Alleged Bomber Remains in Jail
MONTREAL— A man accused in the firebombing of a Montreal Jewish school will stay in jail until his next court appearance later this month.
Omar Bulphred, 22, of Montreal, will appear next in court on March 19. The date was set during a short hearing last week in the criminal division of Quebec Court, the Montreal Gazette reported.
Bulphred faces nine charges in connection with attacks and alleged conspiracies against the Jewish community in 2006 and 2007. Police consider the crimes hate-related.
He is being charged with possession of an explosive in the firebombing of the Skver Toldos Orthodox Jewish Boys School in Outremont in September 2006. He was arrested last April, along with alleged accomplice Azim Ibragimov, 24, and has been in jail ever since.
On the first day of Passover last year, nine days prior to the pair’s arrest, the entrance of the YM-YWHA Ben Weider Jewish Community Centre was also firebombed.
Publisher Honoured
TORONTO — Tony Gagliano, head of St. Joseph Communications, publisher of Toronto Life magazine, was honoured at a gala dinner March 6 by the Canadian Council for Israel and Jewish Advocacy and UJA Federation of Greater Toronto with their Words & Deeds Leadership Award. Established in 2006, it recognizes Canadian leaders for their contribution to humanitarian causes, tolerance and inclusion. Past honorees include media mogul Ted Rogers and Winnipeg’s Richardson family. (Full story next week.)
Order App’ts Named
OTTAWA — Four Jews were named officers of the Order of Canada in the latest appointments last month. Former Ontario Liberal cabinet minister Chaviva Hosek and Onex Corporation CEO Gerald Schwartz were named from Toronto, while Ottawa engineer Leon Katz, a pioneer in the development of heart-lung bypass machines, and Edmonton’s Jacob Masliyah, a University of Alberta engineering professor who developed ways to extract oil from Alberta’s tar sands, were also named.
Restaurant Closes
TORONTO— Bagel Haven Bakery Cafe, a kosher dairy restaurant at Bathurst Street and Steeles Avenue, has closed its doors after more than 20 years in business. The eatery recently underwent a renovation and started serving dinner. It received a hechsher from the Kashruth Council of Canada (COR) last year after being supervised by the upstart Mehadrin Kosher starting in 2006. Its most recent owners were Michelle and Malcolm Nefsky. In an e-mail to The CJN, they thanked “all our amazing customers over the years,” adding they “wish that things had worked out differently.”
Sharps Give Cash
TORONTO — A $5-million gift from Isadore and Rosalie Sharp helped wrap up the Canadian Opera Company’s fundraising campaign for its
Four Seasons Centre for the Performing Arts in Toronto, the company announced last week. The COC has now raised $186 million to pay off the centre, which is also home to the National Ballet of Canada and is named for the Four Seasons Hotel chain headed by Isadore Sharp.
Sderot Solidarity
MONTREAL — Mizrachi Canada last week announced the creation of the Montreal Sderot Solidarity Committee to support the southern Israeli town of Sderot, which faces ongoing rocket fire from nearby Gaza. The committee will promote links with the town via initiatives with schools, shuls and other groups. It will also fundraise to build free-standing bomb shelters and reinforce public buildings, as well as aid terror victims. In addition, it plans to lobby Canadian officials and the Israeli government, and work with the non-partisan Sderot Defence Council.
