july-august 2013...1929-2013 eighty-four years of service to canadian jewry - july-august 2013more...

J U LY - A U G U S T 2 0 1 3

1929-2013 Eighty-Four Years of Service to Canadian Jew

ry - www.thejew

ishstandardmag.com

MORE THAN 8,000 PEOPLE MARCHED IN SOLIDARITY WITH ISRAEL to mark its 65 Anniversary. People of all ages waved Israeli flags andtucked themselves under umbrellas to avoid the rain. Montreal born rapperSHI 360, who now resides in Israel, was the master of ceremonies, Joel Lion,the charismatic Consul General for Quebec, thanked everyone for braving therain. “It is heartwarming to see the solidarity we have here today,” he said,noting the intergenerational aspect of the audience.

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MICHAEL HAYMANPUBLISHER AND EDITOR

JULIUS HAYMANB.A., L.L.B.

EDITOR 1937-2000

ANITA SURMANEditor

General News SectionThe Jewish Standard is published monthly in Toronto and Montreal by Michael Hayman, B.A., M.A., Editor and Publisher. 20 McBride Lane, Toronto, OntarioM2N 7B8. (416) 537-2696 Printed and bound in Toronto, Canada by Regal Press Canada. Publication Mail Registration Number 40715545 Please send alladdress changes to: [email protected] We cannot guarantee that voice mail changes will be made.

In 1971, shortly after the CanadianJewish News was sold by founder M. J.Nurenberger to Ray Wolfe, Murray Kofflerand Al Latner, the editor of The JewishStandard made it clear that he had noquarrel with a competitor entering theAnglo-Jewish publishing field. What hedid object to was the purchase by theUnited Jewish Welfare Fund of 15,000subscriptions to the CJN for which it wasrumoured to have paid some $50,000. Onthe fifth anniversary of the CJN in 1976our editor wrote that the “siphoning off offunds that have been contributed forcharity, for Jewish educational institu-tions and for Israel, is, we belive,immoral.” Joining The Jewish Standardin that sometimes nasty fight was M. J.Nurenberger, by then the publisher of thefledgling independent Jewish Times.

Over the decades we mellowed some-what in our attitude towards the CJN,although never ceasing to believe that itwas more of a lapdog than a watchdog of theJewish establishment. The current editorof The Jewish Standard and Mordechai Ben-Dat have long had a cordial relationship andwhen Julius Hayman passed away in 2000the CJN ran a lengthy obituary. And so wewere saddened by the announcement of thedeath of the CJN and hope those trying tosave the paper in some form are successful.Every good publication dealing with mattersof Jewish interest increases the awarenessof the Jewish community of its problems, itsposition in the world generally and, as well,of its very considerable achievements. Thereare altogether too few Anglo-Jewish publica-tions still in existence for us to display anysense of schadenfreude at the CJN’s finan-cial woes.

In 1972, with the seemingly inex-haustible resources behind the CJN,friends of the 43-year-old Jewish Standard“made no bones” about their concern forits survival. Many feared that The JSwould fo l low other Jewish newspa-pers, Yiddish and English, into the dustbinof history. But I remember asking myfather whether he was “worried” that theCJN would force him out of business. “Nota chance”, was his confident reply.

Well, here we are, some 40 yearslater, very much a part of what’s left of theAnglo-Jewish publishing field. We may not be a “household name”. Yes, in all

honesty, there are people who have neverheard of The Jewish Standard. But oncewe give them a copy most soon realizewhat they’ve been missing. We do, more-over, have a loyal base of paying sub-scribers who, based on the feedback wereceive, eagerly await their monthly copy.

We don’t have 50 people workingfor us. We subscribe to various wire ser-vices and news gathering organizations.We pay a modest amount for good free-lance articles. Readers will also noticethat most of our advertisers are non-Jewish. They see our publication as ameans of tapping into the Jewish market.It’s a sales pitch we use unapologeticallyand, as our bottom line indicates, we mustbe doing something right. Of course we’vehad to adapt to the times and so now allare issues are on our relatively new web-site. It’s something we could do for a verymodest investment. The editor was onceasked how we could survive by putting outa 12 page issue. His response was clearand unequivocal: we survive because weput out a twelve page issue. Our longevityhas never been determined by the numberof laudatory letters we can print from theprime minister of the day.

