Ishmael Khaldi and "Israel Apartheid Week"

I had the privilege this morning of hearing Ishmael Khaldi speak at Beth Tikvah Synagogue in Toronto. Mr. Khaldi is a Bedouin, Muslim Israeli who has held high ranking positions in the Israeli army and foreign ministry. For the first 8 years of his life, he grew up in a tent in a Bedouin village. He later attended a predominantly Muslim high school in the Haifa area. After high school, he served in the Israeli Defence Forces and eventually accepted a position with Israel’s Foreign Ministry.

Mr. Khaldi has been on worldwide tour – which has included stops in Canada, the United States, various European countries and South Africa. His tour is timed to coincide with the odious “Israel Apartheid Week” – but his message is entirely different. Mr. Khaldi is travelling the world to speak about the Israel that he knows and loves – a country that offers equality of opportunity, democracy, freedom and respect for people of all different religious and ethnic backgrounds.

The campaign to delegitimize Israel by framing it as an “apartheid” regime is disingenuous if not outright anti-Semitic. There is little doubt that Israel faces a difficult political challenge of trying to negotiate a lasting arrangement with the Palestinians. The current situation in Gaza and the West Bank is untenable and begs for a political agreement. But unfortunately, this historically complicated situation is not answered by one dimensional call to “return” to 1967 borders – which themselves were the product of a 1948 war. Jerusalem, for example, was scheduled to be an “international city” but was simply taken over and controlled by Jordan between 1948 and 1967. Today’s Jerusalem guarantees and preserves religious sites for three major faiths – Judaism, Christianity and Islam – which certainly was not the case between 1948 and 1967.

Because there has not been a political solution – the status of residents in Gaza and the West Bank is not legally clear. Israel has not annexed these areas and does not view the citizens of Gaza and the West Bank as its citizens. If these people ultimately have their own state – is it problematic that there would be a separation between these people and the people living in Israel? Is it problematic that each group would have the opportunity to address their own cultural and national aspirations within their own borders?

Within Israel, citizens are all entitled to equality under the law. All citizens, Muslims, Christians and Jews can access an independent Court system and are entitled to full protection of the law. Mr. Khaldi’s message was that a Bedouin, a Muslim, growing up in Israel – has full access to opportunity and to be treated as an equal in Israeli society. Although he acknowledged that things are not perfect and that Israel faces an array of political challenges – his overriding message was that he was happy and proud to be an Israeli – even as a member of a minority religious group.

This commitment to equality - along with the fact that Israel is the only Jewish state in the world – is what separates Israel from the vast majority of its predominantly Muslim neighbours. It is Israel that protects these rights while serving as a homeland for the Jewish people. It is the other countries – Saudi Arabia, Iran, and Libya – to name a few – that are characterized by xenophobia, misogyny and religious intolerance. The singling out of Israel in light of the reality of the Middle East is what makes “Israel Apartheid week” such a hypocritical and cancerous hate-fest. While this has been recognized by the current Canadian government – let’s hope that friends of democracy and tolerance around the world come to the same realization.

Austrian Airlines - Toronto-Tel-Aviv

I tried a different way of travelling between Tel-Aviv and Toronto - and flew Austrian Airlines for a change. Part of the schedule suited my needs - and the available ticket was about $500 less than an Air Canada seat - while still providing Aeroplan points (at 1/2 the normal accumulation rate).

The flight between Tel-Aviv and Vienna is a 3 1/2 hour flight - on a relatively new looking remodeled interior Airbus plane. The seats are paper-thin - which means that you wind up with a bit more leg room - even though the plane was extremely full. Otherwise, the seats are not particularly comfortable. The plane was equipped with overhead screens used for showing some silent films - no music or headphone jacks - since the flight was so short. Overall, the flight was probably a bit more comfortable than the comparative Lufthansa flight between Frankfurt and Tel-Aviv.

One of the difficulties - if you are not staying in Europe - is the timing. The flight leaves at 6:30 a.m. from Tel-Aviv - so you have to be at the airport between 4 and 4:30 a.m. This is bound to throw your schedule off completely if you are continuing on to North America.

On arrival in Vienna - the gate for travelling to Toronto was right next to the arrival gate - almost as though they are purposely trying to get the Toronto-Tel-Aviv traffic.

