JERUSALEM — When retired Canadian senator Jerry Grafstein said, “Let’s go to Israel,” he was there six days later.
And when his wife, Carole, suggested that they take “some friends” with them, more than 100 Canadians, including five members of Parliament and a senator, hopped on board for what Jerusalem Mayor Nir Barkat described as the largest solidarity mission to visit his city since Operation Protective Edge began July 8.
Grafstein teamed up with JNF Canada, the Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs (CIJA) and Toronto’s Beth Tzedec Congregation to host a rally for Canadians, residents and tourists, at Jerusalem’s David Citadel Hotel on July 30.
“It’s very, very clear to me who our best friends are,” Barkat told the crowd of over 300.
Grafstein, who brought 30,000 Canadians to New York following 9/11, and who helped organize a SARS relief concert in Toronto in 2003 and a telethon for tsunami relief in 2005, decided to come to Israel when Tel Aviv’s Ben-Gurion Airport was shut down on July 23.
He blamed the airport’s closure on “hanky panky” more than legitimate security fears, and Barkat agreed. “The airport disruption was a big mistake,” the mayor told rally participants. “Ben-Gurion is practically the safest airport in the world.”
Citing high crime rates in U.S. cities, Barkat said, “When I fly to America, I pray to come back safely to my city, Jerusalem.
“Feel how safe it is here. Take that home with you.”
Leslie Satran of Toronto was vacationing in Israel with her mother, Gwen Satran of Winnipeg. They were thrilled to show their Canadian spirit. “We were here last summer,” said Gwen, who had lived in Israel for nine years. “We had a wonderful trip.”
Leslie said that despite the situation in Israel, they didn’t even think of cancelling their visit, and arrived as planned on July 20. “We lived here during the intifadah… We wouldn’t cancel a trip.”
Even a few non-Canadians joined in, including Susan and David Teman, formerly of Teaneck, N.J., who came with Mikki Dorn, who made aliyah from Vancouver 16 years ago. “I’ve never been so proud to be Canadian,” Dorn said.
The Temans praised Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper for his outspoken support. “It’s amazing that they’re standing with Israel,” David Teman said.
Canadian Ambassador Vivian Bercovici was even more enthusiastic, with her rousing “Yay, Canada!” She said she is proud to represent Canada during this crisis. “Canada has certainly demonstrated, as the prime minister said in January, that ‘we will stand with Israel through fire and water.’”
Conservative MP David Sweet extended greetings on behalf of Harper, while Foreign Minister John Baird sent a video message, since a trip to China prevented him from joining this mission.
This was Liberal MP Carolyn Bennett’s eighth trip to Israel, but the first that didn’t revolve around the peace process. “There cannot be peace as long as Hamas is in charge of the Gaza Strip,” she said.
Bennett, a doctor, was emotionally moved when she visited hospitals in Israel’s south. “It’s very, very easy for people to sit in their family rooms and make judgment. Here, life is preferred over death.”
Grafstein admitted he had doubts about this mission at first. “When planes were circling Ben-Gurion last Friday, my family said, ‘You’re meshuge. You’re crazy. You’re putting people in harm’s way.’”
But then he recalled the words of the late Lubavitcher Rebbe Menachem Schneerson to a follower who asked if he should go during the intifadah. “The Rebbe said, ‘Kadima, go… and take a friend.’”
Grafstein said Rabbi Schneerson told him once that he had “special responsibilities.”
“Maybe being here is my special responsibility,” he told the crowd. “Israel is being isolated… it needs all the friends it can get.”
The four other parliamentarians travelling on the mission, which returned July 31, were Liberal MP John McCallum, Conservative MPs Randy Hoback and Ted Opitz and Liberal Sen. Grant Mitchell.
CIJA said the trip was designed to give the parliamentarians first-hand knowledge and a new perspective on the conflict between Israel and Hamas.