talk about the barbaric atrocities committed by Hamas,” Kotik said. “Nor do I want to speak about those crimes against humanity that so many failed to condemn. Instead, I’d like to share some personal thoughts and realizations that I’ve had in the last 30 days about what it means to be an Israeli Jew in the diaspora.”
For Israelis abroad, he said, it’s challenging to witness events from afar. He cited the Yom Kippur War, which began 50 years to the day before the October pogrom, calling it “a war that changed the lives of our parents.”
“This is our Yom Kippur and it’s already changing us,” he said. “For the first time, I was able to look from the outside and imagine what life for Jews would have been if there was not the state of Israel.”
Kotik said there has traditionally been a division between Israelis and other Jews in the community.
“Many times, we don’t mix with the local community,” he said. “For me, that is done. There is no more duality. I realize that I cannot escape from what I am, from what we are, which is one people, Jewish people, one community that supports each other, that makes us stronger.”
Kotik said the soldiers defending Israel on the frontlines today carry a burden of history.
“They are not there for their families and friends or neighbours, they are not even there just for the people of Israel or even for all of us,” he said. “They are there right now, risking their lives, in the name of every Jew that ever lived. Every Jew throughout history who did not have someone to protect him, who did not have someone to defend him, for every Jew throughout history, they are risking their life and putting it on the line. But they feel us and they feel our warmth and our support and our unconditional trust and they know, while they are on the front, we have their back and it helps them carrying that weight.”
Ezra Shanken, chief executive officer of the Jewish Federation of Greater Vancouver, welcomed elected representatives and said he does not take for granted the presence and support of government officials and police.
Michael Lee, member of the Legislature for Vancouver-Langara, said he has been hearing from parents whose children in public schools and at universities are experiencing antisemitic taunts and bullying. He commended the City of Vancouver and the Government of Canada for adopting the International Holocaust Remembrance Alliance Working Definition of Antisemitism and said he has been advocating for years that the province of British Columbia likewise adopt it, so that Crown counsel and law enforcement have that tool to aid in prosecuting hate crimes.
John Rustad, leader of the B.C. Conservative party, said he was disgusted that Canada has allowed pro-Hamas rallies to take place.
“It should never, never happen in this country,” he said. “I will do everything I can to stand with you, to stand for peace and to make sure that people understand history.”
Lenny Zhou, a Vancouver councilor, brought greetings from city hall.
“This is not about Israel and Palestine,” Zhou said. “It is not about Jewish or Muslim. It is about Israel and Hamas. It is about civilization and terrorists.”
Rabbi Susan Tendler of Beth Tikvah Congregation read a prayer written for the shloshim and spoke of the anxieties felt by Jews worldwide.
Rev. Doug Longstaffe, a United Church minister and a founding member of the Multi-Faith Summit Council of BC, but speaking on his own behalf, said he believes it is a mistake that more non-Jews are not stepping up in solidarity.
“No group has had power used against them for so long, systemically and lethally, in such a variety of ways and places and it is staggering,” he said. “While I am not arguing that it is harder to be a Jew than to be Black or Brown or Asian – how would I know? I’m white – but it is different. I see that. And it is different mostly because of the history of antisemitism, which I have been privileged to learn about and horrified by.
“There are more hate crimes today against Jews in Canada each year than [against] any other group,” Longstaffe said. “I think our first responsibility as gentiles to Jews is to understand that, considering their unique history, the right of every group to protection under the law needs to be applied most rigorously to Jews.
“Second, considering this unique history of the Jewish people, we need to lose our naivety, so that we do not unconsciously jeopardize Jewish safety by thinking they should simply assume goodwill,” he said. “Third, we need to be especially understanding, as gentiles, of Israel’s need and right to self-defence when surrounded by terrorist groups who wish to destroy all Jewish citizens.”
Regular weekly rallies to free the hostages continued Sunday. That vigil, which emphasized the approximately 40 children held hostage – including an infant born in captivity last week – recognized United Nations World Children’s Day Nov. 20. Four Vancouverites whose cousin, 17-year-old Ofir Engel, is a hostage in Gaza, attended, with one giving a moving sketch of the youth, who was visiting his girlfriend at Kibbutz Be’eri when the attacks occurred. Attendees then marched down Robson Street to Denman, where they amassed outside the restaurant Ofra’s Kitchen, whose proprietor, Ofra Sixto, has been subjected to hateful anti-Israel harassment.