Will the print media become extinctin a few years as so many pundits predict?Even we can’t say for absolute certainty.But what we do know for sure is that TheJewish Standard will remain a source ofinformation for those genuinely interestedin Jewish life. We will continue to offer ourreaders a good publication, an indepen-dent publication and a responsible publi-cation. And we will, as is our right, pur-sue advertisers who have been freed fromtheir obligations to the CJN.

The current editor of The JewishStandard, now 69, has no plans to retire,although he has little desire to preempt theAnglo-Jewish publishing field in EasternCanada. Ideally he would like to follow inthe footsteps of his father and die at his deskat 92 working on the latest issue. But whenthat inevitable day comes when he is nolonger able to continue, there is unlikely tobe a buyer with deep enough pockets willingto tempt the fates of the Anglo-Jewish pub-lishing field. It is entirely possible that thispublisher and editor will be forced intoretirement just in time. But for now, thereneed be no fears for our future.

The Jewish Standard -84 Years and Counting

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PICTURED AT THE LAUNCH IN MONTREAL OFthree handbooks by the Montreal JewishPublication Society are, left to right, President RegWeiser, Cote St. Luc Mayor Anthony Housefather,Prof. Charles Small, author Joe King, AdvisoryCouncil Chair Thomas Hecht and FederalImmigration Minister Jason Kenney. The threehandbooks are entitled “The Gifts of Israel,”“Mideast Deception” and “Makers of the ModernWorld.” In addition to the printed form, the threehandbooks are accessible on theHonestReportingCanada website. The mini-refer-ence library is being distributed worldwide in aneffort to counter anti-Israel and anti-Semitic cam-paigns that are spreading around the globe.

THE WORLD IN REVIEWNEWS OF THE RECENT PAST IS REVIEWED

By NOAH FREEDMAN

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New Controversy forReform Judaism

Leaders of ReformJudaism are grappling witha problem which on the sur-face seems ridiculous. Thequestion is whether anapplicant to a reform rab-binic school can be marriedto a non-Jew.

At present theHebrew Union CollegeJewish Institute of Religion,Reform Judaism’s centralrabbinical school, will notadmit any applicant who is“engaged, married or part-nered/committed to a per-son not Jewish by birth orconversion.” While mostReform leaders believe thatthis is the correct policy,that even discussing thequestion “offers further evi-dence that the Re formMovement is losing its reli-gious focus” at least somerabbinical students arguethat the Hebrew Union pol-icy “is antithetical to ourMovement’s essential focuson welcoming and out-reach”.

David MilibandLeaves British Politics

David Miliband,brother of British LabourLeader Ed Miliband, andformer British foreign min-ister, is leaving politics tobecome NGO for the NewYork based InternationalRescue Committee.

Miliband lists hisreligion as “atheist” andhas devoted his career tosecular rather than Jewishcauses; but he does takegreat pride in his Jewishroots. And that shouldallow him to fit right in tohis new role . The IRC,

Glen Beck ShouldKnow Better

Talk show host GlenBeck has angered AmericanJews by depicting New Yorkmayor Michael Bloomberggiving the Nazi salute. Hedid so in the context ofdescribing what he arguessarcastically will be NewYork’s new tourism slogan:“You will love New York.”Beck was the keynotespeaker at the National RifleAssociation’s annual con-vention a few weeks ago.“While he doesn’t say it”,said Abraham Foxman, thenational director of theAnti-Defamation League, “itseems Glen Beck is imply-ing through an image ofMayor Bloomberg in anapparent Nazi salute thatthe mayor’s policies on gunownership and other issuesare turning New York cityinto a Nazi-like state.”

This is not the firsttime Beck has angeredAmerican Jewry with inap-propriate analogies to theHolocaust. He has usedNazi imagery to show hisdispleasure with a “mean”flight attendant; to describeAl Gore, President Obama,and The Peace Corps. Hehas, according to JohnDaly, “Nazi Tourette’s.” Inyet another one of Beck’sridiculous analogies, heonce compared ReformJudaism to radical Islam.