At Israeli duty free- I had been told that European airports were now allowing passengers to take duty free items through to Canada and other places (still not the U.S.). So I picked up a bottle of wine in Israel. When I got to Vienna and had to pass through personal security - I was told I could not take the bottle. It was in a sealed duty free bag - stapled shut - and I had just come off a plane from Israel - with some of the world's highest security. Nevertheless - they said - only duty free purchases from other EU countries could be taken on the plane. Imagine - right behind me was a guy from Poland - who was flying LOT Air. He gets to take his bottle on board - but I can't take mine - after coming through Israeli Airport security (which I'm sure must be at least as thorough as Polish security...) Ultimately - under the guise of security - the EU is using this as a way of forcing transferring passengers to buy from European duty free shops - rather than elsewhere. It is simply a trade embargo/tariff mechanism rather than a security measure.

I guess I have to mention that the prices for Scotch and some other liquors were quite good in the Vienna duty free shops - somewhere around 1/2 the price of equivalent products in Canadian or Israeli duty free shops...I guess that could be the good side of a stopover - but since you are really only allowed one bottle anyways - it's really small consolation.

Getting on the plane in Austria was reminiscent of boarding in Israel - a complete "balagan" - as they say in Hebrew - a mess. No organized line ups - just an overcrowded waiting area - with hoards of travellers thronging towards the boarding gate. I've heard people complain about EL Al flights but really this was no better.

The plane itself was a 767 - with an interior that looked like it was circa 1970s. Each seat was equipped with a video screen/ music entertainment system including games - but the game selection included Space Invaders and Mini-Golf - that seemed like 1st or 2nd generation video games. The seat upholstery was a horrible shade of green - and also looked like it hadn't been updated since the plane came into service.

I had ordered a kosher meal - and have to say that it was among the worst I have had. It was prepared in Vienna - and included some type of chicken - or at least something purporting to be chicken - with mashed potatoes. The accompanying bread roll was frozen - as was the chocolate dessert. The other stuff was inedible.

About 2 hours before the end of the flight - they served another meal. Again the roll was frozen. There was no hot component to the meal. Just some chopped tomato and cucumber - with Humus. Really lame.

Since the flight was an all day-time flight - just about 9 1/2 hours - it was quite long. In fairness - it was smooth and uneventful - announcements were all made in German and in English - but the combination of the Vienna airport, the original departure time of 6:30 a.m. - and the general feel of the flight - make this a fairly challenging experience.

I think I will do my best to stick to Air Canada, US Air - or even EL Al (which as the best flight times) - rather than doing this too often. There is definitely benefit to avoiding a change over in a European airport - and to having better departure times - though sometimes a huge price savings can be a significant factor.

Jacobs Dairy and Recanati Winery - Wine and Cheese in Central Israel

It was a beautiful sunny March day - about 23 C - so we decided to try a wine and cheese combination in the nearby Sharon Valley in central Israel.

Our first stop was Jacob's Dairy - a dairy farm featuring cow, goat and sheep products. The Dairy is a family run dairy, originally established in 1936. It is located in K'far Haroeh - about 20 minutes north of Ra'anana, right off of Highway 4 - at the Haroeh Intersection.

The store offers a wide variety of cheeses for tasting. We sampled some goat camembert, sheep roquefort, and a few other specialty cheeses. The dairy sells these cheeses by weight along with cream cheese products, yoghurts and some fruit and nut spreads. The cheeses were delicious.

The dairy shares the premises with Agadat HaLechem - the "Bread Legend" - which produces a fine selection of oven fresh breads and rolls, emphasizing whole grain and multi-grain products. Perfect accompaniment for the cheeses...

Jacob's Dairy is an ideal starting place for a wine and cheese trip - or to gather some of the ingredients for a picnic at one of the nearby hotspots in the Sharon Valley. www.jacobsdairy.co.il. K'Far Haroe, Hefer Valley. All of the products are Kosher.

From the dairy, it is about a five minute drive - one intersection north on Highway 4 - to get to the Recanati Winery. The signs to the winery are not well marked. The Visitors Center does not look like it has been set up to attract a high volume of traffic. The main winery sign is obscured - and entry to the center is by way of intercom buzzer.

However - Recanati produces some great wines. Established in 2000, Recanati is a growing winery that has been making highly acclaimed wines. The winery is rated as a four star winery by Israeli wine critic Daniel Rogov, signifying consistently high quality wines. It currently produces more than 900,000 bottles of wine a year and continues to grow.

At the visitors center, we were greeted by a friendly host who was happy to offer freshly opened samples of almost anything we wanted. We tasted the winery's high end wine - the Special Reserve 2007 - a blend of primarily Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot. We also tried a number of 2008 Reserve wines including the Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Petite Syrah-Zinfandel blend. All of the wines were quite good - though we particularly enjoyed the Cab Franc and the Cab Sauvignon.