Among those on stage as Irwin Cotler received a lifetime achievement award from the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs last month were, left to right, Yves-François Blanchet (Bloc Quebecois leader), Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Ariela and Irwin Cotler, David Posluns (one of the event co-chairs), Steven Kroft (one of the event co-chairs), Pierre Poilievre (Conservative Party leader) and Shimon Koffler Fogel (head of CIJA). (photo by Dave Gordon)
It was a conference months in the making, but Antisemitism: Face It, Fight It took on heightened poignancy in light of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks on Israel and the subsequent spike in Jew-hatred globally.
Produced by Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA), the conference took place in Ottawa Oct. 16 and 17. Speakers included activists, politicians, experts and analysts on antisemitism. In attendance were 250 student leaders and some 600 others, Jews and non-Jews, according to organizers.
Shimon Koffler Fogel, chief executive officer of CIJA, noted there was an outpouring of support from the major political party leaders, as well as from minority, faith and other groups – “a uniform conclusion about Hamas and their actions, and we should embrace that.”
This message was echoed throughout the two days of the conference.
“It can’t just be Jews who talk about the rise of antisemitism. It can’t just be Muslims that talk about anti-Muslim hate,” said Farah Pandith, senior advisor to the Anti-Defamation League. “It can’t be. Whether we are talking about LGBTQ or issues of heritage or gender, we’ve had to stand up for each other. As a Muslim, it’s what my religion tells me I must do for the other.”
Former premier of Alberta Jason Kenney, who was elected as an MP in 1997, said he became a supporter of the Jewish people after the “unravelling of the Oslo process,” and learning of the antisemitism coming from Palestinian mosques and leaders.
“Do not take for granted the positions being expressed here in Ottawa today,” said Kenney. “You must redouble your efforts intelligently to build coalitions across the pluralism of this country, and to be a voice of clarity and courage with our political leadership.” Citing examples of possible coalitions, he told the JI that “the Jewish community has to continue to reach out to Muslim and other communities, find allies.”
“I know we can best tackle what we are seeing when we work together, when we are not siloed,” said Minister of Justice and Attorney General of Canada Arif Virani, an Ismaili Muslim, in his speech. “Hatred and intolerance against any minority community is a risk to every minority community. That’s why groups promoting equity have to have each other’s backs.”
Emily Schrader, digital strategist and senior correspondent of Ynet News, observed, “We see now that all over the world there are Iranians organizing and participating in rallies to support Israel … despite knowing that the Iranian regime is the biggest supporter of Hamas. The Iranian people have a complete rejection of the regime.”
Canadian human rights advocate Irwin Cotler received a lifetime achievement award from CIJA “in recognition of his enduring commitment to the pursuit of justice” and “the advancement of human rights for the world’s most vulnerable and oppressed.”
In his acceptance speech, Cotler applauded the multi-partisan groups standing up against antisemitism, “who heed this call to action, where we act in concert on behalf of our common humanity.”
Cotler was a parliamentarian from 1999 to 2015 and is a former minister of justice. Over the course of his legal career, he represented clients such as Natan Sharansky and Nelson Mandela. Until recently, he was the government’s special envoy on antisemitism. He said “2023 is not 1943” and “there is a Jewish state as an antidote to Jewish powerlessness.”
“In 1943,” he said, “the Jews could not get a meeting with the president of the United States, and, in 2023, the president has been a leader in calling out this [Hamas’s] moral evil.”
Cotler told the JI that young Jews should bravely step forward to “call out antisemitism when they see it, unmask it, expose it.”
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau called out Hamas as a “terrorist organization that launched an attack of unspeakable brutality” and said “Canada supports Israel’s right to defend itself in accordance with international law.” He said the only thing Hamas stands for is “more suffering for Israeli and Palestinian civilians.”
In addressing “scary rising antisemitism,” Trudeau said “families are worried about what they face if they go to synagogue, and I’m sure you are all seeing hateful rhetoric online.” He ended by saying, in Hebrew, “gam zu l’avor” – “this too shall pass.”
