TORONTO — Liberal member of Parliament and former justice minister Irwin Cotler was the recipient of the Kurt and Edith Rothschild Humanitarian Award at the recent annual Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation’s From the Heart gala.
“Irwin was the unanimous choice, in recognition of his outstanding leadership and vision,” said Bernie Abrams, who, with Norman Bacal co-chaired the event, this year co-sponsored by Beth Tzedec Congregation of Toronto.
“My father taught me the imperative of righteousness, justice and charity, the three English words for tzedec,” Cotler said on accepting the award. “My mother taught me that, in order to pursue justice, one must feel injustice. We have a duty of remembrance of the horrors. Not all the victims of the Shoah were Jewish, but all Jews were affected by it.”
In in addition to teaching law at McGill University and his parliamentary work, Cotler has been a leader in pursuit of justice for such causes as Soviet Jewry, Nelson Mandela, the late Argentine journalist Jacobo Timerman and victims of the brutal uprisings in Darfur and Rwanda.
“Kurt Rothschild [a founder of the Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation] embodies humanitarianism and is a unifier because of his sheer moral integrity,” Cotler said.
Cotler’s wife, Ariela, is a former director of the Canadian Shaare Zedek Hospital Foundation office in Montreal, and his mother-in-law, a Jerusalem resident, has been a volunteer at the hospital.
Proceeds from the gala will support the hospital’s Israel Defence Forces clinic and the renewal of the synagogue.
“In Israel, every hospital has to prepare for war,” said Jonathan Halevy, Shaare Zedek’s director general. “During wartime, the IDF takes over.”
The presentation to Cotler was made by Senator Linda Frum before an audience of several hundred supporters.
“Irwin has directed his intellect and energies to promote human rights around the world,” Frum said. “He is a gifted teacher, whose moral courage taught and inspired me. Everything that I’ve done for justice, I’ve learned from Prof. Cotler.”
Gideon Raff, executive producer and director of the TV series Homeland was interviewed on stage by a National Post editor Jonathan Kay to conclude the evening. Born in Jerusalem, Raff is a former paratrooper with the Israel Air Force. He was the originator of the Israeli hit TV series Prisoners of War, on which Homeland is based.
The first season of the Israeli series was written from the perspective of the returning prisoners, and the second was more about those who are still imprisoned and gave insight to the captors, Raff said. “It makes people cry… Homeland is more of a thriller.”