The winery does not offer spectacular deals - the prices were competitive with specialty wine stores and other Israeli wine sellers - with only a 5% discount offered for purchases of 6 bottles or more. In fact, some of the wines are much cheaper at the Israeli duty free shop at the Ben Gurion Airport - which typically runs a "buy 3 get 1 free" special. Of course, that doesn't help much if you are limited to two bottles at your destination. Israeli residents are able to buy 4 - take two along - and leave 2 at the duty free shop for pick up on return.

The Recanati Winery is located at 217 Gesher Haetz Street in Emek Hefer, Israel. www.recanati-winery.co.il. The wines are all Kosher - though mainly not Mevushal - for those who might be concerned. Generally, quite a number of Israeli wines are produced under Kosher supervision though very few of the higher calibre wines are Mevushal - a par-boiling process that renders them fit for broader use within the very observant community.

These two stops can provide all the necessary ingredients for a great picnic - bread, cheese, spreads, great wine - all that is missing are some of the great fruit that are readily available at small booths along the way.

New Zealand Refuses Israeli Rescue Aid

According to an article in today's Hebrew language daily, Yedioth Ahronot, New Zealand authorities have refused to allow Israeli rescue units into New Zealand to help search for missing Israeli tourists. Shortly after last week's earthquake in Christchurch, Israel offered to provide a variety of assistance to New Zealand, including highly specialized, experienced search and rescue units that could help locate trapped or missing people. New Zealand turned down the offer.

The article notes that search and rescue units from other countries were permitted but not from Israel. It highlights the lack of any clear explanation for this refusal. The Israeli rescue teams had been provided with detailed informaton about the likely locations of a number of missing Israelis and felt that they had a chance to provide a last bit of hope for the families of those who were missing.

Later today, the online news site YNet reported that New Zealand had now agreed to accept Israeli assistance in the form of sanitation, water purification and portable facilities - reversing its earlier refusals of any Israeli aid. However, there was no suggestion that New Zealand had changed its position on allowing the search and rescue teams.

A number of Israelis who were known to be in the vicinity of the earthquake remain missing. It would be truly unfortunate if lives were lost as a result of an ill conceived political decision.

Lufthansa: Toronto to Tel-Aviv via Frankfurt

Flying from Toronto to Israel on Air Canada on a Thursday night? You will wind up with a stopover in Frankfurt. The wait time in the Frankfurt airport is about 3 hours. The flight arrives at in Frankfurt at 7 a.m. and leaves for Tel-Aviv at 10 a.m. You have to switch over to a Lufthansa plane for the 3.5 hour flight from Frankfurt to Tel-Aviv.

The Air Canada leg of the trip was great. Comfortable seats – a decent amount of room, personal video screens and entertainment systems…all around a fairly smooth trip.

The transition to Lufthansa in Germany was also reasonably smooth. Your baggage can be checked right through without any need to go and collect it for the transfer. The walk from one gate to the other is quite long – but that is probably not too different from any other major airport.

You have to pass through extensive personal security – including full pat downs for all passengers. You then have to go through special additional personal security set up at gate C13 – only for flights to Israel.

The actual Lufthansa plane – well that was quite uncomfortable. We were seated 10 across – in a 3-4-3 configuration – with what seemed like much less room. No personal entertainment system, very little leg and seating room - and overall- the feel of a very cramped ride. Fortunately it was only 3.5 hours.

The staff were reasonably attentive – considering the number of passengers they had to manage. They passed by quite a number of times ready to offer hot and cold drinks – wine, liqueurs – even cognac – as well as a hot meal.

We would have arrived about 10 minutes early – but spent some time circling in the Mediterranean to avoid being ahead of schedule. On arrival in Tel-Aviv – things were also reasonably smooth – though no one seemed to bother to unload priority baggage first.

Probably the best think about the transfer was the great prices in the Frankfurt duty free shop – a wide ranging selection of scotch and other drinks – all much cheaper than the duty free shops in Toronto or Tel-Aviv.

The Frankfurt lounge was also decent – featuring a really nice espresso machine – but – on the cheap side – you have to pay if you want wireless internet service.

It’s obviously much better to fly direct – though if you want to fly direct on a Thursday night – you are limited to El Al – which means leaving earlier in the day – and no Aeroplan points. Another option is to fly through Philadelphia on US Air – which is not a bad option – though it still involves a stopover.

The option of transferring through Frankfurt can wind up saving as much as $500 – so sometimes it might be worthwhile to put with 3.5 hours of discomfort…

David Broza in Ra'anana

There are few musical experiences as satisfying as seeing a great entertainer in an intimate hall – with high quality acoustics. Last night we were privileged to attend a David Broza concert at the Ra’anana Music and Art Centre – along with about 250 other fans. It was a real treat.