Opposition leader Pierre Poilievre, head of the Conservative Party, vowed that his party would stand with Israel, and acknowledged the fears of many Jewish Canadians. About Oct. 7, he said, “the terrorists that carried out this attack did so as part of a deliberate agenda: to maximize bloodshed not only of the Jewish people, but actually to maximize the bloodshed of Palestinians and Muslims as well. These are the actions of sadistic, criminal terrorists who can only be defeated and not negotiated with.”
Poilievre added that, especially in light of Iran’s fingerprints being on the attacks, governments must “respond with crippling sanctions – the strongest legal action – and by criminalizing the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.”
Jagmeet Singh, leader of the New Democratic Party, said, “These are horrific attacks and we strongly condemn them. There is no place in our world for terrorism. The international community must work together to ensure that there is an end to terrorist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah.”
Singh acknowledged that Jews in Canada are “deeply afraid” and “worried about their safety.”
“It’s wrong and I’m deeply sorry it’s happening,” he said.
In noting pro-Hamas rallies around the world, Singh said, “We’ve seen horrible celebrations for the attacks on Israelis civilians. This is abhorrent. This is antisemitism. Violence against civilians is never justified.”
He concluded: “I know that not everyone will agree with our position on a ceasefire, but I believe the only way to peace is to talk to each other.”
Historian and author Gil Troy encouraged the audience to not forget the courage of “our citizen’s army, our plainclothes commandos, our kibbutzim Rambos and our army,” who saved innocents from much worse.
“When I heard these stories, I shift[ed] from the victim mentality to the Zionist mentality. The Zionist is one that says ‘yes, we sometimes suffer,’ but we are not passive and we are not victims. The Zionist story says we are not alone. We can’t let them win.”
Calgary-based communications consultant Emile Scheffel, who is not-Jewish, told the JI: “History shows that those who threaten the Jewish people are enemies of freedom and dignity for the rest of us as well. I stand with Israel because the Jewish state embodies the values of freedom, democracy and pluralism that are important to me.”
He added, “the conference was an important call to action for non-Jews to stand with our Jewish friends and neighbours in opposing hatred and discrimination. A united front is essential to making sure that antisemitism doesn’t gain any more ground in Canada, and that Jewish Canadians can live in peace and security.”
Attendee Nika Jabiyeva, member of the Network of Azerbaijani Canadians, said she was proud to “stand against hate, shoulder to shoulder with our friends in the Jewish community and many multifaith allies.”
“Our voices carry more weight when we speak up for one another,” she said, “especially during trying times.”
Dave Gordonis a Toronto-based freelance writer whose work has appeared in more than 100 publications around the world. His website is davegordonwrites.com.
On Oct. 31, among the ruins of Kibbutz Be’eri, Israel Defence Forces personnel brief a delegation of Conservative rabbis and lay leaders from the United States, Canada and Britain, which was on a three-day solidarity mission organized by the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Centre. (photo by Boaz Pearlstein)
WARNING: Extremely graphic reporting.
Since Hamas’s Oct. 7 cross-border assault on multiple army bases, kibbutzim, cities and a music festival in the Gaza Strip periphery, staff at the Israel Defence Forces’ Shura base have been working around the clock to identify the remains of the 1,100 civilians and 315 IDF soldiers, reservists and police officers massacred by jihadi terrorists. With so many bodies, the victims were initially kept in refrigerated milk trucks in the morgue’s parking lot. Plain wooden coffins are stacked in the corridors, waiting for a positive identification so the remains may be released to their families for burial at a military or civilian cemetery. Only then can Judaism’s seven-day period of mourning begin.
A month on, the sickly smell of death lingers. Pathologists at this normally quiet IDF logistics centre and home base of the military rabbinate corps – located on the outskirts of Ramla, a mixed Jewish-Arab city not far from Ben-Gurion Airport – continue their painstaking, harrowing but holy forensic mission.
Dismembered limbs and badly decomposed bodies continue to be delivered. The human remains are sniffed out under the rubble of destroyed buildings by IDF canine units, staff told a 33-person Oct. 31 delegation of Conservative rabbis and lay leaders from the United States, Canada and Britain.
Initially, it is often impossible to determine if the remains are those of victims or perpetrators, Col. Rabbi Haim Weisberg, head of the IDF’s rabbinic division, told the religious leaders. Many are mutilated with limbs and heads dismembered, making the ghoulish jigsaw puzzle even more complex.