Shakespeare andThe Boycott Movement

Emma Thompson,Mike Leigh, JonathanMiller, Alexei Sayle andHarry Potter actress MiriamMargoyles are among 50actors and directors whocalled on Shakespeare’s

Globe Theater to rescind itsinvitation to Israel’snational theatre companyHabima to perform theMerchant Of Venice at itsGlobe to Globe Festival.According to these MiddleEast “experts” Habima hasa “shameful record ofinvolvement with illegalIsraeli settlements inOccupied PalestinianTerritory.” The letter, pub-lished as might be expectedin The Guardian, conclud-ed that the prestigiousGlobe Theatre should notbecome “complicit withhuman rights violationsand the illegal colonizationof occupied land.”

The protest, howev-er, did not stop Habima

from performing the playduring the festival held lastmonth. Protesters whounfurled banners ofPalestinian flags wereevicted from the theatre,with one man being arrest-ed. There were airport-style metal detectors in thefoyer and bags weresearched at the entrance tothe theatre.

The Globe theatremade it clear that the inter-national festival was a “cele-bration of languages andnot...a celebration ofnations and states”. Itadded that “a people meet-ing and talking andexchanging views is prefer-able to isolation andsilence.”


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We don’t denyIsrael’s ultra-Orthodox theright to use the system to tryto set the country’s religiousagenda. But we will not hideour satisfaction that Shasand United Torah Judaismare not part of Israel’s newgovernment. There was neverany doubt that BenjaminNetanyahu would form acoalition without his previousultra-Orthodox partners. The

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NEW ISRAELI GOVERNMENT SHOULD BENEFITNON-HAREDIM

By MICHAEL HAYMAN

jockeying that went on rightup to the last minute wasmerely an attempt to securethe most influential min-istries and wring out furtherpolicy concessions. What isencouraging is that the secu-lar Yesh Atid and NaftaliBennett’s Habayit Hayehudi,though they make strangebedfellows, could still findsufficient common ground to

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The following appeared as an editorial inthe April 2013 Ontario edition of The JewishStandard. - The Editor

JOEL LION, THE CONSUL GENERAL OF ISRAELand his wife Rebeca welcomed hundreds of diplo-mats, elected officials from all levels of governmentand leadership and friends of Israel and theJewish community to the UN’s International CivilAviation Organization’s expansive and impressiveworld headquarters. The occasion was a celebra-tion in honour of Israel’s 65th anniversary of inde-pendence. Pictured above (left to right) are RebecaLion, Hampstead Town Councillor Harvey Shaffer,Hampstead Town Councillor and Le WaldorfExecutive Director Michael Goldwax, his wifeWendy and Consul General Lion.


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new building, constructedfrom scratch. There is astaff of 170. Philip Chiang(yes, the letter “i” wasdropped for the name), thefounder of the global chain,was in Montreal for theopening.

MALL DEVELOP-MENT: The CavendishMall, now known as theQuartier, has undergonemuch change over the pastyear as a beautiful newhousing development takesshape. CentrePointe(www.centrepointehomes.

com) is the brainchild ofJoe Levine of DubelleDevelopments and his sonJason. The Dubelle teamhave really outdone them-selves, with a mix of singlefamily homes, semi-detached cottages, town-houses and eventually con-dominiums. The salesoffice is in theMall/Quartier, across fromScotiabank.

YEH’S ARRIVAL:Some other construction atthe Mall/Quartier has given

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EYE ON MONTREALNEW CONSTRUC-

TION BRINGS FAMOUS P.F.CHANGS: There has been asignificant new construc-tion project in Montrealover the past few months,with Quebec’s first ever P.F.Chang’s China Bistro(www.pfchangs.ca) openingup next to the former BlueBonnets Raceway nearDecarie. It is under Jewishownership, with experi-enced restaurant brandinvestor and operatorMichael Aronovici at thehelm. His director of opera-

tions is Cary Mausner, asuccessful Jewish restaura-teur, who originally hailsfrom Brooklyn. TanyaToledano handles market-ing and social media. A firstlocation opened last sum-mer in Toronto and anotherQuebec locale has made itsdebut at the CarrefourLaval.

