THANK YOU FOR SUPPORTING OUR TU BI’SHEVAT CAMPAIGN VISIT ISRAEL WITH JNF: JNFOTTAWA.CA [email protected] 613.798.2411 Ottawa Jewish Bulletin FEBRUARY 20, 2017 | 24 SHEVAT 577 ESTABLISHED 1937 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM | $2 Hundreds gather to do good deeds on Mitzvah Day Mitzvah Day 2017 was marked by the performance of good deeds by young and old – and those in between – along with a celebration of Canada 150. Louise Rachlis reports. he Soloway Jewish Community Lianne Lang of CTV was MC for the Centre (SJCC) and Hillel Lodge event. She praised the “hard work and were buzzing with activity as dedication” of Mitzvah Day Chair Cindy ISSIE SCAROWSKY Eli Saikaley of Silver Scissors Salon supervises Mitzvah Day celebrity haircutters (from left) hundreds of volunteers – from Smith and her planning committee, and T Jeff Miller of GGFL, Mayor Jim Watson and City Councillor Jean Cloutier as they prepare to cut at preschoolers to seniors – gathered, acknowledged the Friends of Mitzvah least six inches of hair from Sarah Massad, Yasmin Vinograd and Liora Shapiro to be used by February 5, on the Jewish Community Day for their support, and GGFL Hair Donation Ottawa to make wigs for cancer patients experiencing medical hair loss. Campus and several off-site locations, to Chartered Professional Accountants, the participate in the Jewish Federation of Mitzvah Day major sponsor for the past Ottawa’s annual Mitzvah Day. eight years. In recognition of Canada’s sesquicen- Hair donations for Hair Donation tennial, a Canada 150 theme was incor- Ottawa – an organization that provides porated into many of the good deeds free wigs for cancer patients experiencing performed. hair loss – was the kick-off mitzvah. “Many of the kits assembled this Other mitzvahs included making crafts Mitzvah Day were totals of 150 or mul- with residents of Hillel Lodge; a sing- tiples,” said Federation President and along at the Lodge; assembling soup CEO Andrea Freedman. “We’re trying to ingredients in jars for the Ottawa Kosher celebrate Canada’s birthday all year Food Bank; assembling birthday kits for round.” children living in shelters and Shabbat A special Canada 150 Mitzvah Day art kits for Ten Yad and the Kosher Food canvas was set up for participants to sign Bank; making therapy puppets for with red markers. Crossroads Children’s Centre for children The packed social hall at the Soloway dealing with mental health issues; Jewish Committee Centre echoed with making sandwiches for distribution at the excitement as children and adults, Ottawa-area homeless shelters; making eager to perform good deeds, gathered for challahs to be sold to Mitzvah Day a bagel breakfast and the Mitzvah Day participants to benefi t the Kosher Food ISSIE SCAROWSKY Children work together on crafts with Hillel Lodge residents during Mitzvah Day. opening ceremony. See Mitzvah Day on page 2 Meet Israeli Ambassador Ottawa athletes heading Barbara Crook on fi ghting inside: Nimrod Barkan > p. 3 to Maccabiah Games > p. 13 hate and ignorance > p. 20 With over 50,000 square feet in warehouse space, whether you need bulk storage space or rack slots, we can customize your account to meet all your needs. 613.244.4444 Inventory Management www.boydmoving.com 2 February 20, 2017 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM Mitzvah Day: Opportunity to give back to the community while having fun Continued from page 1 Good Hope,” said Mitzvah Day organizer Bank; creating care packages for mem- Rena Garshowitz. bers of Canada’s Armed Forces stationed Other off-site mitzvahs took place at overseas; and bracha bags with warm the NCSY Centre, where high school socks and other needed items that Jewish students prepared meals for Ten Yad; at Family Services distributes to homeless Temple Israel, where the Quilting Project persons in Ottawa. worked on baby quilts to send to Israeli The One Match program from daycare centres, agencies and nurseries, Canadian Blood Services was on hand at and to CHEO for premature babies; and Mitzvah Day to take swabs from people at Dovercourt Recreation Centre, where interested in joining the bone marrow the Kehillat Beth Israel TOV Team made registry and to tell people about this sandwiches for the needy. important life-saving program. “I have two daughters, 15 and 12, and “Mitzvah Day is a wonderful way to it’s important to give back to the com- come together as a community,” said Sue munity and have fun helping others in Potechin of Temple Israel Religious need,” said Mitzvah Day Chair Cindy School. “The theme for our school this Smith in her closing remarks. year is ‘Am Echad’, One Nation,’ and it “We are very fortunate. It’s amazing to doesn’t matter if you’re secular, Orthodox see all the people who get up early and or liberal, we must all come together as participate. It’s really special. one Jewish community. It’s very import- “Your efforts help fulfi l the Jewish ant for our kids to know that.” values of tikkun olam – repairing the There were also a