“We are in an abnormal situation and that is why it is taking so much time to identify the bodies. In most cases, we have had to identify people via deep tissue DNA or dental records because there is nothing left,” he explained.
The complex identification process has been compounded because so many of the victims were not Israeli residents.
Pathologists can take several hours to assess a body, photograph it and document the fatal wounds. Out of respect for the dead and their families, the IDF is not releasing those photos.
Weisberg spoke not only about whole bodies but also about charred and incomplete remains, including what in one case turned out to be a corpse so severely burned that only a CT scan revealed it was a mother and baby bound together in a final embrace.
The grisly job is complicated by uncertainty over the tally of victims. According to constantly updated data from the IDF, more than 1,400 Israelis and foreigners were murdered. Some 238 people are believed to be held hostage by Hamas inside the Gaza Strip and the fate of dozens of others is unknown. Some may be held inside Gaza by other terrorist groups, like Palestinian Islamic Jihad, or even by individuals. Others may still be among the dead, yet to be identified by the staff at Shura.
When drafted, all IDF recruits provide samples of their DNA and fingerprints, and have their teeth X-rayed. The army does not rely exclusively on identification made through a soldier’s twin dog tags kept in their combat boots and worn on a chain around the neck.
According to halachah (Jewish law), fallen soldiers are buried in a coffin in their blood-soaked uniform. They are not ritually washed in the tahara ceremony – the Jewish tradition of purification of the dead – nor are they wrapped in shrouds. The intention is that God should be angered by witnessing the fallen defenders among his Chosen People. Personal effects like a cellphone, watch or wallet are washed of blood and then returned to the family of the deceased. Artifacts that cannot be cleansed of blood are buried with the deceased.
By contrast, civilian dead are ritually washed and wrapped in shrouds. Generally, in Israel, they are interred directly in the ground without a coffin.
While dental records can allow straightforward identification of dead soldiers, that information is often unavailable for civilians. Many dental offices in the city of Sderot near Gaza were destroyed, and with them their files.
Ritual washing is tasked to male and female reservists who have volunteered for the mitzvah (commandment) of chesed shel emet (true kindness).
Women soldiers perform tahara for the hundreds of girls and women who were murdered. The team is working in shifts around the clock. Among them is Shari, an architect living in Jerusalem whose surname may not be released under IDF security regulations. She volunteered for the unit when it was established more than a decade ago to ensure that the modesty of female recruits killed in action was protected.
“We saw evidence of rape … and this was also among grandmothers down to small children,” she stated.
Shari said she and the other volunteers received specialized training from the IDF, which prepared them practically and mentally to care for the bodies of the dead. Until Oct. 7, she had not been called for active duty.
“I’ve seen things with my own eyes that no one should ever see,” she said, describing how she took care of the dead women. Many were still dressed in their pajamas. Their bodies had been booby-trapped with grenades, and the remains bore evidence of extreme brutality.
Shari’s duties begin with opening the body bags to remove the dead person’s clothes, jewelry and any other personal possessions in order to return them to the families.
“The only colour among the blood and dirt was their nails, beautiful manicures, painted the brightest colours,” Shari said, adding, “Their nails made me weep.”
“We gathered this group of 33 Jewish communal leaders from across North America to witness the horrors our brothers and sisters have suffered,” said Dr. Stephen Daniel Arnoff, chief executive officer of the Fuchsberg Jerusalem Centre – a home for Conservative and Masorti Judaism in Israel, which organized the three-day solidarity mission. Located in Jerusalem, the centre offers opportunities to study, pray and explore within an egalitarian and inclusive setting, creating multiple pathways for finding personal and communal meaning.
The solidarity group included the first civilians to tour the devastated remains of Kibbutz Be’eri, where terrorists went house to house slaughtering the inhabitants. Wearing flak vests and helmets, the clergy and communal leaders recited the El Male Rachamim and Kaddish prayers for the dead as soldiers continued their search for human remains.
“We literally saw the blood of our people crying out to us from the ground,” said Arnoff.
“It is our moral obligation to make sure that the world knows what happened there.”
Gil Zohar is a writer and tour guide in Jerusalem.