The Decarie spotcan seat 280 people, plus50 on the unique terracewhich even has heaters forwhen the weather turns abit nippy. This was a brand

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BUILDINGBOOM

A “home of one’sown” is, for most people, theclimax of their personalambition and the symbol oftheir personal security inan often uncertain world.How much more importanta symbol of “belongingness”it must be to a group which,over the centuries hasfound so little in its envi-ronment to give it a sense ofsecurity and a feeling ofgenuine integration. Itmight appear to be ananomaly that an ethnicgroup which was, for cen-turies, discouraged fromowning real property shouldin our country and in ourtime become a communityof homeowners.

Bu t p r o v i d i ng a

stimulus for constructionby adding to the demandfor housing is only one fac-tor in the contributionwhich the Jewish commu-nity has made to thegrowth and development ofthe construction industryand building trades. Asbuilders, building contrac-tors, engineers, architectsand investors, Jewsthroughout Montreal areplaying a notable part inthe phenomenal physicalexpansion which hasmarked Montreal over thepast few decades.

Jewish participa-tion in commerce and man-ufacturing, in addition tohousing, constitutes an

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JEWS HAVE PLAYED A MAJOR ROLE IN CANADA’SGROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT

By MARVIN SELICSON

MICHAEL ARONOVICI AND CARY MAUSNERstand in front of the brand new building theyconstructed in Montreal for the new P.F. Chang'sChina Bistro


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al burden. When Yair Lapidtold an audience at KiryatOno College that he under-stood that “you don’t wantyour children to play with mychildren”, only a few likelyheard his plea that we “find away to at least be able to livenext door to each other” .Secu lar judges mayhave been charmedwhen the religious youngwoman 17 year-old OfirBen-Shitrit appeared onIsrael’s version of TheVoice. The principal of herschool was less impressed.He suspended the youngsterfor singing in front of anaudience that included men.He was apparently enforcingGod’s will.

It is true that underthe coalition agreement thetimetable for some of theneeded reforms has beenpushed back. But we are still ��

OFFERING HOPE��

enter the same coalition.Israelis want their politiciansto stand up to those whoseek a theocracy run accord-ing to Jewish law. Theydon’t think that the scholarshould be worshipped overthe soldier. They are tired ofbeing told that all Jewsmust live their lives in strictcompliance with the ultra-Orthodox interpretation ofthe Torah.

We are not certain,as some observers have sug-gested, that the sands inIsrael are shifting, that theharedim realize they will haveto adjust to a new reality.True the self-described mod-ern haredi rabbi DovLipman joined Yesh Atid.But even he acknowledgesthat it will be a struggle toget the haredim out frombehind the walls of theiryeshivas and to convincethem to share in the nation-

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encouraged that the moder-ate Orthodox and the secu-lar are sitting at the samecabinet table. We see hopewhen a secular women likeAyelet Shaked can join anational religious party andthe secular-traditional-reli-gious Zionist Dr. RuthCalderon can be a risingstar in Israeli politics. Andperhaps Rabbi David Stavwill win the race to becomeIsrael’s next Ashkenaz chiefrabbi, Stav’s election mightstill give organizations suchas Hiddush cause for con-cern, but if 40 familieswished to create a Reform orConservative synagogue,Rabbi Stav would at leasttolerate it.

It is the height offolly to write off three quar-ters of the population as“goyim” simply because theydon’t observe every one of

the 613 mitzvoth. SecularIsraelis have had enough ofthe arrogant assumption ofthe haredim that they andthey alone are the custodi-ans of the keys to Jewishsurvival.

The ultra-Orthodox,whether they recognize it ornot, have much in commonwith those who they keepinsisting are “dangerous toJewish souls”. WhetherOrthodox or secular, IsraeliJews are the heirs of thosewho suffered the stinginglash of the Egyptian whip,the cruelty of the auto-de-fe’s of the Inquisition and thehorrors of Auschwitz. Allreject the tenets ofChristianity. The truth isthat every Israeli Jew, likeeach one of us in theDiaspora, can play a role inensuring that Jewish lifedoes not wither and die.