Broza is a self-proclaimed troubadour. He combines folk music – often built around the lyrical poetry of others –sometimes very well-known poets – with Spanish guitar playing and middle-eastern rhythms. Having spent time living in Spain, Israel and the United States, Broza’s music combines a variety of influences.

The concert was a two hour collection of Broza’s greatest hits covering a span of more than 30 years. Broza was accompanied by three other musicians – a percussionist, a bass player and a second guitarist – the newest addition to his band. The four musicians were seated on stools strumming, plucking and swaying to the music – mostly smiling as they played through the carefully selected set list.

Watching Broza perform – you can’t help but feel the love of music that radiates from his guitar and his smile. With such a dominant Spanish influence – some songs have the energy and feel of the Gypsy Kings. For these up tempo numbers, the audience was clapping and tapping along – some even moved up to dance next to the stage.

Other pieces are well known in Israel – as sing along anthems –such as Mitachat l’Shamayim (Under the Skies). The whole crowd knows the words – and Broza adds the role of choir conductor to his repertoire.

The highlight of the evening was simply Broza’s masterful guitar playing. Whether it was the two newest songs that his band was performing – which are part of a CD that is about to be released – or the many classics that the group played through – they were all marked by infectious and exciting sounds of the Spanish guitar.

The finale – a second encore number- was Yihyeh Tov – “It will be alright” – a song dedicated to hope that there will be peace in the Middle East and that “we will all live together – as siblings.” Broza is quite active in the peace movement – working with organizations such as Combatants for Peace –that look for ways to build tolerance, understanding and friendship between Israelis and Palestinians.

Though I have seen Broza quite a number of times – in different cities – this type of venue was a wonderful showcase for his music. The sight lines were great – we were close to the stage – and the sound was crisp and clear.

Broza is currently touring similar sized venues throughout Israel after having recently completed a trip through parts of France. He will likely be back to North America – for his annual mini-concert series in late December in New York and Toronto.

His web site includes more detailed bio information – and other links. www.davidbroza.net.

The Company Men - Better Off in Canada...

I saw The Company Men this week. Being an employment lawyer, primarily representing dismissed individuals, I thought it might have an interesting angle that relates to what I do. Unfortunately, there was no real legal angle at all.

In part this relates to the huge difference between Canadian and U.S. employment law.
In the U.S., most states are “at will” – so the severance provided – even to long service employees is often quite minimal. In Canada – and most other common law countries, employees are entitled to “reasonable notice” or equivalent compensation when they are let go – so they have that much more of a cushion to allow them to find other work.

One of the main characters in the movie is let go after 12 years of service – from a sales management position. He is only 37 but is earning somewhere around $160,000. In Canada, this would be a fairly easy 12 month case - at least. In the movie – he is given 12 weeks’ severance – and doesn’t even consult with a lawyer. It is almost assumed that there would have been no point.

The effect of this difference is dramatic. An individual in Canada in this situation – with 12 months’ compensation – or somewhere in that range – may not wind up having to sell the house, the car, the furniture – and *sob* even the xbox (as happens in this film). Often, the “reasonable notice period” in Canada is enough to allow the person to transition to other employment – and to retain a greater sense of dignity than might otherwise be the case.

Of course, the movie is concerned with the hardship faced by U.S. employees, in the midst of some very difficult times. In particular, the movie tries to show how over-extended, high earning white collar employees can suddenly fall quite dramatically in a very short period of time – and face alarmingly harsh and unanticipated consequences. The movie also comments on the gap between the earnings of the upper levels of management and the workers – and describes some of the excesses of upper management – such as the use of private jets – while thousands of working class employees face the prospect of lengthy unemployment. It also speaks about the very nature of the American economy and laments the transition from a manufacturing and production economy – to one of personal services and resource production.

Although the movie did illustrate the challenges and despair of prolonged unemployment in economically difficult times, I felt that it failed to develop into anything beyond that almost descriptive purpose. I also felt that although it probably reflected a certain reality in some American circles – it was much less applicable to Canadian workplaces – or those in other countries – even in these difficult economic times.

Sure many people suffer greatly when unemployed – and they are not always entitled to generous – or even reasonable severance packages. But in many countries outside of the U.S. there is at least more of a safety net to soften the blow of restructuring – from fair severance arrangements and government run employment insurance programs. Sometimes, Canadians and nationals of other countries have to fight for these benefits. If the movie had been made in Canada or elsewhere outside of the U.S. – it might well have turned into more of a legal picture – as the characters would have fought to secure reasonable separation arrangements – in a court or at a labour tribunal (as in the U.K. or Israel).

Where a country faces massive and widespread unemployment, the safety net will only help for a certain period of time. But it will often make things far more manageable than that which is illustrated in The Company Men.