number of Mitzvah world – and, in doing this, you have Day activities taking place off-site. brought smiles to many faces and HOWARD SANDLER Mitzvah Day Chair Cindy Smith makes challah with her niece, Georgia Smith, “The Sephardi community put comfort to so many in need,” Smith told as volunteers Jenny Glassman and Allison Geffen look on. together packages for the Shepherds of the assembled Mitzvah Day participants. ISSIE SCAROWSKY Rabbi Rob Morais gathers with students of Temple Israel Religious School after a morning of performing good deeds during Mitzvah Day. See page 27 for Publication and Deadline Proudly Serving Barrhaven dates for over 18 years! Commercial Sales & Leasing ❋ Consulting ❋ Site Selection/Relocations ❋ Tenant Representation ❋ Feasibility Studies Investment/User Properties ❋ Strategic Growth Planning ❋ Land Assemblies/Development Sites and 613-580-2473 Candlelighting @BarrhavenJan BRENT TAYLOR BROKER of RECORD, PRESIDENT facebook.com/BarrhavenJanHarder times. [email protected] www.brentcomrealty.com 613-726-7323 / FAX 613-721-8849 www.JanHarder.com February 20, 2017 3 OTTAWAJEWISHBULLETIN.COM Meet Nimrod Barkan, Israel’s new ambassador to Canada Nimrod Barkan, Israel’s new ambassador to Canada, arrived in Ottawa in December to succeed former ambassador Rafael Barak. He sat down with Ottawa Jewish Bulletin Editor Michael Regenstreif at the Embassy of Israel in Ottawa to introduce himself to Ottawa’s Jewish community. mbassador Nimrod Barkan, the future ambassador was born in Tel Aviv State of Israel’s new chief in 1952. diplomat in Canada, arrived in After studying international relations AOttawa in December just as the and Middle East history at the Hebrew cold Canadian winter was layering the city University of Jerusalem, Barkan joined in snow. Israel’s Foreign Ministry. On December 12, he presented his “I joined the Foreign Ministry on credentials to Governor General David January 2, 1977, the same day as Rafi PMO Johnston at Rideau Hall and was immedi- Barak,” he said, referring to the former Israeli Ambassador Nimrod Barkan and his wife, Shlomit Shulov-Barkan, with Prime Minister ately thrust into an ambassador’s typically Israeli ambassador to Canada whose Justin Trudeau at a holiday reception hosted by then-foreign minister Stéphane Dion. busy schedule of meetings with political tenure here ended just before his began. leaders and government offi cials, national Barkan’s distinguished career has now Palestinian election on January 31. bureau was merged with the Bureau of media interviews, community and cultural stretched across four complete decades “Suddenly, Hamas held a majority in World Religious Affairs, with responsibil- events, and cross-country travel, all the and has included diplomatic postings in the Palestinian parliament … which ity for both falling under his direction. while settling into his new home in Ottawa Egypt, the United States and France, as completely changed the political reality,” Barkan’s diplomatic experience with his wife, Shlomit Shulov-Barkan, and well as high level positions in Israel with he said. includes stints as consul in Philadelphia into his new offi ce at the Embassy of Israel. the Foreign Ministry. Barkan explained that this shift in the from 1982 to 1985; political consul at Barkan’s father, a teenaged Holocaust Among those positions was heading Palestinian political dynamic took the Israel’s embassy in Cairo from 1985 to 1987, survivor from Hungary, arrived in pre- the Ministry’s Policy Research Centre in Israeli intelligence community by surprise where he survived two terrorist attacks; in state Israel on a clandestine immigration 2006, a time of two major upheavals in as no one expected Hamas – a terrorist Washington as minister of public affairs ship after the Second World War. The the Middle East. The fi rst was the organization pledged to destroy the responsible for the operations of all of Jewish state – to win the election. Israel’s consulates in the United States The second upheaval came in June from 1992 to 1995; consul general in San when the Second Lebanon War broke out. Francisco from 1995 to 1997; and in Paris The Policy Research Centre under Barkan from 2010 to 2014 as ambassador to recognized that Israel did not have an exit UNESCO and the Council of Europe. strategy from the war in place and Barkan said his fi rst priority as Israeli designed a plan that helped bring the war ambassador to Canada is to preserve and to a close. enhance “the excellent relationship and This led to a greatly expanded role for friendship” that Israel enjoys with Canada the Policy Research Centre in Israel’s and “expanding the relationship in as policy-making apparatus. many fi elds as possible.” “My biggest contribution to the Foreign Barkan said he expects the signing of a Ministry was the four years in which we modernized free trade agreement between completely rebuilt and recreated the Israel and Canada to take place within the Policy Research Centre and established it next two months.