OFFERING HOPE��

TWIN BROTHERS JON AND MARVIN GURMAN are building new Yeh~Yogurt franchises, the latestat the Quartier Cavendish Mal

•EYE ON MONTREAL��

Côte Saint-Luc its own Yeh!Yogurt locale. Twin broth-ers Jon and MarvinGurman, who were bornand raised in the communi-ty, are thrilled “to be backin the Luc.” Since the twoinvested in one single Yehstore on St. Laurent Blvd. a

few years ago, they haveassumed total ownershipand expanded the brandacross Canada and theUnited States. By the end of2013, there could be asmany as 40 locations andgrowing. The Mall/Quartierspot is on the newly dubbed


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Rosemount and GeorgiaGotsis, from MertonElementary School in CôteSaint-Luc (both EMSB), willbe joined next summer atYad Vashem in Jerusalem,Israel by LaurenceAssouline from BeechwoodElementary School (LesterB. Pearson School Board)and Gina Lavine, fromCollège Laflèche in Trois-Rivières.

The teachers willtake part in a professionaldevelopment programunder the direction of theFaculty of the Yad VashemSeminars for Educatorsfrom Abroad, InternationalSchool for HolocaustStudies. The goal of theprogram is to provide pro-fessional developmentactivities to teachers forteaching about theHolocaust and anti-Semitism to students in the

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by displaying innovation,hard work and determina-tion.” Those honouredwere: David Bensadoun,president of Aldo GlobalRetail and Aldo ProductServices; Michael Boychuk,president of Bimcor Inc;Eric Boyko, president andCEO of Stingray Digital; Dr.Sheldon Elman, founderand CEO of Medisys; DavidGoodman, CEO ofPharmascience; BruceKent, vice-president andDirector, Portfolio Managerof RBC Dominion SecuritiesInc; Armand Kessous,Financial Comfort Designerand Principal of PavillionInvestment House; AndyNulman, president,Festivals and Television,Just for Laughs; Mark Pathy,

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conducive to health andhappiness.

While the individualJewish demand for facilitieswhich can only be met bythe construction industry isan important factor in theCanadian economy, it is inthe erection of communalinstitutions that the Jewishcommunity derives itsgreatest satisfaction. Thepast few decades have sig-nalled the coming of age ofJewish communitiesthroughout Canada. NewJewish schools, syna-gogues, community centresand youth centres havebeen built, in order toenable the Jewish commu-nities to preserve and per-petuate their identities.These institutions willremain permanent manifes-tations of the Jewish com-munity’s desire to perpetu-

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We Extend Best Wishes to theSTATE OF ISRAEL

On its 65th Anniversary.May the year ahead bring peace to the Middle East.

TRAVEL TALES��

ports guests to a townsquare set in SouthFlorida Riviera amidst thebreathtaking views of theAtlantic Ocean. TheTuscany-inspired market-place and beachfrontrestaurant offers lightdining options, bottledwines, olive oils, sauces,caviar, brick oven pizzas,crostinis, paninis, salads,meats, teas and a coffeecorner boasting twentyone specialty coffees in arelaxed and inviting set-ting. Guests and residentsget to enjoy the luxurioussurroundings ofAcqualina’s indoor andoutdoor spaces whilesavoring an assortment ofsignature dishes andofferings. Daily specialsinclude roasted marinatedchicken and grilled wildtiger shrimp. The menu iscurated by Acqualina’sexecutive chef ChristopherBlum and Chef MichaelMazza of Il Mulino NewYork. Piazzetta atAcqualina is open to the

public Monday to Sundayfrom 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

THE RESORT: TheAcqualina boasts 4.5beachfront acres with 400feet of stunning Atlanticcoastline, 188 residences,97 impeccable gue-strooms and suites, the20,000 square-foot ESPAoceanfront spa, ocean-front restaurants, fourswimming pools and aninnovative marine biology-based children’sAcquaMarine program.Next door construction isunderway on a brand newcomplex called TheMansions of Acqualina.

The Acqualina isowned by the JewishTrumps – not Donald –but brothers Jules andEddie. For more informa-tion on Acqualina Resort& Spa on the Beach, logon to www.acqualina.com.For reservations, call 305-918-6777 or 888-804-4338.

IL MULINO: There ��

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